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“We were held. For two months.”
“Constantine...”
“No one came for us. We waited, and we waited, no one came. There was... We were separated from one another, sometimes. Brought back together when we were terrified and hungry. So that we could see just how much terror was being wrought on the other. And they finally took Athena away from me. And they told me I would never see her again. Not if I didn’t pass a test. But I failed. You see, I was left alone in the dark for days. And they told me not to cry, or they would know. But I thought I was alone. And so I cried. Alone by myself, an eight-year-old boy with no hope. With nothing. I cried like a baby. And when my grandfather found us. When he paid the ransom... Athena was nowhere to be found. Yes, whatever happened... My parents’ neglect which allow the kidnapping, however long the discussions took place about whether or not they would pay... None of it mattered. Because Athena was gone. And it was because of me.”
“You cannot blame yourself. They were evil, vile people.”
“It is like your mother,” he said. “Your father was a villain, that much is true. But she did not have to punish you. She could have made a different choice. I could have made a different choice. I could’ve been stronger. But I was weak. I have never been weak, not again. Not since then. I failed her, Morgan. And later I failed Alex. I will never fail my family again. Not ever.”
“That’s why you said I really wasn’t after Alex for his money. Because this was in the news. Wasn’t it.”
“’Course it was. Athena’s death was worldwide news.”
“Are you sure she’s...”
“She was never seen again. They never found her body, of course. But then... These are the kinds of people that leave no evidence when they wish.”
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry that you ever felt like that was your fault. That you...”
“It was my fault. That part of it. I’m not afraid.”
But he was. Maybe not of taking blame, but of what he might have to do if he didn’t. She could see that, clearly. She tried to reconcile the pain he’d been through with the man that was standing in front of her. But of course he’d been through pain. Of course he had. He was not an easy man. And of course he was different than Alex, who would’ve been so young he wouldn’t remember the loss of his sister.
“Alex didn’t remember her.”
As if he had read her mind. He let out a sharp breath. “It is its own grief. To not remember.”
“It must be its own grief to lose a twin. I don’t even have a sibling, let alone understand the connection...”
“It is funny,” he said. “Because I always imagined that we had a magical bond. So you would think that I would feel as though a limb had been torn from my body because she is gone from this earth. But instead, I still feel the connection there. And I don’t know what that means.”
“That some bonds are stronger than life and death?”
He shrugged a shoulder.
And just then, the trail rounded the corner, and revealed the front of a massive garden. There were citrus trees and large, broadleaf plants with spots of pink and red. It was magnificent. And behind it, the house, a marvel of design. Glass and large wooden beams. It looked like a part of the landscape, reflecting the ocean down below. Nearly hidden, constructed as it was.
“This is mine. Every other place you’ve been... It was the family’s. But this is mine.”
And she had the sense that she now knew him better than just about anyone else on earth.
Athena would’ve known him.
Her heart ached for him. For that loneliness and being the one left behind. What a horrible thing. A horrible fate. A horrible tragedy. And she had thought that he was a mountain who felt nothing. That maybe the truth was he was a man who had felt far too much pain. Far too much loss, after so much love. And he had closed himself down because it was more than he could bear. Because it was more than anyone could ever be expected to bear.
“Let’s go.”
They walked through the garden, and up the front steps and the doors parted as he approached.
“Facial recognition,” he said.
Her mouth dropped in awe as they stepped inside to the tropical oasis. The floors were made of stone, plants climbing up the walls inside, over beams that ran across the ceiling. There was warm wood, a sharp contrast to all the glass around them, the pristine beauty outside.
It was quiet. They really were the only ones here.
“This is not at all what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
