Page 43 of Liam
Ryder’s frown deepens. “And when we tried to locate Elias, we discovered he’d vanished. Completely.”
“Vanished?” Cora echoes.
Ryder nods. “Elias Nort has disappeared from the face of the earth. No credit card transactions, no phone activity, no social media presence. It’s like he’s gone off the grid entirely.”
“When did this happen?” I ask, a knot forming in my stomach.
“As far as we can tell, about two years ago,” Ryder replies.
Our father leans forward, his face ashen. “So, he knows about what happened?”
“We have no evidence that he knew anything,” Ryder says. “His disappearance seems to predate our interest in him. It’s possible he knows nothing about his father’s fate.”
“So why would he vanish?” Logan asks, voicing the question we’re all thinking.
Ryder shakes his head. “That’s what’s concerning. It could be completely unrelated, or...”
“We need to find him,” I say, surprised by the firmness in my voice. “We need to know where Elias Nort is and find out if he’s behind all of this.”
Our father nods, some of his old authority seeping back into his posture. “Ryder, I want Zane Mercer to put every resource he has on this. Find Elias Nort. And keep the family safe.”
Our father’s eyes sweep across the room, pleading. “You must believe me,” he says, his voice cracking. “I did what I thought was best. I wanted to protect this family. I wanted to protect her. To protect all of you.”
The weight of his words hangs heavy in the air. He turns to Lucas and Logan, his gaze intense. “Wouldn’t you do the same for Ava? For Sloane?”
Lucas’s jaw clenches, his eyes flickering with a mix of understanding and conflict. Logan’s hand tightens on the edge of the bookshelf, his knuckles turning white.
Then our father’s gaze shifts to Ryder, standing in the corner. “For Cora?”
Ryder’s usually impassive face betrays a flicker of emotion. His eyes meet Cora’s for a brief, charged moment before he looks away.
One by one, they lower their heads, the unspoken answer clear. They would. We all would.
As Ryder nods and steps away to make some calls, I glance around at my siblings. The shock and fear on their faces mirror my own. Our world has been turned upside down in an evening, and I can’t shake the feeling that this is just the beginning of our troubles.
The image of Aleria flashes in my mind. Her brilliant smile, the way her eyes light up when she’s explaining a complex theory. My chest tightens, a bittersweet ache that seems out of place amidst the chaos of the evening.
And yet, she’s the only clear thought in the maelstrom of my mind. A beacon of normalcy in a world turned upside down.
The discussion that follows is heated, fractured. We argue about how to proceed, how to protect the family, how to find this unknown son before he finds us. But underneath it all, I sense a shift. The unshakeable foundation of our family has been cracked, and none of us are sure how to repair it.
I need air, space to think. And I need... I’m not sure what I need, but I can’t process this alone.
“I need some time,” I announce, standing. The others stare at me, concern etched on their faces. “I’ll be back. I need to clear my head.”
I don’t wait for a response, striding out of the study and through the grand foyer. The cool night air hits me as I step outside, and I gulp it down greedily. Without thinking, I pull out my phone and dial a familiar number.
“Alex? Yeah, it’s me. Listen, can you gather the guys and come over?”
An hour later, my living room is a tableau of concerned faces and empty glasses. The coffee table is a minefield of discarded ice cubes and ring stains, a silent testimony to our attempts to numb the shock of the evening.
Diego leans forward, his brow furrowed as he tries to piece together the fragments I’ve shared. “So let me get this straight,” he says, words slightly slurred. “Your dad did something bad. Something big. And now there’s someone who might be out for revenge? But you can’t tell us any details?”
I nod, the motion making the room spin. I reach for my glass, almost knocking it over, before taking another swig. The scotch burns a path down my throat, a welcome distraction from the chaos in my head.
“That’s heavy, man,” Ryan breathes, shaking his head.
Alex’s eyes haven’t left my face, his gaze sharp despite the alcohol. “There’s something else, isn’t there? Something you’re not telling us.”
