Chapter 11: Broken

Siren's POV:

Jumping down the large walls surrounding our backyard was a bit of a task, especially in the night. But as the moonlight lit the yard, I managed to leap down without any damage.

Even through the clouds circling the sky, the moon still managed to shine vibrant in its halo against the dark night.

Inhaling deeply, I could smell the sweet peach blossoms, celandines and amaranths. I almost laughed, happiness and liveliness was far from what I felt but the aesthetic shades of aquamarine, teal, blush and mauve did what they were meant to do. Calm me down.

The sky too was a calming shade of blue with hues of lavendar, the trees lining against the raised fence making the yard look sublime, if you could call it that. The flowers spanning across the yard made it look more like a fictional place out of a fairytale. That wasn't a coincidence. I had practically begged mom to make the garden look like that. This house was my own fairytale world, unfortunately what I failed to understand at the time was that every fairytale entails a series of dark scenes. This felt like the beginning of mine.

Sneaking in through the back door, I quietly shut it as I walked into the mansion.

No one knew about my nighttime slip, I made sure of it. Every night I would go to the cementery, quietly sit by my parents grave untill I felt strong enough to face my siblings. Sometimes I felt like it was all my fault.

Everything felt gloomy as I entered, especially after the funeral. My parent's funeral. I stifled the sob that threatened to break my heart.

It hurt so bad, the thought that I would never see them again, feel my mom's hand gently stroking my head, dad's warm hugs and most importantly the feeling of being loved. It left a hole in my heart. I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that they were really gone, forever.

But I had to be strong, it was the only way our family wouldn't break down. Aria was scared and Liam kept asking me when mom and dad would be back, I still didn't have the heart to tell him that they would never be coming back. He was still too young to understand the concept of death.

The twins were the only ones blissfully unaware of the situation and while it hurt my heart to think that they'd never get to meet their parents, there was a part of me who thought it was better this way. At least they wouldn't feel the loneliness we all are feeling right now.

Just as I was about to walk up the stairs to my room when I heard distant murmurings. Curious and unable to stop myself, I stepped quietly over to the downstairs study, passing the grand living room which was filled with flowers from my parents funeral.

A lot of people wanted to be in my good graces nowadays since I was the sole heir to what could only be described as an empire. My mom had built it from the ground up and combined with Dad's wealth, it was all worth well over a billion dollars.

"But we have to do something or she'd get everything we worked so hard for," It was an unfamiliar voice, I had never heard before in my life.

"There's just no way, no loophole to work around, " An irritable voice replied. I recognised it instantly. It was my Sam, my stepbrother, the oldest.

"So what? You're going to let her take over?"

"No, of course not. Poor Shi Ren is naive and lonely at the moment. She'd do anything she's told because I have her best interests at heart," His voice was still muffled.

What is he going on about?

"I still can't believe your parents would do that to you. They didn't even include you or your other siblings in that will. Isn't that a bit too cruel?" It was a woman's voice, now clearer as she scoffed.

I thought it was kind of unfair too, the fact that my parents left everything to me. Even though Sam was the acting CEO until I wanted to take over. But then again, would I stoop so low as to keep everything to myself and kick my siblings out? Of course not. So, it was a moot point anyways.

"We have to get on with it. I cannot prolong this anymore. If she turns 18..." He trailed off and for a second, I panicked, thinking that he somehow knew I was listening in but then he spoke again.

"We have to do it after her birthday," She said quietly.

Who is this woman? And what is she doing here? Is she Sam's girlfriend? I felt bad for eavesdropping on their private conversation but as soon as my name was mentioned, my interest was piqued.

"Obviously," I could almost see him rolling his eyes,"Once her will is prepared and she signs it, it'll all be done."

My will? I was still so confused. I had zero idea what they were talking about.

"But are you sure you could make her sign it? She may be a child but she grew up in this world and she probably knows better than to sign a will that would hand over all her assets to you after her death."

"Come on, she sees me as her brother, best friend and there's no way in hell she will read her will. It's her trusted lawyer who'd do it for her," he chuckled quietly.

He was my lawyer.

"Wouldn't it be suspicious that she'd die so quickly after signing her will?"

My heart felt like it was being suffocated as my brain processed the words. They were planning on.... killing me?

I refused to believe it untill the next few words left Sam's mouth,"Her parents just died, she's depressed and overdoses on sleeping pills a few days before she signed a will so that her family could live comfortably without her. After all of this, she decided she has done enough and can go peacefully. Her suicide note would help a lot too. It's the perfect set up."

No. No. No.

It was the perfect set up, indeed. I had been in the hospital yesterday because of the overdose and now he had the perfect story.

I felt the ground spinning around me, my balance was lost as my legs were about to give up but I forced myself to stand straight.

He was my brother. The only human being I had trusted more than myself. A plethora of memories flashed in my head. When he was there for me in place of our parents, when he sneaked chocolates to me when our parents grounded me, when he braided my hair for school because I had no idea how to, when he stood up for me against our parents, when he went away to finish college and when he came back.

And then I remembered how I'd scoffed everytime I had heard someone say, Blood is thicker than water.

Another horrific thought struck me as I remembered my parents accident. Had it really been an accident? Or had they planned this all along?

Had they really killed our parents?

"What if that doesn't work out, what if she's suspicious or we fail and she reports us?" The female voice interjected.

And then he added the words to fuel my growing terror,"I always have an ace up my sleeve, babe."

What else did he have in mind?

It was like someone drowned me in cold water after piercing a million needles in my heart.

He couldn't do anything until I signed those papers, everything was still mine. They aren't going to do anything today. They can't make me sign a will before I'm legally 18 and if I were to die before that, all of my siblings would have equal shares. It was obviously not something he wanted.

I quietly ran back to my room, gathering the stuff I needed, my mind blank as my survival instincts kicked in. All I knew was that I needed to get out of here as soon as possible. Terror gripped ny veins as I thought about what he was capable of. And then I thought about my siblings. My hands halted as I did.

I can't leave them here and I can't take them with me.

I could sneak myself out of here alone but not all of us.

And then all of the extra security and added measures Sam had insisted on made sense. He wasn't trying to protect me from what was outside, he was trying to cage me in so I had no help whatsoever.

He had thought over everything, even if I found out, I couldn't leave.

Lightning flashed against the window, rattling me out of my restless slumber and horrifying nightmares.

I was thankful I jerked awake before my nightmare continued. The flashes of blood-drenched faces, horrifying betrayals and stark terror were barely manageable. I didn't need to recall everything.

The nightmare had already opened the doors to my misery and it felt like everything I had holding back was about to burst out into the forefront of my mind, like flood gates being opened.

As I started gaining consciousness, I looked around myself. I was in a moving car. I sat up straight, instantly regretting it as my head ached. And then I remembered the events of the night, pool, poker, that stupid kiss.

"It's fine, we're almost home," The voice was familiar but I didn't know who it was. I forced my eyes open to see Adrik sitting  beside me, my heels were on the floor of the car and I didn't feel any better.

I didn't know what to say. I had kissed him and then passed out. That's not something an escort would do.

"I'm sorry for passing out but you didn't leave the event on my account, did you?" I finally asked politely, my mind detached from my body as I tried not to think about...Sam.

Was it really even him or was it a look alike?

"No, it's fine. I had some urgent business to take care of anyway," He paused for a moment,"Thank you for accompanying me tonight."

He dropped me at Selene's house and the ride back to mine was really long as I pondered over what his presence means. He's still looking for me, of course he is. After all, he wanted my money and his revenge so badly.

After that day I had my will made, it said that if I were to ever die, all of the money and assets would be liquefied and donated to charity. There was no way I'd been proclaimed dead after my disappearance. He would have to find me before he could acquire my wealth.

The cab stopped and so did my train of thoughts as I stepped out, dazed and half-drunk after paying the cabbie.

My mind was gripped in terror as I considered what would happen if he actually found me.

I had to leave. A week and a half. Just a week and a half until Mason gets better. Please god. I prayed.

Quietly tiptoeing into the appartment, I checked in on the boys. Aria still wasn't back from her hospital visit.

Changing into my PJs, I walked into the bathroom, my bare feet slapping against the cold tiles. Under the sink, I opened the cabinet, pulling out the bottle of pills.

A warm hand on my shoulder startled me and I dropped the container, the pills falling everywhere.

Sweet, honey eyes looked at me with concern,"Unnie, hajima."

(Don't do it)

I turned around, my back against the counter as I slid down, my weight feeling too heavy. Aria hugged me close, her fingers combing my tangled hair from me running my hands though it.

Seven months, that's how long had gone without drugs, sleeping drugs, to be precise. I had started taking them right after my parents died. It was medically prescribed and they warned me to use it with caution.

I didn't.

Instead I abused the hell out of it. I couldn't sleep and if I was waking, I would think about home everytime. So I decided the best way to stop thinking would be to remain unconscious.

One pill turned into two, two into three untill I was on the verge of addiction.

Because "A little bit of this and the pain will disappear."

I would've overdosed, again if Aria didn't catch me and forced me to throw it all up in the toilet.

I loathe myself because I almost lost my brothers because of my foolish actions.

Although Aria wasn't any better, around the same time, I started using pills; she would come home drunk every night. She was underage, merely fifteen. It was just small doses until she came back home one day fully drunk.

When she caught me overdosing on sleeping pills, she cracked and started breaking into tears.

After that, Aria and I finally stopped turning a blind eye on the situation and agreed to keep each other in check.

I cried my heart out and my arms tightened around Aria as I remembered everything I put her through and still do. She's not even an adult yet.

I was sobbing by the time the boys woke up, probably after hearing me. They didn't utter a single word as they watched us, they simply ran up to us, hugging me tight as we all cried in the middle of the night. Our broken family fell asleep on the freezing tiles that night.

A/N: kind of sappy, I know but what are your thoughts? Lemme know in the comments.