Page 28 of Girl Like Me

“Princess, it’s good to see you again.” I look at my uncle and then at my father, I hadn’t realised they were twins.

“I wish I could say the same but I still don’t remember anything.” He laughs, a deep throaty sound that echoes around the office. I take that moment to take in his appearance. He screams money. His suit is pristine, his jewellery is almost excessive, he has not one hair out of place and the only difference to my father is he likes to wear just a watch and one thick chain. “Sorry I didn’t mean to stare, I just didn’t realise you were twins.”

“I’m of course the older and more handsome of the two of us.” My uncle says, my father hasn’t said anything, he’s just watching our exchange.

“Of course, but I would like to talk to my father alone if that's possible.” My father’s phone rings at that exact moment. He looks at the caller ID and then back to me.

“How about you walk your uncle to his car while your dad takes that call, time is money after all.” I look at my dad and he nods, answering his phone. My Uncle Jarva links our arms as we walk through the house. He doesn’t talk until the house is behind us.

“I hear that you came to look for me.” I had almost forgotten that I told Echo I wanted to talk to my uncle.

“So, Echo passed on my message. I want answers. I can’t keep not knowing.” He looks at me as if he is thinking of how to reply as his car beeps, the telltale sound of the doors unlocking.

“Princess, it isn't my place to fill in the blanks. Your father obviously has a reason for everything he’s done.” He opens his door, avoiding eye contact, which tells me he’s hiding something. Men like him maintain eye contact, it's how they hold all their power.

“Please tell me something, anything.” I plead, sticking out my bottom lip in a pout. I almost think he is going to ignore me when he closes his door and his car starts. I turn to walk back into the house defeated by not knowing anything more. I hear the whir of his window going down, and glance back over my shoulder.

“Don’t trust the things people say Princess. That cop friend of yours has known exactly who you are the whole time. The princess of the Montgomery family isn’t someone they don’t know.” My mouth falls open, Lissa wouldn’t lie to me. There is no way they knew who I was and if they did why wouldn’t they tell me.

“And you tell those boyfriends of yours if they break your heart, I’ll put a bullet in theirs. When your memories come back, I'll be in contact. Until then, my brother thinks it's best I keep my distance.” With that his dark black tinted window is up and he reverses down the driveway. I’m left standing mouth a gape watching him leave.

“I guess it’s time we had a talk.” I jump as my father speaks.

Surprisingly he doesn’t take me to his office, he leads me up to my room. We both sit on my bed, silence descending upon us as we both stare at each other. After a few moments, he is the first to speak up.

“When you were born, it was the most terrifying day of my life. I already had a son with my previous wife. Sons I can handle, they grow up into men, but a girl,” he stops and shakes his head. “What could I do with a girl? She would end up with a man like me and your uncle and that’s the last thing I wanted. Then I saw how much your brother loved you and knew there was no way any man unworthy of you would be able to get close enough to break your heart.”

I don’t want to interrupt him as he talks about fond memories and my childhood, but it isn’t the information I want.

“Talking about my brother, why didn’t anyone tell me he died?” I watch as he shifts uncomfortably.

“Because no one really knows he is dead, it’s all speculation right now. We didn’t want to put anything in your head. You and Milo were thick as thieves. You worshiped the ground he walked on. The point of my earlier story is, he hated your boyfriend, always saying you deserved better and it caused some conflict between the two of you.”

“Why? I can’t stand Sebastian and I doubt that’s a new feeling.” He laughs, not because it's something funny but because it is information he already knew.

“That would be your mother’s doing. She hates my brother’s lifestyle. She didn’t want you ending up with the likes of Echo, so she pushed Sebastian on you. His family's connections and money would help our family name from being connected with the drug world and give us a chance to change our image. I can’t stand the kid, he isn’t good enough for you.” I sense he is holding back but since we are having a heart to heart and his guard seems to be down I may as well keep coming with the blows.

“How did Milo die and why did you lock me up and take so long to find me?” He takes my hands in his and we sit face to face.

“Milo was shot, you killed him.” I shake my head adamantly. I wouldn’t have killed my own brother. There’s no way, that would surely be something deep down I would remember.

“No way, I wouldn’t forget murdering my own blood.”

“His body hasn’t been found but the evidence is stacked against you. You were hysterical. I didn't know what to do. Our code is an eye for an eye and you took my eldest son. He was the key to the next generation and I keep wondering if it was because you were jealous. I know your uncle has always made it clear he wanted you as his successor but you’re a girl. It’s no life for you. Did he put you up to it? I couldn’t ever hurt you so I thought if you were locked away you could get help. I didn’t know what else to do and the longer you stayed the more the doctors said you had issues.” This time I laugh.

“I had issues, I was being drugged. I was a damn zombie in there and that guy that so called kidnapped me, I told him the whole thing before I lost my memory. Speaking of, I want you to drop the charges against him. I’m done playing games dad. Eye for an eye then kill me, I’m done. I want to move on with my life and I can’t do that with Carter following my every move because you want to keep tabs on me.”

“I would never follow you, your uncle always has eyes on you. He couldn’t risk his princess being hurt.” Well that explains his comment about the guys but that means he also knew where I was the whole damn time.

“Did you know where I wasafter I escaped?” He shakes his head.

“I was overseas with your Mum. No one told me you were missing until the day we got home. I had a private number call and tell me. I will do as you ask and drop the charges. I was just so worried you were hurt. I love you so much and I don’t want to believe you killed him. Your memories, I need you to remember so we can get to the bottom of this.” His eyes water, the pain of losing his son still hurts, in the pit of my stomach I feel sick.

“What would happen to me if I did kill him?” Pretty sure I know the answer to that question.

“That is up to your Uncle, he loves you but don’t be fooled he would end you to set an example.” He squeezes my hand, with a deep breath the sadness in his eyes vanishes and his business face takes over.

Our conversation is cut short when his phone rings. He stands from my bed and heads for the door. “Just so you know Dad, I spent the night at Rory’s.”

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