Page 129 of The Devil's Chaos

Alex studied me for a long moment. Then, a slow, cruel smile spread across his face. “Well, this is awkward.”

“What?” I asked, confused.

Alex smirked. “Remember how our dear old Dad fed our mother to the pigs for trying to get you away from the family? Well, it turns out, our—I mean,mymother found out that your real parents were still out there, and she was trying to get you to them.”

I stared at him, “What are you talking about? What do you mean, my real parents?”

He chuckled darkly, clearly relishing in my shock and confusion. “Oh, sorry. I guess that’s a lot to dump on you with no context. Let me explain in simple terms. You’re not a Benson by blood, Haven. In fact, Evelyn here, she’s your birth mother, and Cassian is your birth father. Archer here, he’s your twin brother.”

I shook my head in disbelief, refusing to accept his words. “No, that’s not true. You’re lying!”

“Am I?” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper and held it up tauntingly. “This is a copy of your real birth certificate. Turns out, you were born a couple of minutes after this royal pain in my ass. Mom found out and was going to spirit you away to them. That’s why Dad killed her.”

I stared at the paper, my vision blurred with unshed tears. At the top was the name Aven King, followed by mother, Evelyn, and father, Cassian.

“Dad tried to make a deal with Cassian many years ago, and the fucker turned him down like he was better than him. As you can imagine, our father didn’t take to that very well. I mean, who does this little shit think he is?” Alex approached Cassian and kicked him in the chest, sending him slamming into the ground behind him.

Cassian grunted in pain but glared defiantly up at Alex. Evelyn let out an anguished cry as tears streamed down her face.

“Stop this, please!” I begged while my voice cracked.

“But I’m not done telling my story,” he smiled cruelly. “Where was I? Ah, that’s right. So, Daddy decided to take something from your dear old parents. Now, when Evelyn here went into labor, she had to have an emergency C-section. Twins can be tricky, you know. So, he exchanged one ofyouwith a stillborn baby, and the best part about this story is that dadadded anHto your name, taunting them, and they didn’t even realize it. They moved on like nothing ever happened. Like you didn’t exist. And little Evelyn showered her baby boy, Archer, with all the love she could have given you.”

I looked at Evelyn. She met my gaze, her face pale like she relived the death of a child—of me—all over again. “Haven…I’m so sorry,” she whispered brokenly. “I—We didn’t know…we thought you died. If I had known…”

All these years, I had believed the Benson’s were my family, that their twisted love was all I deserved. But now, faced with the truth of my origins, I felt something crack open inside me.

Alex's cruel laughter snapped me back to the grim reality of the present. He yanked Evelyn's head back farther as he made her cry out in pain.

“Poor little Haven,” he mocked. “Always unwanted, always abandoned. Even your real parents didn't fight for you. They just accepted your death and moved on with their perfect lives.”

“That's not true!” Cassian growled, straining against his bonds. “We never would have stopped looking for her if we had known!”

“But you didn't know, did you?” Alex sneered. “You had no idea my father stole your precious baby girl right from under your nose. Some parents you are.”

Tears streamed down Evelyn's face as she looked at me beseechingly. “Haven, please forgive us. We loved you from the moment we knew of your existence. Losing you shattered us.”

My heart clenched painfully. I wanted so badly to believe her—to have a mother who grieved for me, who would have cherished me. But the wounds inflicted by years of living with the Benson’s made me feel like I wasn’t worthy.

“Oh, stop!” Alex scoffed as he yanked her head back and forced her to look at him. “See? They never cared about you, Haven. Not like I do. I'm the only one who ever loved you.”

“Fuck you!” Kai snarled while he strained against his bonds. “You don't know what love is, you psychopath. Haven, don't listen to him!”

Alex whirled and backhanded Kai viciously. “I told you to keep your mouth shut!”

I stepped forward, my hands raised in supplication. “Stop, Alex! Please. You're right, okay? You're the only one who's always been there for me. I know that now.”

“Please,” Evelyn whimpered, her voice raw with emotion. “Please don’t hurt her. Take me instead.”

Alex laughed cruelly as he released her hair with a rough shove. “Oh, I'm not going to hurt her. Not physically, anyway. No, dear Evelyn, I'm going to make her watch as I take away every single person she loves. Starting with you.”

He aimed his gun at her head, and my scream tore through the air. “No! Alex, stop! I'll do anything, please!”

“Haven, don't!” Kai yelled while he strained against his bonds. “Don't give him what he wants!”

Alex swung the gun towards Kai, and his eyes flashed dangerously. “Shut up, Montgomery. You're next on my list.”

I stepped forward and raised my hands in surrender. “Alex, please. I know I betrayed you. I hurt you. And I'm sorry. But this…this isn't the answer. Revenge won't change what happened.”

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