Breaking The Walls

Chapter 16

Artificial Paradise by Vlad Holiday

Indigo/ Nyx

Sometimes your life can be a complete lie. One day you wake up realizing that everything is different now. This is felt in the hot summer air or cloudy mornings when you don't want to get out of bed, but something unknown still makes you get up and go.

Every morning, I got up with the thought that I would receive a note from Daniel. My curiosity kept me awake. My skin itched, and my eyes were fixed on the front door, waiting for the courier. I went crazy over these cute little notes in the morning. They calmed me down. And I needed reassurance. Especially at the moment when I found out who Saffron Goodin is and what he does. I spent several nights after work trying to find out where my father's lawyer was hiding. That he died under unknown circumstances. And I learned, I learned too much. For example, the illegal traffic of girls is unknown to where and the fact that Saffron, the person we worked for, was pumping girls with drugs and watching who would rather die from overdosing. He allowed the guards to use them to relax. And those who did not obey ... they did not have the best fate.

I stayed up all night and analyzed what I saw and read. I tried to erase these horrors from my memory, but unfortunately it was useless.

When there was a knock on my door this morning, or should I say at post-lunch time, I did not expect to see my brother on the doorstep, much less him with Daniel and Atlas. This could only happen in a parallel universe. And then, I would question it. The phrase that I will now live with Daniel became a cold shower for me. All thoughts about Saffron and his machinations immediately shifted to another plan.

"Are you crazy?" The first thing I asked was Daniel. Unceremoniously, my brother walked past me into my apartment. Atlas and Daniel followed suit. "Alistair? Did you smoke something?"

"No, pack your things. You're going to live with him." Hysterical laughter burst out of my chest. My life has always been a real mess, but now it's just a real nightmare. Live with Daniel? It's too much.

"You can't just come and tell me what to do!" Alistair didn't have the right to do that anymore, not after I found out that he was hiding a house on the Florida coast from me. The house where I assumed my father's flash drive would be hidden.

"I can and will. Don't act like a child. It's safe for you."

"And why should I live with your enemy? And why not with you if it's about my safety?" I understood that the changes in Alistair's behavior depended on what was happening around. Could the reason he wants me to live with Daniel be because they found out about Saffron? Maybe, or maybe something else. Known only to the three of them.

"Don't you want to get to know me better, Indiana?" Daniel and Atlas are comfortably ensconced on my sofa in the living room. The sarcasm in Daniel's voice didn't escape from me. The point is, I really wanted to get to know him better. I was curious about what she was hiding underneath. Daniel was able to mislead with his mood and secretive behavior.

"I didn't ask you." I gave Daniel a displeased look, peering at my brother again.

"Atlas and I will be out of town for a while, so you will stay with Daniel. You'll work at the same time." I can't believe this is happening to me. I tilted my head back, muttering softly to myself.

"I don't need a babysitter, and you still haven't answered my question. Why would you bother to provide me security." Daniel exchanged glances with Alistair, as if talking to each other and silently agreeing on what to say to me. Everything would be a lot easier if they just told me the truth. But it has never been easy with these men, and it is unlikely to be.