Chapter 12: Hidden Heir: Chapter 12

Leon was distant for the next few days, but after the visit from his father, I don’t blame him. It gives me a chance to help Tiffany settle into this strange new place, catch up on sleep, and try to plan what comes next. All of that happens under the watchful eye of Rik, who seemingly refuses to leave my side.

I finally get to go and see my brother after being kept apart while he received medical treatment. Rik guides me to his location without saying a word. In the beginning, it was intimidating, but for some reason, Tiff enjoys his company so I’m slowly relaxing into it.

As we reach the top of the stairs, I hear yelling coming from the other side of the door. A woman, looking all sorts of pissed off, strides out muttering something about how impossible he is then takes off down the stairs without looking back.

Rik and I exchange a glance, then he nods toward the half-open door. “Your brother is in there. Do you want to see him?”

It’s not even a question. I charge through the open door with Tiff in my arms to find Ant grappling with a much taller, much larger man. The man easily shoves Ant away, and when he launches himself forward once more, the guard effortlessly shoves him again. Ant makes eye contact with me as he stumbles, the angry expression melting from his face.

“Brooke! Oh my god, I was so worried about you!” He steps toward me, a happy expression on his face.

Ant’s room is more like a small apartment, with a small living room, a dining area adjacent to that, and an ensuite bedroom.

I set Tiffany down and straighten up. I guide her toward a small table in the adjacent room where a pad of paper and coloring pencils rest, encouraging her to entertain herself. Then, I walk back to Ant and slap him across the face as hard as I can. He reels back in shock and clutches his cheek. The guard leaves and Rik stands in front of the door to the dining area, blocking Tiffany’s view, giving us a little privacy.

“What the hell?” Ant says with tears in his eyes. “Why did you hit me?”

“Why?” I snap. I shove at him, pushing him farther away from Tiff’s earshot. “Why were you fighting that guard, huh?”

“Because I was worried about you!”

“Don’t bullshit me. Were you asking him for drugs?”

“No! Why would you think that?”

“Because it’s what you do! It’s all you freaking think about!”

“I’m an addict, Brooke,” Ant sniffles. “You don’t yell at a cancer patient for wanting pain meds. I have a disease!”

“A disease called selfish stupidity! I needed you last night! I was out there trying to save your ass, and I came home after going through hell to find you passed out from shooting up while my daughter was in the next room!” I slap him again and he cowers away from me. “I put my life on the line for you, and you couldn’t last one night, one freaking night, without humping a needle!”

“Brooke, please!” Ant cowers down on the couch and begins to sob, pulling at his clothes. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m so sorry! I was scared about what you were doing, and Tiff was crying, and I just lost it, okay? You don’t know what it’s like. Something inside of me takes over and I can’t fight it, no matter how hard I try.”

My anger stalls. He looks pathetic, crying into his hands. Slowly, a bubble of guilt rises.

“I try so hard,” he weeps. “I wanted to be like you because you trusted me. I wanted to be strong enough to fight it like you were strong enough to face those men. But I have no control over it. I try to fight it but I always lose. I’m scared it will kill me and I don’t want to leave you all alone! I don’t want to be an addict. I want to be better, you know I do.”

Despair rises in my chest and I approach him slowly. That part of me that aches for my brother comes to pieces in sympathy for his pain. In some ways, he’s right. I have no idea what it’s like to live each day as he does. No idea what it’s like to fight that hunger every second of every day. I pity him, and I miss the brother he once was.

But that doesn’t negate how terrified I was last night. I could have died. Tiff could have died, or worse. As usual, all he cared about was drugs.

“You’re an asshole,” I say, though it lacks some of the previous fire. “You keep doing this. You keep letting me down. I could have died, Ant. You have no idea what I had to endure.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.” He lifts his tear-stained face. “But you did it, right?”

There’s a sudden note of hope in his voice as he clasps my hand between his cold fingers.

“What?”

“You did what they expected of you, you slept with them, right? Is our debt—?” He says in a lowered voice as he lifts his brow.

The anger comes back like a tornado and I cut him off. “Our debt? Are you fucking kidding me? This is your fucking debt! No, I didn’t do it! They weren’t looking for just sex, they wanted to torture and hurt me. The only reason you’re here right now is because you’re my only family. Otherwise, I would have just handed you over to them. While I was doing everything I could to protect you, you left my daughter to⁠—”

I glance toward the other room to check on her and freeze.

She’s gone.

“Tiff?” No answer. I scream her name and sprint from the room. Just as terror grips me like coils of barbed wire, relief pours through me in the same instant. At the end of the hall stands Tiff, Rik and the woman who rushed past us earlier next to her. The woman is crouched down observing a drawing in Tiff’s hands.

“Mommy?” she says as she spins around.

“Tiffany!” I sprint toward her and immediately scoop her up into my arms. “Oh my god, honey, you can’t do that, okay? You can’t just leave without letting Mommy know!”

“I’m sorry.” Tiff says. “I wanted to show my drawing and Mr. Rik said we could go.”

“Given what I heard,” Rik begins, “I thought it best that we leave the area.”

“And I completely agree with Rik’s decision,” the woman adds.

I narrow my eyes at her. “Who are you?”

“I’m Selina.” She holds out her hand. “I’m one of the guards here, well, sort of.”

“Oh.” I shake her hand while balancing Tiff. “Brooke.”

“I know who you are.” She smiles warmly and tucks a strand of black hair behind her ear. “You look like you need some fresh air. Want to walk with me?”

I glance back at Ant’s room, but I can’t stomach facing him again so I nod and turn back to Selina. “Sure.”

Somehow, Selina knows exactly what I need. She leads me downstairs and through a corridor, then through a conservatory that leads out into a beautiful back garden. I hadn’t had a chance to see any of this last night in the storm and it’s stunning. Blossoming trees nestle amongst colorful flowers, all glistening from the leftover rain. The grass is a deep, dark green, and when I breathe in, the most delicious scent of floral and earth fills my senses.

“Wow,” I say, setting Tiff down next to me and taking her hand. “This place is beautiful.”

“You wouldn’t expect it, would you?” Selina chuckles, wrapping her cardigan around her tightly against the early morning chill while I embrace it. It cools the anger and makes me feel alive.

“Not at all. A garden was the last thing I expected to find here.”

“Believe it or not, Leon’s father started it. It was his passion project for as long as Leon’s mother was alive. After she passed, he abandoned it. A few of us have kept it going. It’s good for the mind and soul. Nothing works things out like spending a good few hours in nature.”

“I agree,” I chuckle. “Although I’m more of a potted-plant greenhouse kinda gal.”

“Oh?” Selina looks at me with curiosity. “You garden?”

“Technically, I’m a florist.” Saying that out loud sounds alien after the past two days. “I do flower arrangements, weddings, special events, etc. Flowers and displays are my cup of tea.”

Something about Selina is oddly calming. Maybe it’s being able to chat with another woman or her positive energy as she leads Tiff and me through the gardens, but she’s very easy to talk to. Before I know it, I’m telling her all about my business and the enjoyment I get out of making people happy through flowers. She asks me to identify a few unknown flowers in the garden. I dig out my phone and show her some of the arrangements I’ve worked on while Tiff runs through the grass.

“You’re so talented,” Selina says. “These are absolutely stunning. And you have your own store?”

“Yep, for four years now.”

“That’s amazing. Are you online?”

I nod. “On socials. You can look me up under Hive Blossoms.”

“You know what,” Selina begins as she types the name into her phone, “I think I might have started following you when I needed some inspiration for a birthday party a while back. Let me see.” She taps away then suddenly her face falls.

She comes to an abrupt stop.

“Hive blossoms? That’s you?”

“Yes.”

Selina lifts her head from her phone. “I’m so sorry, Brooke.”

“Why?”

When she turns her phone to face me, my heart shatters into a hundred pieces. On the screen is an article detailing the sudden and violent fire that swept through my store last night, burning the place to the ground.