I look away, a small part of me still struggling to cut ties with my brother. “No,” I tell him. “Nothing ever will.” I take a step away from him. “I told you that the moment I signed those papers, I’d also be cutting my ties with you. Those words still hold true, Ryan. I understand that your mother fed you elaborate lies, but you aren’t a child anymore. When I showed you that picture of Alanna and me and asked you to stop hurting her, to stop messing with her memories, you should have listened to me. I’ve let you do whatever you wanted, giving you chance after chance. I did it because I made Dad a promise, and I stuck to it until you gave me no other choice, even at my own expense.”
I look away and inhale deeply. “I need you to hand in the keys of the apartment I gave you, Ryan. I’ve already blocked your access to all of my accounts, and I’m taking my cars back, too. Everything I’ve done for you stops here. The only thing I’ll let you keep is your job.”
He looks down at his feet and nods, his expression somber. Ryan hands me his keys without putting up a fight, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I don’t have it in me to keep arguing with him. I’m just done with it all.
“Someday, Silas… do you think you and I can be like we used to be?”
I look at my little brother, wondering the same. “I don’t know,” I tell him honestly. “I’d like to think that that’s possible, but as it stands, I don’t trust you around my family. I can’t forgive you for the way you hurt Alanna, even if she does.”
“Your family,” he repeats, his voice soft. “I suppose that’s what she’s always been, huh? But what I am?”
I shake my head. “Nothing,” I tell him. “From today onward, you’re nothing to me.”
Ryan straightens, remorse leaving his eyes lowered. “I’m sorry, Silas. I realized it the moment Alanna walked into your office with tears in her eyes. She looked at you, and it’s like I didn’t even exist. That’s when I realized that there’s no way that photo of you two could have been fake. I realized that I’d hurt you both, and I walked away hoping it wasn’t too late to right my wrongs.”
“But it was,” I say.
Ryan nods. “You were there for me throughout the years, doing more than you needed to, trying your hardest to make up for the time you missed. You tried to protect me from my mother, and I thanked you by hitting you where it hurt most. I really am sorry, Silas. Despite everything I put you through, you never gave up on me, and I’ll do the same. It may not have felt like it to you recently, but you’ve always been my hero. Maybe someday, you’ll believe that again. Until then, I’ll do what you’ve wanted me to do all along. I’ll work on becoming the person Dad would have wanted me to be.”
I nod at him, hoping he means his words. Maybe someday he and I can be on speaking terms again, but I don’t see myself forgiving him for the way he hurt Alanna. There is a lot I can forgive, but not that.
No one hurts my girl and walks away unscathed.
Chapter Eighty-Two
Alanna
“Do you know why the boss called this meeting?” Jessica asks, her tone concerned. “He’s never called for such a large-scale meeting before.”
It took a while, but Jessica and I are on better terms now. It isn’t like before, where we’d grab coffees together and joke around, but at least things aren’t awkward between us anymore.
I shake my head as I follow her to the rooftop. Silas requested that every single Sinclair Security employee attend this meeting, but didn’t disclose what it’d be about. “I’m as clueless as you are.”
Jessica and I both frown when we see Silas standing in front of a large white screen, a microphone in his hands. His eyes find mine, and he smiles at me. What is going on? Normally he mentions even mundane work things to me, but this is catching me by surprise.
“Most of you must be curious about why you’re here, so let me address that first,” he says, his gaze roaming over the large crowd that has gathered. There must be hundreds of people standing here, all of us focused on Silas. “The prime purpose of this meeting is to address some rumors that have been spreading.”
He turns toward the screen and points a small remote at it, the screen lighten up with the words Project Sunshine.
“Ever since I founded this company, I’ve heard rumors about me starting this company because of a woman.” The crowd falls silent, and Silas looks around for a moment, as though he’s ensuring he’s got everyone’s attention. “Those rumors are true.”