The Secret Billionaire

Chapter 27

ERIS

"I was only trying to protect you," Nathan told Alana. He tends to use that as an excuse to lie to everyone.
"From what? My older brother? He missed out on our lives for almost three years because you kept him away?!" She wasn't sad anymore. She was enraged.
"It's not his fault," Mathew spoke up. "It's mine,"
"How can this be your fault?" She questioned.
"Three years ago, I found out who killed our parents," He said. The tension in the room shifted. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"What?" Alana breathed out.
"Let's sit down for this," I offered. They all sat on separate couches. If there were a clock here, it would feel like one of those movie interrogation scenes with the ticking noise in the background.
"Mom and dad's crash wasn't an accident," He began. "I was in the car that night. I tried calling out for them, but they didn't respond. There were voices around us, and I thought it was cops. I quickly realized they weren't when one of the men checked to see if our parents were alive and confirmed their death to the other person on the phone. They turned to look at me and threatened me to stay quiet. I never forgot their faces or their voices. I spent so much time looking for them,"
He sighed and looked at Nathan as if he was asking for permission. Nathan nodded and turned his attention to me.
"I met some people that said they could help me find those men. They weren't good people Lana," Mathew's face hardened, and he made eye contact with her.
"What kind of people were they?" She asked. I was on the edge of my seat. I looked down to make sure Emma was still asleep. Mathew went through some traumatic stuff when he was a kid.
"They were in a gang. They promised to help me as long as I did a favor for them in return. When they found the men, I recognized them right away. They were part of a different gang. My comrades gave me a chance to avenge mom and dad, and I did it," He shrugged.
"Hold up," I spoke, and they all turned to look at me. "You're telling me you went through such a traumatic thing as a kid. You became a mafia member?"I asked, and he nodded.
"Mafia leader now," He corrected. Did he say Mafia leader? The attention was again on him, and I let my breath out. Holy shit, I feel like I just stepped into a movie.
"You're lying," Alana laughed. "This can't be true. There is no such thing as Mafia leaders. It only happens in the books and movies,"
That's what I'm saying.
"It's true," Nathan looked at her.
"You knew this whole time?" She asked in disbelief, and he nodded.
"Only until a couple of months ago. When he called me about the incident with your ex, I told him the truth, and he didn't want me in your life," Mathew defended. Nathan was looking down the entire time. "I decided to stay away at the beginning. He reached out to me, and I came back. I wanted to help with the situation. I had to make sure you were safe,"
"He's gone now. He died in a hit-and-run accident," Alana recalled, and he nodded.
"Accident is what we had to make it appear like,"
I sat back on the couch and looked between all of them. When I pictured having siblings, I never imagined it would be like this. These three siblings had a messier life than me. I looked at Alana, and she had a teary face. I know she doesn't pity her abuser, but he was her love at some point. Finding out your kids' father's death wasn't an accident; to top it off, your brother was the cause? That's a lot to take in, even if he hurt her. Everyone stayed quiet for a few minutes, but I knew there were still a lot of unanswered questions between them.
"I think this is a family issue that needs to be resolved between you guys," I stood up. "I should go put her in the room,"
"Consider yourself family then. Eris, you're involved as well," Mathew commented.
"What do you mean?" He motioned for me to sit down, and I did.
"You want to explain this part?" Mathew looked over at Nathan. I turned my attention to him as well, and he sighed.
He rubbed his face and sat up, "They are looking for you,"
"Me? What did I do?" I asked. Don't panic. Stay calm, cool, and collected.
"It's not what you did. A business deal I did with them a few months back didn't go their way. Now they want to take it out on you to get to me," Nathan explained.
"I didn't know who you were, but then they said Nathan's name and heard you were his new beau. I had to meet my new sister-in-law," Mathew smirked.
"If you knew who I was, why did you flirt with me when we first met?" I asked, and Nathan's head snapped in his direction.
"You did what?"
"I knew your name, not your face. It's what I came to find out." He said, ignoring Nathan's death glare. That explains why Nathan wasn't letting us go out. He really needs to work on his communication skills.
"So now what? We are supposed to stay in here forever?" Alana asked.
"No, I've been coming up with a plan to make them back down if not.." Mathew trailed off and made explosion sound effects.
"If not, are we talking about a full-on mafia war?" I asked, and he nodded.
I must be dreaming. All of this seems surreal. First, I had to worry about my crazy ex coming after me now, a gang? It's getting too overwhelming to keep track of it all.
"I'll talk to them. Maybe I can work out something with them, a settlement." Nathan offered, and Mathew shook his head.
"If we give them what they want, who knows what they'll go after next?" Mathew questioned, and I sighed.
"It's like ransom money," I mumbled to myself. "Never works out,"