Page 175 of Unravelling The Beast

We stare at each other in cold silence until my aunt stands and walks past me, kissing my cheek gently before exiting the room and leaving us alone.

The quiet between us is deafening, and we both know we have so much to say. I take a few steps forward, eager for her to say something—fucking anything to get this shit conversation started.

She slowly raises her injured hand and motions to the chair next to her.

"Come take a seat."

My jaw clenches in frustration because I'm more irritated with her than I'd like to admit. She could have stopped this and told me this shit years ago. She could have told me I was the one who killed Bridge, and I could have stopped looking for the killer since I had been staring at him in the fucking mirror the entire time.

I stand straighter as I respond coldly.

"I'm good to stand."

She sighs and drops her hand.

"You're annoyed with me because I didn't tell you?"

My eyes narrow instantly.

"Yes, I'm annoyed you didn't tell me, mom!What the fuck?"

She briefly closes her eyes before reopening them.

"And then what? You would have blown up the entire thing, and things would not have worked as well as they did last night."

Fury rises in me as I expose my teeth and speak with gritted teeth.

"I am your fucking son! Fuck this business! The money! You should have been a good mom and told me! How do you even know this is true?How do you know it isn't just another one of his sick fucking games?"

She now glances at me and observes me before gently responding.

"I'm sorry, son, but it's true. I know exactly what happened because I saw the footage of you that night."

As I stare at her, my brows furrow and tears threaten to sting my eyes.

"What?"

"Don't you recall going to your club that night?As usual, with everyone on a Friday."

My eyes dart around frantically, trying to remember what happened that night.

"I remember going there and being there, but I don't remember anything else after that, other than waking up in my office in the early hours of the morning, then going home and finding her."

She sighs gently before responding.

"Arlo, that's when they drugged your drink. They then began to fill your head with all kinds of nonsense, claiming that Cree isn't yours, and they urged you to turn violent."

I blink blankly as my eyes blur with tears, and they cascade down my cheeks as I shake my head.

"I'd fucking never believe that."

As she responds, her eyes soften.

"I'm sorry, baby, but you did it. I'm not sure why, but you just weren't yourself."

I take a deep breath, any remaining hope that this was not true departing my body as she continues on.

"When I found out around a year later, I was horrified. I suffered several beatings from your father for arguing, I would tell you. That's when I realized I had to be wise and do things the right way, Arlo, because he would have killed me and you'd have never known."

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