Bittersweet Memories (Off-Limits)

Amy’s tense expression instantly puts me on edge, and I straighten in my seat. She grimaces as she closes the door behind her, taking a moment before turning toward me, almost as though she’s bracing herself.

“What is it?” I ask, my voice soft. “Just tell me.”

She nods and clutches her tablet tightly. “I found out where Alanna’s scholarship money came from.” She walks up to me and puts her tablet down before turning it my way and sliding it over. “You won’t believe this, but I triple checked my sources and even asked Aria Callahan to assist me with this, and it’s correct. The money came from the man who was convicted for Alanna’s father’s death.”

I pick the tablet up and go through the files, struggling to believe what I’m reading. It looks like he was paid a hundred grand to assist Alanna’s father with his insurance fraud.

“He never expected to be caught. They’d planned the hit in detail, but they were caught by an eyewitness. He may not have realized that him confessing in return for a more lenient sentence also meant Alanna didn’t get any of the insurance money she would have gotten, and I suppose he felt some remorse. He knew what her father was doing it for, after all. When she lost her memory, he thought a fresh start would be good for her, so he had his family make the arrangements and used some of her father’s money on her.”

The road to hell truly is paved with good intentions. I understand the sentiment behind the decision that was made, but I’m not sure it was what was best for Alanna. I suppose she got a better education than she would have been able to afford here, but I also lost her in the process.

“Thank you,” I tell her.

Amy smiles at me and shakes her head. “Once we learned she’d been in London, it became a lot easier to track down more details. I’m sorry it took so long to find her, but the way she came back definitely seems like fate to me. Her applying to join Sinclair Security when we’d so desperately been trying to find her? I know you don’t like to hear these types of things, but maybe it’s a matter of it finally being the right place and the right time.”

I chuckle and lean back into my seat. “You really are a hopeless romantic, aren’t you?”

Amy shrugs. “Your story is the stuff of legends. Do you have any idea how exciting it is for me to watch it unfold in real life? Someday, someone is going to write a book about you two.”

I shake my head at her, but before I can even retort, my door opens and Ryan storms in. Amy and I both tense, and she crosses her arms in annoyance.

“Silas,” he says, his tone aggrieved. “Why are you doing this to me?”

I frown in confusion and sit up. “What, exactly?”

“I told you that Alanna and I had an argument, and not only did you refuse to let me join her department, you also revoked my access to this floor, so I can’t even come see her. I had to wait for someone to take the elevator up to this floor just so I could ride up with them.”

I hate having her name in his fucking mouth. I hate that he knows anything about her at all. I glance at my watch, thankful that Alanna is in a meeting right now. I don’t even want him seeing her. “My office is not some goddamn playground,” I snap. “You can’t just go wherever the fuck you please. Besides, you two broke up, didn’t you? Am I just supposed to let you harass my employees?”

“It’s just a misunderstanding,” Ryan says. “It’s just temporarily. I hurt her, but I’ll make it up to her.”

Like hell he will. I won’t give him the chance. “Why did you break up? What did you do to her?”

Ryan tenses and shakes his head. “I said some things I didn’t mean, but I’ll make it up to her, and she’ll forgive me. Just please, Silas. Reinstate my access to this floor and please stop limiting my credit card transactions. I tried to send her a large bouquet of flowers today and couldn’t even do that.”

I frown at him, my finger tapping on my desk. Alanna never told me what he did to her and I didn’t want to upset her by questioning her. If it truly is a misunderstanding, is there a chance she might forgive him?

“So this is all about the money?” I ask. Does he think I’ll lift the restrictions on his card if he leads me to believe he wants to spend money on Alanna? What game is my little brother playing? Was I truly wrong about him?

Ryan grits his teeth and shakes his head. “No, Silas. It isn’t. Not entirely, but yes, that’s one of the reasons I’m here. When you bought Mom out and took back the house and all our assets, you told me I wouldn’t be impacted by it at all, and that I wouldn’t lose the lifestyle I’d gotten accustomed to. You swore to me I’d always have a place to live and that I’d never have to worry about money, so long as I got my act together and stopped partying and drinking. You told me to be a person you could be proud of, and I tried. I’ve done all I could. I barely drink, I only go out every few weeks, I work for you at Sinclair Security, and I even volunteer once a month. Yet you randomly restricted my credit card. I don’t understand what I’ve done.”

I stare at him, wondering if he truly is innocent or if he approached Alanna knowing what she means to me. Was it his mother’s orchestrations, or was he in on it? If he’s innocent, then I can’t hurt him more than I already have. I can’t break the promise I made my father.

I run a hand through my hair, torn. I don’t want Alanna to remember her past when her brain decided that she’s best off without those memories. I don’t want to put her through pain or risk distorting her memories, so I can’t let him know about my past with her if he truly is unaware. So far, he hasn’t given me any indication that he knows about us, but can I trust him? I’m starting to worry that Amy is right about him. I’ve been so focused on the fact that he’s my only remaining family member that I’ve turned a blind eye to too many things.

“Your credit card is for dinner, groceries, that kind of thing. It isn’t for large purchases, that’s what I gave you a job for. So why is it you took out 10k in cash?”

Ryan shifts his weight from one foot to the other nervously. “I… um,” he stammers, clearly flustered. Maybe I wasn’t wrong about him at all. He isn’t that good of a liar. If he knew about Alanna and me, he’d have let it slip already.

“I’m not lifting the restrictions until you can tell me what you used the money for. Until then, I need you to get back to work. Do not fuck around at work, Ryan. Do not come here during working hours if you don’t have a legitimate reason to be here. You’re not exempt from maintaining professional standards just because you’re my brother. I will fire you.”

He looks at me contritely and nods before turning away, his shoulders slumped. The more I observe him, the more certain I am that he’s just a puppet in his mother’s schemes. He’s just an angry kid, like I once was. Mona must have pushed him toward Alanna, but to what end?