Page 47 of Unfulfilled Promises
“Bullshit,” Seth yelled as Rhys jumped up from his chair.
Stella spoke over everyone as she addressed her brothers. “You two know what this is, right?” They both nodded, and I looked up, trying to figure out what they were going on about. “He pulled the worst mindfuck I’ve ever seen, and we never noticed it.”
Lucian stood and moved to kneel in front of me. “Did he tell you that if you kept his secrets, he would keep you safe?” I nodded, and he glanced at Stella before asking, “Was he mad all the time but never at you, and then he would be super nice and show you attention?” I nodded again, not understanding where they were going with this.
Devlin approached, and I gave James a concerned look. He briefly closed his eyes, and when they reopened, I saw love, so I knew at least he was still on my side. For now.
“Did he make a day or moment special, something you never thought he’d remember?” Again, I nodded, and slowly, Devlin reached out and tried to take my hands. I snatched them away and tucked them across my body as he said, “Regan, he was playing mind games with you and using you as a . . . pet while he was bored. His anger would’ve shown itself eventually.”
I scoffed. “I know that. I’m not stupid or brainwashed.”
“We didn’t say you were, but you’re in a place of defense right now and lashing out is your brain’s way of processing trauma. I think if we give this a few days, we’ll be able to discuss everything and you’ll see you were just a pawn in his game and you were lucky to survive.”
Un-fucking-believable. They thought my attitude was trauma and that I didn’t understand what kind of person Sergey was. He was a sociopath, and I never thought otherwise. But what they were failing to understand was that I have information, and they thought it was garbage, or at least, another of Sergey’s manipulations.
Looking next to me at Seth, I asked, “Can you take me out of here and still make sure Wren is safe? I don’t want these assholes questioning her until I get back.”
He nodded and moved his eyes around the room. I glanced and saw Caldwell and Booker leaning against the bar, and when Seth looked at them, they pushed off and walked in the direction Wren had left with Hailey. I mouthed ‘thank you’ to Seth as my brother pushed through the Lenkov children who surrounded me.
“Where are you going?” asked a worried Rhys as I attempted to get off the couch, only to collapse from exhaustion.
“I’m going to retrieve Sergey’s notebooks. You know, the ones that have all the information about the missing children, the missing bodies, and the missing money.”
Lucian held his hand up as I tried and failed again to get off the couch. I gave him an exasperated look as he asked, “Whose children and bodies and what money are you talking about? Between the Bureau’s information and the raids we’ve conducted, there’s not a lot we don’t know.”
“Are you aware that Sergey was siphoning funds from the families before they were arrested? And are you aware he was moving the money offshore to protect it from the families and the government?”
Lucian shook his head and looked at Devlin. I could tell they were both confused, and from the looks on their faces, they were just now realizing they weren’t as aware as they thought they were. I looked at Stella and found her watching me closely.
Turning to face her, I admitted, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I promise, I never put anyone on Hailey. Sergey told me about her, but for some reason, he refused to bring up her name in regard to the Syndicate.”
“That’s because he didn’t believe she was Adrik’s child,” Stella admitted quietly.
I took her hands and shook my head, explaining, “He said Hailey was Adrik’s child and a true princess of the Syndicate, the best of two families. But when Adrik died, Sergey realized she could be used against him, so he made sure to keep her name out of things.” She looked shocked, so I paused before adding, “He wasn’t kind about anything, but he did keep her a secret. As far as I know, Hailey is forever protected against reprisal.”
Devlin took a seat across from me, and I could see he had questions. “Ask whatever you want.”
“What did you mean that you never put someone on her?”
I swallowed and released my hold on Stella before turning to the room. “Sergey had me looking into potential members for his new Syndicate, and oftentimes it was children of formermembers. Mostly the hidden ones from mistresses or. . . other ways.”
“And you identified people who were later initiated?” I nodded, and Devlin looked at James before turning to Rhys.
“Will you tell her, so she doesn’t think I’m trying to placate her again?”
My brother leaned forward in his seat on another couch as he said, “There wasn’t any way you were identifying anyone, Regan. Everyone, including Hannah, was identified prior to Sergey being put into witness protection. He had to list everyone who could potentially be used as a target against him.”
“What about the girl you saved when they took Rylee?” I asked and felt tears pushing up. “She wasn’t identified and she was hurt.”
Rhys looked worried, but when he began to speak, I thought about what he was saying and I wasn’t so sure about anything anymore.
“Regan, you didn’t identify Claire or Wren, or the little girl we rescued from Kelly’s house?” I shook my head, so he asked, “Then how were they identified?” I shrugged. “Then, is it possible that Sergey was playing mind games with you?”
“I don’t see how. He was always upfront with me,” I admitted, feeling like shit for defending him, even slightly.
Seth finally spoke, and I suddenly felt stupid. “I believe Sergey manipulated you so that for the rest of your life, you’d believe yourself to be a bad person. It was probably his ‘fuck you’ to these guys. I think he played off your insecurities, and forgive me for saying this, but if I’m reading this correctly, he satisfied your need for a father figure and warped your perception of . . . everything.”
I was stunned silent, and when I turned to look at him, I saw compassion and worry looking back at me.
