19

GABRIEL
I asked myself why I still wanted to be acquainted with Audrey many times. I wanted to look at her differently. I wanted to look at her like that young, naïve girl who destroyed me, but I couldn’t. Not when I knew she had kept her pure self.
Why would she? Eight years ago, she was ready for me to claim her.
I could only imagine what she would look like when I finally claimed her. I was just a few inches away from actually fucking her. She had been so tempting, so sexy, and so completely desirable. Her long golden hair grazed about the roundness of her breast, and those beautiful, ripe tits spilled out of her low-cut bra. Outside, they seemed to be average, but they weren’t. They were even bigger, rounder, and firmer than I imagined. I was instantly and violently turned on.
Curiously, I felt bad for leaving her that way, but I couldn’t ignore the current news I heard from Coulson, and now I needed to talk with him as fast as I could.
I went back to my room and opened my laptop. He was waiting for a video conference. As I got in, I swiftly restored myself in order. Thankfully, the raging erection of my cock had subsided. There was no way I would look flustered in front of my brother. He had called me stupid enough to follow Audrey. I could no longer bear any more reprimand coming from him.
If there was one person in the world I could say that I cared about, it was Coulson. My adoptive brother and I weren’t too different. We found trust in each other during our hard days. Coulson himself had been through a difficult past. He never talked to anyone when I first met him—not even his own parents. And just like me, he was a survivor.
However, I hadn’t expected that the Garner twins would join the video conference.
Dylan and Duke were Carla Garner’s half-brothers, but they didn’t get along. I could understand why. Not only was Carla their illegitimate sister, but she was crazy enough to mess up her own brothers’ lives, but that was another story.
Fortunately, nothing changed after I called off my engagement with Carla, and they still worked for me and Coulson with most of the private legal matters. They both established a law firm on their own, and we considered ourselves a team.
“You’ve got girl problems, don’t you, man?” Dylan commented. “No, I mean ‘girls.’ I knew you were such a Casanova,” he joked, laughing.
“Carla appeared again, didn’t she?” Duke said.
“But you ditched her again. She called me asking if I can talk to you about it,” Dylan.
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Then, did you call me to talk about her?”
“This is why I told you to keep it low,” Coulson interjected. “She came in the office today because you told her so, but you went after another charade in Phoenix. Just what the heck are you thinking, Gabriel?”
I clenched my fist. “Did you all summon me here to tell me this?” I ran my fingers through my hair in mild irritation because I knew the situation was getting out of control.
“It’s not that,” Dylan said. “We did what you asked us to do.”
Alright, that got my attention. “What have you got?”
“Well, can I just say that I’m just surprised you can take it this far?” Duke started. “First, you bought every estate and property the Hopkins ever owned down to the very last piece, but now you want us to chase Samuel Hopkins’s murderer.”
I frowned. “Did you find something?”
Right. I told them about everything and my motives. I had to, but even if I hid my true self, the Garner brothers were smart enough to dig up every piece of hidden information about me. It won’t be easy, but possible, so I had no choice but to trust them, too. If Coulson does, I would as well.
“The police report claims that it’s a suicide. It means someone else is trying to bury the truth. The man had multiple stabs in his body. No person would do that to himself even if he wanted to commit suicide. Do you know someone else who might have a deep grudge against Hopkins? Other than you.”
I gritted my teeth. Deeper than mine? I don’t think so. I wouldn’t kill my enemies if it were me and I wasn’t like them. They must suffer this life as much as I had suffered. Death was only mercy.
“Ah, of course,” Coulson prompted. “There’s still one you can’t seem to acquire, Gabriel.”
“Their mansion in Glendale,” Dylan said, nodding. “It doesn’t belong to the Hopkins.”
“It belongs to Audrey’s mother,” I murmured. “But why did you bring this up?”
“It’s possibly connected,” Duke agreed. “It’s going to be passed on to Audrey Hopkins, but Edward Hopkin’s mistress Cecile Humphrey stole the title and pawned it to a rather young businessman named Charles Scott.”
Charles.
I banged my fist over the table and pressed the pressure points on my temples. Goddammit.
“Why Gabriel? Do you know this man?” Dylan asked.
“He’s the son of Benjamin Scott. The Scotts are like the Hopkins’. One of the most powerful and wealthy families in Phoenix. Audrey was supposed to be sold off and marry Benjamin when she turned eighteen. Everyone in the town knew about it because almost every establishment was owned by the Hopkins—”
“Which you own now,” Coulson inserted.
“Yes.” I clenched my fist. “But everything might’ve changed. She didn’t get to marry Scott.” I knew that by now when she came to New York. But why? What changed?
There must be something else. It could be connected. Samuel’s death, the mansion, the Scotts.
“But in addition, Benjamin Scott died five years ago from an illness. I guess we would be dealing with his son now,” Dylan said.
Fuck! What was it to him? I remembered Charles as a rather skinny, timid boy that had always followed Samuel wherever he went.
“What do you want us to do now, Gabe?” Duke asked.
“Find everything about Audrey Hopkins. I mean everything you can for the last eight years. Her school, her friends, and her whereabouts before she came to New York. Everything.”
“What?” Coulson reacted in surprise. “I thought we were after his brother’s death?”
“I know, but there’s got to be something else about this, about Audrey…”
“She’s already there with you, isn’t she?” Coulson said. “You can just get this over with. Tell her who you are and ask her. Why torment yourself like this when you already have everything in front of you?”
Duke and Dylan remained silent.
“You see, Coulson…” I answered after a few moments of silence. “Liam fucking Cross is already dead. Gabriel Stark is the one who lived.”
I shut my eyes and contemplated Audrey, and my world had become close. She was within my grasp. I could do anything I wanted when I wanted to, but I couldn’t. It’s not that easy—not when I still hadn’t taken everything.
“Just do it, Duke… Dylan…”
“Yes, boss,” both answered in chorus.
I shut the laptop and received a text from Coulson.
I’m sorry. You know I understand you, right? I’m just trying to help prevent you from putting it all on yourself. You act recklessly at times.
I chuckled at his text and replied. He could be sentimental. I know, and you helped me more than I deserve. But (ahem) who’s older here? It’s the eldest who should look after the youngest.
He replied. Fine. You win :) I’ll see what I can do to help the twins. Talk soon.