Page 38 of Discord
Milo wasn’t so easily fooled. “Don’t you have homework?”
“Nope,” she popped the P of the word nonchalantly though I knew it was a lie.
“Rave,” he said softly. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I was already planning on it.” She put a hand on his cheek; a technique Raven knew calmed Milo. She added, “Before I forget, Reid’s on his way home. I texted him to stop by the store and pick up the supplies for Mia’s science project.”
Milo’s breathing slightly evened out.
“Oh, I was about to bake some dessert, so I need the kitchen. Can you finish studying in your room, please?”
Tearing his gaze away from the board, he stared at her.
“While I’m at it, why don’t I also throw in an extra batch of cookies for Mia’s fundraiser tomorrow?” she added slyly.
He knew what she was doing and gave her half a smile. “I can’t let you do that. You’re a terrible cook.”
Raven chuckled. “Too bad… I’m still doing it unless you want a repeat of the 2012 incident?”
No one wanted a repeat of the 2012 incident. Raven almost bit our heads off because she didn’t get dessert after dinner.
“But you’ll burn the house down,” he gently chided.
She said nothing, continuing to stroke his cheeks.
* * *
I had watched silently that day while Raven revived Milo. They forgot my presence, and that’s okay. I didn’t want to be recognized because it was the day my younger version realized what I had done by being born.
I had destroyed a man’s life.
Brandon pestered me to disclose who hurt me, but he forgot to ask whoIhad hurt. Milo. It took me years to grasp Milo was our anchor and Raven was his. I shouldn’t have threatened his relationship without knowing the whole story. He was horrified over what happened between us and thought it’d be best to remove himself from the situation, so he took over Brandon’s job to oversee the West Coast. Whereas all he needed to get better was distance from us.
Distance from me.
Following Reid’s confession, I laid in bed for hours and stared blankly at the ceiling. My mind was reeling. Forcing myself to a sitting position, I pulled open my laptop. I was in desperate need of a distraction. Brandon gave me access to his financial management apps so I could log in his expenses and receipts. It was petty secretarial work to keep me occupied while he worked from home. I loved feeling useful, but right now, the monotonous task was perfect for keeping my mind occupied.
I picked up where I left off, needing to forget the earlier conversation.
The dependability in the repetitive chore lasted briefly until a few odd transactions caught my eye. Brandon recently transferred large sums of money into an unknown account. The unusual pattern didn’t end there. Brandon redirected receipts for the transfers to his personal email account instead of his work email.
A small yet deliberate intent.
If need be, Brandon’s work emails could be accessed by his business partners. He went the extra mile to ensure none of his partners would accidentally run into this information. But why?
The first speculation to come to mind was embezzlement. I quickly stored away the theory and snooped further to uncover the mystery. After all, old habits die hard. I finally located the perpetrator. The account belonged to Colonel, Brandon’s grandfather.
Brandon told me all about his grandfather. Though Colonel wasn’t filthy rich, he had done well for himself and lived comfortably in California. He had no need for Brandon’s money.
The transactions made no sense unless they were for disingenuous purposes. I knew of Brandon’s sharp mind for business. After watching him closely in his element, I deduced his tactics. Brandon wasn’t forthright in his dealings. If he secretly sent money to someone who had no need for it (and he trusted the person), it was likely because they were doing nefarious things on Brandon’s behalf.
I desperately wanted to connect the dots, but there were missing elements. The sequence of events to coincide didn’t fit Brandon's norm: his unlikely reasons for tagging along with Milo to California, then the hefty sums he transferred to his grandfather (who had no need for it), along with his efforts to erase traces of the transactions from his business partners.
A few weeks inside the Brandon bubble didn’t erase the years of information I had gathered on the man. Brandon was known to stir the pot and corner people to bend them to his will. Why did I get the feeling Milo might be on the receiving end of whatever Brandon had cooked up?
Brandon’s ambiguous intentions gave me pause in lieu of the things Reid had shared tonight. My contemplations ended abruptly at the sound of an alert on my phone. Speak of the Devil.
Brandon: Goodnight little mad scientist.
