All Chapters of My Ex-Boyfriend is my New Step-Brother: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

107 Chapters

The Lights Go Out

The ballroom was so dark I couldn't see my own nose. One second the big sparkly lights were blinding me, and the next second, it was like someone had put a thick black blanket over my head. The music stopped with a weird, slow groan."Stay where you are!" Marcus shouted from the stage. He sounded like he was trying to be the boss of the dark. "Nobody move! It is just a power failure!""I can't see!" a woman screamed. I heard a loud crash of glass hitting the floor."Harris! Get the emergency lights on now!" Marcus yelled. "Scarlett? Lydia? Where are you?"I didn't answer. I didn't want him to find me. I remembered what Roman said. Run to the garage. Don't look back. I felt my way along the wall. My fingers touched the cold silk curtains. I moved past a man who smelled like expensive cigars."Watch it!" the man grumbled."Sorry," I whispered.I found the side door that leads to the kitchen hallway. I pushed it open and ran. My gold dress made a loud swish-swish sound on the tile. It wa

The Wrong Person

"Let go of me!" I screamed. I thrashed against Detective Miller’s grip, but he held my arm like a metal claw. The hallway was still pitch black, and the air felt thick with the smell of old cigarettes."Stop moving, Scarlett," Miller growled. "You're acting like a child. I'm trying to save your skin.""You aren't saving me! You're trapping me!" I yelled. I tried to bite his hand, but he moved it just in time. "Roman is waiting for me! He has the truck in the garage!""Roman is an idiot," Miller said. He pulled me deeper into the shadows of the laundry room. "He thinks he’s a hero because he stole some papers. He doesn't know that Marcus lets him steal what he wants. It’s a game, kid.""It’s not a game! He has the proof!" I said. I was crying now, the tears making my lace mask feel wet and heavy. "He has the papers about the girl and the money! He’s going to stop Marcus!""Listen to me," Miller hissed, leaning close to my face. "Marcus Reed didn't get this rich by being sloppy. Those f

The Gun Reveal

I didn't listen to Detective Miller. I didn't care about the party or the music. I ran back into the house, my gold heels clicking like hammers on the floor. I didn't go to the ballroom. I headed for the stairs that led to Marcus’s private study.I didn't stay in the hallway. I pushed the heavy oak door open just enough to see inside Marcus’s study. The room smelled like expensive cigars and old books. Roman was standing in the center of the rug. He looked like a mess. His suit was torn, his hair was wild, and his hand was shaking as he held a black gun pointed right at Marcus’s head."Put the gun down, Roman," Marcus said. He was sitting behind his desk, leaning back in his leather chair. He didn't even look like his heart was beating fast. He looked bored. "You’re making a scene. There are hundreds of people downstairs.""I don't care about the people!" Roman shouted. His voice was raw. "I have the folder, Marcus. I have the bank records from Switzerland. I know you paid that girl,

The Escape Fails

Marcus didn't let go of my arm. He pulled me out of the office and down the hallway while the guards were still yelling outside. My gold dress was heavy, and a piece of the lace caught on a chair, making a loud rip sound. I didn't care. I just wanted to see if Roman was okay."Let me go!" I shouted. "You’re hurting me!""Be quiet, Scarlett," Marcus said. His voice was like ice. "The party isn't over. You are going back down to that ballroom, and you are going to smile until your face aches.""Roman jumped out a window!" I cried. "There is glass everywhere! He could be dead!""He’s too stubborn to die," Marcus said. He stopped in front of a big mirror and fixed his tie. He looked perfectly fine. Not a hair was out of place. "Harris! Report."Harris’s voice came over the radio on Marcus’s shoulder. "The perimeter is locked, sir. No vehicles are leaving. We have the dogs out. He can't get past the south gate.""Good," Marcus said. "Find him and put him in the holding room in the basement

The Public Spin

The morning sun felt too bright. It pushed through my curtains and made my eyes sting. I hadn't slept at all. I just sat by the door, listening for footsteps or the sound of the dogs barking in the woods.Beep-click.The lock turned green. Chloe walked in, holding a tablet and a cup of tea. Her eyes were puffy and red. She looked like she had been crying all night."The news is everywhere, Scarlett," Chloe said. She handed me the tablet. "But it’s not the news we wanted."I looked at the screen. There was a big picture of me in my gold dress, smiling next to Marcus. The headline said: REED GALA SUCCESS: MINOR POWER GLITCH DOESN'T STOP THE CELEBRATION."They aren't saying anything about Roman?" I asked. I pushed the tablet away. "They aren't saying anything about the gun or the broken glass?""Marcus talked to all the big reporters at three in the morning," Chloe said. She sat on the edge of my bed. "He told them Roman had a medical emergency. He said Roman is in a private clinic getti

Roman Found

The garden was quiet after the reporters left, but the house felt loud with secrets. I walked back toward the kitchen, my feet dragging in the grass. Harris was standing by the basement door. He looked sweaty. His black suit was covered in dirt and burrs from the woods."Did you get him?" I asked. I stepped right into his space. I wanted to see if he was shaking."Back off, Scarlett," Harris said. He tapped his earpiece. "He's in the lower room. Marcus is already down there.""Is he hurt? I saw the glass break. I heard the shots," I said. My voice was sharp. I didn't feel like an angel. I felt like a tooth."He’s a mess," Harris said. He let out a dry laugh. "He tried to swim the creek. The dogs got his leg, and the glass got his chest. He's bleeding all over the rug.""Let me see him!" I shouted."No," Harris said. He put a big, heavy hand on my shoulder and pushed me back. "Marcus said no. You go to the dining room and wait for your mother."I didn't go to the dining room. I waited

The First Separation

The black van with Roman inside was gone. The dust from the tires settled back onto the gravel. I turned to run toward the driveway, but two massive guards stepped in front of me. Their suits were tight across their chests. They didn't move. They looked like brick walls."Move," I said."Mr. Reed said you stay inside, Scarlett," the guard on the left said. His name tag said Miller, but he wasn't the detective. He was just a giant with a buzzed head."I'm going to the garage," I said. "I have to get my car.""You don't have a car anymore," Marcus’s voice boomed behind me.I turned around. Marcus was standing on the porch, wiping his hands with a white cloth. There was a tiny drop of Roman's blood on his cuff. He looked at it like it was a piece of dirt."What do you mean?" I asked. My throat felt tight."I mean the keys are in my pocket," Marcus said. He pulled out my phone and held it up. "And this is mine now, too. You’ve been using it to talk to people you shouldn't. From now on, yo

The Interview Trap

The studio lights were hot. They felt like needles pressing into my skin. I sat on a yellow chair that was too soft. My back was stiff. Marcus sat next to me. He looked huge in his navy suit. He smelled like expensive soap and power. He reached over and squeezed my hand. His grip was a warning."Smile, Scarlett," Marcus whispered. He didn't move his lips. "The red light is about to turn on. If you mess this up, Roman loses his bandage privileges. Do you understand?""I understand," I said. My voice sounded thin."Five seconds!" a man with a headset shouted. He pointed a finger at us. "Four, three, two..."The host was a woman named Sarah. She had bright white teeth and eyes that didn't blink enough. She looked at the camera, then at us."We are here with Marcus Reed and his daughter, the lovely Scarlett," Sarah said. She leaned forward. "The world is talking about the gala, Marcus. There are rumors of a blackout, a disturbance, and your son, Roman, being taken away. What really happen

Roman’s Punishment

The valley house was a concrete box tucked into a dip in the hills where the cell service died. I wasn't allowed to go there, but I saw the blueprints in Marcus’s study before he locked the door. It had high fences topped with coiled wire. No windows on the ground floor. Just gray slabs and men with thick necks."He’s awake," Harris said, slamming his tablet shut when I walked into the kitchen. He looked at me with flat, bored eyes. "Not that he has much to do. Marcus cut his cards. His bank accounts are zeros. He doesn't even have a pair of shoes that aren't property of the Reed estate.""Is he eating?" I asked. I felt a sharp, twisting pain in my stomach. "You said he was hurt. He needs a doctor, not a jailer.""He eats what we throw at him," Harris said. He leaned against the counter, his massive frame blocking the light. "Which isn't much since he likes to spit at the guys. Marcus is visiting him today. To finish the talk. To remind the boy who holds the leash."I followed Harris

The Stalker Returns

My new phone sat on the nightstand. It was a silver brick with no apps and no life. Marcus had cleared it of everything except for his number and Lydia’s. Every time I touched the screen, I felt like a guard was watching me from inside the glass.I was staring at the ceiling when the phone vibrated. Buzz. Buzz.I picked it up. There was no name on the screen. Just a string of zeros. I tapped the message."Don't look so sad, Angel," the text read. "The camera loves you when you’re crying."My heart did a hard thump against my ribs. I sat up and looked at the corners of my room. The little red light on the smoke detector blinked back at me. Was it a camera? Was someone watching me right now?"Who is this?" I typed. My thumbs were shaking.A video file popped up. I clicked it. It was grainy and green, like night-vision goggles. I saw the ballroom. I saw the moment the lights went out. But this wasn't the view from the security cameras. This was from high up, near the vents.I saw myself

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