Enemy Basis | COMPLETE

30| daddy, I'm leaving

"It all came down to Mathew and Clarice?" I asked him, shocked and horrified at what the story had come to.

So, Dorran's mother's death was down to my mother and my fake father and she had also hidden my birth to my actual father for so long and for what reason?

"Clarice has only ever cared about herself. She latches on to people who can give her money, power and safety. She thought Mathew could help her but he had so many problems. I didn't understand to what extent until that night."

I need a bit of silence to comprehend this all.

"The day Isabella was killed was the same day that Mathew had tried to kill Clarice but failed, leading to his arrest. And he's been in prison ever since."

So it was that night, that horrific night. The night Mathew had gotten arrested, the night that had scarred me for the rest of my life as nightmares plagued me.

He was just watching me sadly as if he too couldn't believe that this wasn't just a story, but our story, our lives. He almost had to take a second before he carried on.

"Matthew's horrific actions shattered this town. With the passing of our parents, Matthew, Thomas, and I inherited significant wealth and influence, controlling lots of land. Most of Mathew's property was in Granite Hill and so, he had almost all control of that area. Within that, he also took my parent's house and the house you grew up in before you moved to Finchley.

I never anticipated the devastating rift that would tear through my friendship with Thomas. Deep down, I knew that he blamed me at least partly for my part to play in it all, for bringing Clarice into their lives, for being Michael's brother. Thomas also deemed Michael's sentence insufficient, believing he should have been held accountable for all his crimes, not just the attempted murder of Clarice. This was a bitter pill to swallow and my presence was a constant reminder. He withdrew from me completely, preventing me from any business in that area, essentially barring me from East Bridge, the district where he grew up.

Reconciliation between Thomas and I remained elusive. I wanted to make amends, to mend our broken friendship, but the chasm between us grew wider with each passing day. I felt both worthy of his hatred and worthless at the same time. There was nothing significant I could do to fix it all and so, I left him alone. I stayed in Finchley where the majority of my businesses were and he stayed in East Bridge. Time, instead of healing, served only to deepen the divide.

The worst thing about it was our personal animosity inevitably infiltrated the town itself. Our biases and prejudices towards each other began to permeate the social fabric, creating deep divisions among everyone. Petty grievances escalated into bitterness, anger and acts of violence."

His story made perfect sense. It was all coming together why everything had split apart and gone to absolute shit but there were still some things I didn't understand.

"My mother had her part to play in Isabella's death, right?" I asked, clarifying to which he nodded, "Then why the hell is Thomas marrying her? He must have some sort of inclination that she was part of it?"

My father just shook his head in rage, "I don't know but my guesses are that Clarice is playing another one of her games, in an attempt to seek protection from Mathew who was coming out of prison whilst clawing her way to the top again, not caring who she hurts in the process. As for Thomas? I'm guessing it's the first step to his revenge. That guy really did know how to plan and look at it from a hundred steps ahead."

Like Dorran, I thought with slight admiration.

I pushed that from my head as a million more questions popped up.