Page 106 of Takeover

“I don’t have one of those, unless Alan ran off and got married without telling us. And what the hell is Elizabeth doing here?” I look out the sliding glass door, and she’s sitting with Ethan pointing to an open folder in front of him.

“She just got here like five seconds ago. I opened the door and she strolled in like this is her damn house. I didn’t even get a chance to make her squirm.” Vickie says more, but I tune her out and watch Ethan’s reaction to whatever news she’s giving him. He puts both hands on his face and rubs. Then he leans back in his seat, runs his hands through his hair and pulls. She takes a seat and pulls out another folder from her purse and opens it in front of Ethan. He leans down, mouth wide, as he looks at what’s in front of him.

“That looks juicy,” Bernie says. “But not as juicy as that Colt Chastain. If you all will excuse me.” She gets up and walks outside.

“I bet this is about Lindsay. I wonder what the fuck she’s done now.” I say. I reach for another chip but pull my hand back. “I should have made her eat that glass when I had the chance.” I wipe my hands on my dress and walk outside. I don’t bother to address Elizabeth. I stand next to Ethan and lay a hand on his shoulder. He puts his hand on mine, pulls me onto his lap, and wraps his arms around me.

“What is it?” I ask.

Vickie comes out and leans against the sliding glass door.

“Look.” He points to the folder in front of him and lifts a picture. I grab it and look at the face of a man who looks just like Ethan, only younger. He’s in shorts and a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, crossing the street with a basketball in his hand. There’s another one of him standing in a schoolyard.

“Who is that?” I pull the picture closer, inspecting the face that looks so much like his. The face and eyes are the exact same, and judging from the picture, he’s extremely tall. The only slight difference is their smile. It’s the same smile, though this guy’s is slightly crooked, but he has the same straight white teeth as Ethan. “He’s practically your clone.”

“It looks like we have a brother,” Ethan whispers. He takes the picture from me and studies it again.

“What?” I ask, but Ethan isn’t paying attention to me. He’s holding the picture in one hand and reading some sort of report in another. I reluctantly turn to Elizabeth for answers.

“Our dear old dad. Even in his grave, he still manages to twist this family like a damn pretzel.”

“How did you find out about him?” I ask her.

“I hired an investigator to look into our father’s life. He found a lot of skeletons. Affairs, shady business dealings, drugs, gambling but the biggest skeleton is our little brother. Adam Flynn. He’s twenty-eight and lives in Boston. He’s the only child of his mother, Molly Flynn, who was only twenty-two when she had him. At least Dad took care of him. That’s how we found him. Through the financial records. Dad was good at hiding it, but my investigator is better. He was making regular payments to his mother, and even paid for Adam’s education.”

“I don’t know what to say,” I whisper. I pick up another picture, struck speechless at how much he looks like Ethan.

“He’s our little brother, Ethan. I want to get to know him.”

“Does he know about you two?” I ask her.

“He does. I called him.” Ethan drops the papers in his hand and looks at his sister. “I couldn’t wait. I have a little brother, and I had no idea until today. So, yeah, I called. He said he knows who his father was and wants nothing to do with us. He made a sarcastic comment about him not wanting a piece of our billion-dollar empire, and that I have nothing to worry about. Then, he hung up on me. I called right back, but he didn’t pick up.”

“Dammit, Lizzie. We should have talked about it before you called. Jesus.” He runs a hand through his hair again, and I rub his thigh to calm him down. There’s a loud commotion in the yard, and I look over to find Colt dunking the basketball and Alan falling on his ass. My dad is in the corner panting, and Cheryl is still filming. Vickie rolls her eyes at our father and brother, but she walks away to tend to the grill.

“Don’t even think of telling me to forget about him, Ethan. He’s ourbrother,our flesh and blood. I don’t give a shit about public relations, stock, or any bullshit right now. He’s our family,” she hisses. She jabs a finger on the table. I feel Ethan’s body stiffen underneath mine, and even me rubbing his thigh doesn’t calm him down. I don’t say it, but for once, I agree with Elizabeth. If I had a sibling out there, I’d be beating down his door to get to him.

“You think I give a shit about our public image? Think for a goddamn minute, will you? If you did, you wouldn’t have just picked up the phone, and what? Commanded him to New York to meet us?” She has the grace to look away. “Our father kept him a secret. Can you imagine what he thinks of all of us? We have to finesse this. And of course, I want to know my brother, and we will.” He picks up the picture again. “But we need to figure out how to approach him.”

Elizabeth lets out a breath but nods in agreement. “Okay. Yeah, but if he won’t come to us, we’ll go to him. Like tomorrow.”

“We need to talk to your investigator now,” Ethan says. “I have questions.”

“He’s available to talk any time,” Liz says.

“You two can use my dad’s office if you want some privacy.” Ethan nods and kisses my cheek. I stand from his lap. “It will be okay.” I wrap my arms around him, and he hugs me tight. “I love you. And you’re like a bad rash. In no time, you’ll be a blight on your brother’s existence, just like you are to mine. He won’t know what to do without you soon.”

“Whether he likes it or not,” Ethan whispers to me.

While Ethan and Elizabeth are gone, I watch Colt dominate my brother and father in basketball until Cheryl tells them the game is over. She drags my dad to the deck, forces him to sit down, and hands him a bottle of water.

Vickie and I, along with the boys, bring all the food inside, and Alan readies the table outside. By the time Ethan and Elizabeth return, we’re ready to eat.

“Elizabeth,” I say, “would you like to join us and stay for lunch?”

Her mouth opens at my invitation, and a slow smile spreads across her face. “I’d love to,” she says.

“What’s happening here?” Vickie asks while she looks directly at Colt, who has taken a seat.

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