Devon paused at the bottom of the staircase with his hand still on the rail as he glanced toward the dining room. Martha and the younger maid were still arranging the dishes, and he could hear the sound of plates clinking lightly. He could smell roast chicken, buttered vegetables, the familiar warm scent that usually reminded him to breathe… but right now, food was the last thing on his mind.All he could think of was the conversation he had with Hector, and it had bugged him since he dropped the damn phone. Seeing Georgie in this house was a constant reminder that one day, someone could find out about his past and tell it to the old man. He exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders as if to physically shed the load sitting on him.He could still hear Hector’s voice in his head: Tell him before someone else does, because they both knew that was the better option. He didn’t know if this was bravery or stupidity, but his feet were already moving.Instead of turning toward the dinin

A week later, Max Tully called Georgie, saying he had information and they needed to meet. So Georgie got into his car after his brief meeting with some of the staff, to go to the diner where he had first spoken to Max about Devon. He got there and parked his car, walked into the diner and realized he wasn't there yet. “That son of a gun is always late to an appointment.” he muttered to himself as he sat down, picking up the colored menu that was placed on the table of the booth he was sat in. A waitress soon walked to him with a smile, asking what he would like to order. He wasn't going by his uncle’s place for dinner today, so he could as well eat here instead of going home to stress the cook. “Just bring me something you recommend.” I said and she smiled at me with a nod, writing something. The waitress had just walked away when the bell above the diner door chimed again. Georgie didn’t bother looking up at first; until he heard the familiar uneven footsteps, a shuffle t

He parked his car outside the address Sophie had sent to see it was a building apartment, and so he walked in, took the elevator to the floor that was asked of him, and then he knocked at the door. Back in the car before he climbed out, he had texted Sophie he was there and had told her he was coming up already, which she replied to with a smiley emoji. “I hope I'm at the right building.” he said to himself, looking up and down the corridor.He knocked again, shifting himself from one foot to the other for a moment before settling again. A second later, the lock clicked, and the door cracked open.A woman he didn’t recognize stood there; tall, dark-haired, wearing an oversized T-shirt and leggings. She looked him up and down with a deep frown, like she wasn’t sure if she should call security or apologize for something. Then the expression softened into a small, polite smile.“Hi,” she said, straightening. “Can I help you?” she finally asked. “Uh… yeah. I hope I have the right

The soft warmth on his skin woke him up, and he realized he had slept in.He never slept in, never, not when his body had already been trained for years to snap awake before dawn.But today, sunlight stretched across his face in a slow, lazy stripe, and for the first time in a long while… he didn’t feel the usual jolt of panic. There was no cold walls or metal bunk. He couldn’t hear rushed or heavy footsteps in a corridor, just quiet.A lingering scent of last night still on his clothes… citrus, beer, laughter.Devon blinked, letting himself breathe.Maybe, he thought, this was what waking up in a normal life felt like.He needed to resume work soon though, so he pushed up and went to the bathroom where he did twenty push ups, ten sit ups, and then he got into the shower to have a quick bath. By the time he was dressed, all he could do was think about the work he would be doing for the day. As he walked out of his room down to the kitchen of the main house, his thoughts had split be

Henry was focused on using his pills that morning after breakfast in his office when his phone rang. He picked it up from his desked and stared down at it to see it was the PI Dr. Matthew had recommended, Fin, that was his name, and he had picked up the call. “Hello,” he started. Henry pressed the phone to his ear. “Hello, Fin. What’s going on?” he asked. “I wanted to tell you what I found so far about the woman you asked me about, so I thought to call you since we’re keeping things discreet.”Henry nodded, closing his eyes for a second, hoping whatever would come out of Fin’a mouth would be good, because he wasn’t sure he could handle any more bad news. “Okay, so tell me what you found.” He said, opening his eyes once again. Fin was quiet on the other end for a couple of minutes, full-blown two minutes, and that scared the shit out of him. Henry realized whatever he had found wasn’t pleasant at all, so he braced himself. “Hello, Fin? Are you still there, he called and