Page 63 of The Psychopaths

“Kid or not, you were the coward who stood there and watched them take me. You didn’t say a word about what really happened at the boathouse. You just let them build their convenient narrative, allowed them to paint a picture of how unstable I was.”

Old guilt mixes with fresh rage. “And now you’re what? Getting revenge by seducing our stepsister? Even you can do better than that.”

He laughs. “Poor Lilian, pining after her perfect stepbrother while he treats her like a burden.”

“I’ve never treated her like a burden.”Who the fuck does he think he is?“You don’t even know her.”

“Stop lying. We both know that facing your feelings for her was nothing more than a burden. It was easier to ignore them than deal with the potential repercussions.”

That honest assessment is a hard pill to swallow.

“As for knowing her….I know everything. I’ve studied you, your life, your friends. We’re mirror images of each other. Our brains are practically one. You can’t hide the truth from me. It was never about protecting Lilian. It was about protecting yourself.”

He’s getting too close to home, too close to my own honest reasoning.

“That’s not true.”

“It is, and continues to be. Now the real question is, why? Were you afraid to feel something real? Afraid of admitting you wanted her? Afraid of what your parents would say?” He grins knowingly as he checks off each box.

I know where this is going, what he’s doing, and as much as I try to fight against the bait he’s tossing out, possession and need demand that I remind him who she belongs to, who she really wants.

“You can’t have her!” I growl.

“I can’t? It kinda feels like I already do.” The rage inside me threatens to bubble over, and he pushes me over the edge with his next sentence.

“I can’t help it if I’m honest about my desires. If you want something you have to reach out with both hands and grab it, and that’s what I did. I took Lilian, and I won’t let anything stop me from claiming her, not even you.”

Lilian was never his to take. She’s mine. Forever mine.

I swing wildly, hoping to land a blow anywhere I can. I’m shocked when my fist catches him in the jaw, pain lancing across my knuckles from the impact.

Fuck, that felt good.

He staggers back, surprise flickering across features identical to mine. Like a lunatic he grins, blood staining his teeth.

“Truth hurts, doesn’t it?” He wipes his mouth. “Want to know what else hurts? How eagerly she responds to my touch. The way she arches into my hands, thinking they’re yours.”

I launch myself at him, rage overriding logic. We crash into the wall, grappling for dominance. He’s stronger, built on weeks of good food and freedom while I’ve survived on scraps, but fury fuels me.

“She doesn’t want you!” I slam my knee into his ribs. “She wants me, so remember that the next time you touch her.”

He catches my next punch, twisting my arm behind my back. “No, Brother. She wants what you never had the courage to be. Someone who sees her darkness and embraces it.”

“What are you going to do when she realizes you’re nothing like me?” I gasp as he applies pressure. “When she chooses to toss you to the side for me?”

His grip tightens painfully. “Funny you should mention that.” His voice turns silky. “She already knows I’m nothing like you and guess what?” His lips brush my ear, a parody of intimacy. “She prefers the monster to the coward.”

The words slam into my gut like he’s physically hit me, but I absorb them and force out a laugh. “Is that what she told you? Or is that what you keep telling yourself?” I laugh. “Maybe if you keep telling yourself that it’ll come true? When really we all know that no one wants you.”

His reply is a punch that makes stars explode behind my eyes.

Blood sprays across the concrete when his fist connects with my face again. Through the ringing in my ears, I hear him laughing—that broken sound that used to be identical to mine. My scalp burns when he grabs me by the hair and yanks my head back. “She does. And right now she thinks you’re both victims of this family. Thinks you were just as trapped as she was, playing your assigned role. The golden boy. The perfect son.”

“Better than playing the psychopath,” I spit blood at him. “Is that what you plan to do? Swoop in like the hero and save the day? Going to rescue her from the big bad Hayes family?”

His grip tightens, and the pain radiating across my skull is nothing more than fuel for the beast. “I’m going to show her everything they tried to hide. Every dirty secret. Every buried body. Together we’re going to burn it down. You included. After all, a dynasty can’t exist without an heir.”

“Adorable. Sounds like a match made in hell. Hate to be the one to break it to you, but she’s using you.” I laugh, though it hurts. “Playing on your obsession. Sweet, fragile Lilian’s got you wrapped around her finger, thinking you’re in control?—”

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