Chapter 6 - The Brother in the Lake House
They found Matthew at dawn.
He was standing on the porch with a gun.
Dempster stepped from the SUV alone.
Matthew lowered the weapon.
Neither brother moved.
Eleven years existed between them.
Eleven birthdays.
Eleven Christmases.
Eleven years of Dempster wondering whether his little brother had died frightened and alone.
Matthew’s eyes filled first.
“Demp.”
Dempster crossed the distance.
Then punched him.
Matthew staggered.
Selena gasped.
Dempster grabbed him by the shirt.
“I buried you.”
“I know.”
“I buried an empty coffin!”
“I know.”
Then Dempster pulled his brother into his arms.
Matthew broke.
So did Dempster.
Selena quietly turned away.
Some reunions deserved privacy.
An hour later, they sat around the lake house kitchen.
Matthew explained everything.
Their father, Alejandro Flores, discovered Victor Serrano’s organization had infiltrated Flores International.
Rather than risk both sons, Alejandro staged Matthew’s death.
Edward Roundtree helped create a digital system capable of tracing Serrano’s money.
Selena’s father had hidden pieces of that system in ordinary financial algorithms.
Years later, without knowing their origin, Selena rebuilt and improved them.
“You finished your father’s work,” Matthew told her.
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
“To keep you alive.”
Selena’s eyes burned.
All her life, she had thought her father’s obsessive security habits were eccentricities.
Now they were love letters she had never known how to read.
Matthew pushed a flash drive toward her.
“This contains enough evidence to destroy Serrano.”
Dempster didn’t touch it.
“Then why is he still free?”
“Because the evidence implicates federal agents.”
“How many?”
“I know of three.”
“And the police?”
“Two senior officers.”
Selena looked at the drive.
“So who can we trust?”
Matthew answered.
“A federal judge named Rebecca Kane. Your father trusted her.”
They arranged a secret meeting for the following evening.
But Serrano moved first.
At noon, photographs appeared online.
BILLIONAIRE DEMPSTER FLORES ABDUCTS INTOXICATED WOMAN, CLAIMS SECRET MARRIAGE.
Selena stared at her phone.
Pictures from the gala showed Dempster carrying her into a car.
Another showed her entering his mansion.
The story claimed she had been coerced.
Comments multiplied by thousands.
Some called Dempster a criminal.
Others called Selena a gold digger.
Then came the comments about her body.
Of course she trapped a billionaire.
He must have lost a bet.
Five million? She isn’t worth five hundred.
Selena’s fingers went cold.
She knew she should stop reading.
She didn’t.
Old habits were cruel that way.
Dempster took the phone gently from her.
“Don’t.”
“I can handle it.”
“You shouldn’t have to.”
She looked at him.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand cruelty.”
“Not this kind.”
Dempster sat opposite her.
“When I was fourteen, I was six feet tall and overweight.”
Selena blinked.
“What?”
“I hated swimming because I wouldn’t take my shirt off.”
She almost laughed.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Puberty. Boxing. Anger.”
She smiled.
He continued.
“But I remember people deciding what I was worth by looking at me.”
Selena’s smile faded.
“Alidoro did that every day.”
“I know.”
“He made me believe he was helping.”
Dempster leaned forward.
“Selena, look at me.”
She did.
“There is nothing about your body that requires forgiveness.”
Her eyes stung.
She hated crying.
Especially in front of him.
“So you like plus-size women?”
“I like you.”
The simplicity destroyed every defense she had.
She whispered, “Dempster.”
He waited.
No movement.
No assumption.
Selena stood.
Crossed the room.
And kissed him.
For half a second, he didn’t react.
Then one hand settled carefully against her waist.
Not pulling.
Waiting.
She kissed him again.
That was permission.
His restraint broke.
The kiss deepened.
Warm.
Slow.
Nothing like Alidoro’s calculated affection.
When they separated, Dempster rested his forehead against hers.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
His phone rang.
The moment shattered.
Matthew answered from across the room.
His face changed.
“What happened?”
He turned the television on.
Breaking news filled the screen.
A federal convoy carrying Alidoro Wright had been attacked.
Two officers were injured.
Alidoro was gone.
Selena stared.
“Did Serrano take him?”
Matthew slowly shook his head.
Security footage appeared.
Alidoro was shown stepping willingly into another vehicle.
Then came the license plate.
Dempster swore.
Selena looked at him.
“You recognize it?”
“Yes.”
“Whose car?”
May you like
Dempster’s jaw tightened.
“My mother’s.”
