Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 30

“It’s Sebastian.”

The voice sounded like her oldest brother’s, but Gabriel’s paranoia had taken root in Vivian as she took a few steps towards the door and hesitated. “How do I know for sure?” She finally called out, wincing at how childish she felt at needing confirmation.

There was silence on the other side of the door before her phone pinged. Looking at it, she opened the text that had come through. It was a photo of Sebastian standing in front of the office door, eyebrows raised as if asking ‘is this proof enough’?

Holding back a laugh while still feeling stupid for needing confirmation, Vivian unlocked the door and opened it to see her brother looking down at her, arm crossed but amusement on his face. “Sorry,” she mumbled as she stepped out. “Gabriel was being weird about not opening it for anyone but you.”

A sudden pressure on top of her head made Vivian start, but her brother’s hand was warm as he mussed her hair for a second before she swatted him away. “I’m glad to see you took his words seriously,” Sebastian replied before turning and walking down the stairs. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

Fixing her hair as they left the garage, she watched Sebastian punch in the code for the alarm before stepping outside and double checking the door was locked. Vivian wondered if this brother knew what was going on and how far it went.

Would their father know about it? What about Laurent?

It almost made her want to search for more information on the Devreauxs.

Almost.

Ignorance is bliss, she told herself as she slid into the back seat of Sebastian car. “You know you’re allowed to sit up front,” he told her as their gazes met via the rear view mirror.

“I prefer it back here,” she replied. It was half true.

What she didn’t feel like saying was by sitting in the back, behind the front passenger’s seat, the driver couldn’t easily reach her if she chose to open the door and jump out. If she needed to escape it was the one seat that gave her the best chance of success.

Did she think her brother would do something to make her run? No. But she was preprogrammed to keep herself safe no matter who was around or where she was, at any given time.

Sebastian let silence descend upon them as he pulled out into traffic. It was only once they were almost home that he decided to break it. “Did you have fun with Gabriel?”

Nodding, Vivian said, “It was fun.”

“I thought you weren’t into cars?”

“I’m not.” She could almost hear the confusion Sebastian must be feeling at her answer.

“As long as you had a good time.”

Maybe she wasn’t the only one who’d learned to not ask deeper questions.

Now that she thought about it, Samuel had also never asked about her mother — his lost wife — nor had he ever so much as brushed the subject of the first eight years of her life.

The years no one was able to find information on.

From what Vivian had been told and understood after meeting him, Samuel was a man who liked to know what was going on. It was a control thing, but instead of being controlling he’d given her more freedom than any of her previous homes, leaving her feeling confused about him.

Why would someone like that not try to get answers from her the first chance he got? Was he waiting for her to drop her guard? Did he actually not care?

No, that wasn’t it, Vivian told herself with a shake of her head. He wanted answers and she doubted anything could stand in his way for long, herself included. There would come a time he would ask of her things she’d refuse to say out loud, and at that time who he truly was would come to the surface.

The thought of seeing her father without the calm mask in place made her anxious, but Vivian wasn’t one to lie to herself about anything. Everyone put on a good face in the beginning, but it would be only a matter of time before it slipped and their true nature came through.