Page 12 of Loving the Liar

So am I.

My heart drops to my stomach, chest clenching as the silence in the room takes on an entirely new meaning.

“You’re already here,” I say to Luke.

“I hopped on the jet as soon as Mom called.”

“What happened? Why did no one tell me anything?” I try my best to show the betrayal I feel, but my emotions stay stuck in my throat, and I know they come out weak. Like I don’t care about any of this. My face is used to a programming of whatever I tell it, not real emotions.

A sob shakes my mom, but the question wasn’t directed at her.

Luke is not a bad person. He’s not the same as my dad, not the same as the greedy corporate bastards who work for him either. He’s a good guy. He’s my brother and we’ve always gotten along.

But he’s hiding things from me. I can tell when he shuts himself off.

“Luke,” I insist when his eyes dart to Chris. “What happened to him?”

His jaw tightens, and he shifts on his feet before settling again. “The cops showed up in the NYC office this morning, then LA. They raided his home office here last, but they didn’t arrest him. When I arrived in the afternoon, he was dead. He…” He swallows thickly, his gaze dropping. This is probably the only sadness I’ll see on his face regarding our dad’s death. “He hung himself.”

A vision of my dad’s limp body hanging in his office makes me shudder.

What did he use?

Don’t even think about it.

I nod, blinking away tears that I’m sure no one notices. God, I hated the man. Why does it even affect me?

“Let’s not beat around the bush here,” I croak, bringing a hand to my chest. “We all know about the Circle. We all know about Dad’s parties. The death of the man who organized sex parties for the Silent Circle, and who was about to be arrested, doesn’t scream suicide to me.”

“Ella,” my mother gasps.

My eyes dart to Chris because he’s the only one I’m not actually sure knows much about it. He very well could. His father is part of the Circle, but I don’t know if that’s something he shared with his son.

When his face stays impassive, his eyes on my mom, I understand none of this is new to him.

My fingers creep up my right upper thigh, scratching the skin through my skirt. Any external stimuli to help me not lose myself in my own mind. I don’t want to panic.

“I’ve known for years, Mom. The fact that you ignore it is your problem, not mine.” I dig my gaze into Luke’s. “Dad didn’t kill himself, and you know it.”

“Dad is dead, and that’s the only fact that matters.”

His stern words make me take a retreating step. My brother is not a heartless man. What’s happening to him?

“Luke…”

“We have bigger issues than how he died. You want to talk about the Circle, Els? How about the fact that we’re not only not part of it now that dad is gone, but also that we owe them so much money, a trip to El Dorado wouldn’t even begin to cover the sum.”

“What do you mean it wouldn’t cover the sum? We are the fucking El Dorado, Luke. Pay them and get rid of them.”

“The police raided everything that belongs to Gerald Baker. Company, personal assets, bank accounts. All we have left is the house because he somehow put it in Mom’s name.”

He didn’t do that for her. He was probably protecting himself.

I barely have time to register what he’s saying, when my mom bursts into tears again. So that’s why she’s been crying so much.

“You’re crying because we’re broke?” I ask with all the disgust I can muster.

“We’re not broke Ella,” she hisses as she looks up. “We’re indebted to the Circle! Your dad asked too many favors.”

---