Badass in Disguise (Shadow) novel Chapter 291

8:19 Tue, Sep 30

Badass in Disguise

Chapter 291

‘I don’t have family, Silas said coldly, his face a perfect mask of indifference as he stood across from me in my living room. The overhead

they’re just strangers who happen to share lights cast harsh shadows across his features, highlighting the emptiness in his eyes. “To me, my DNA.

“You feel nothing for Silas, fine. What about your mother?” I asked, my voice cutting through the silence like a blade. “The woman you cared for so long–was she just a stranger with a blood connection too?”

Something flickered in his eyes–a micro–expression so brief I might have missed it if I hadn’t been trained to notice such things. For a moment, I saw a crack in his perfect facade, like lightning illuminating the darkness for a split second before disappearing.

His jaw tightened, muscles tensing beneath the skin.

“I can see her face in your mind, can’t I?” I said, watching his expression closely. “Mrs. Murphy’s emaciated face–those sunken cheeks, protruding cheekbones, skin pulled taut over bone, barely recognizable as human. Yet her eyes, when they looked at you, were always gentle and loving, filled with guilt and hope that never died, no matter how dire your circumstances became.

“She must have been beautiful when she was young, before life beat her down, before illness ravaged her body. She was weak, unable to protect herself or her children, powerless against your father’s rages. But she wasn’t selfish, was she?

“More than once, she begged you to leave this city, to escape your father. ‘Please go,‘ she whispered to you that night, her thin fingers gripping your wrist with surprising strength. There’s nothing for you here but pain.‘ She’d already lost two sons, yet she was willing to bear the pain of separation again, hoping you might find a better life elsewhere.

“When she spoke, it was with great effort, every word a battle against her failing body, yet her voice remained gentle for you. When your father screamed abuse at you, she transformed into a wildcat, protecting you despite her frailty, despite knowing the price she would pay

later.

“There was never much food in your home, but she saved the best portions for you–meager offerings, given with love, hoping you wouldn’t go hungry. She suffered her pain in silence, swallowing her cries, afraid to disturb your rest with her suffering.

“Even getting out of bed was a struggle for her, yet when you fought with your father, she dragged her disease–ravaged body from the mattress to save you.

“Day after day, she would lie in bed, staring at the water–stained ceiling, waiting for you to come home, her face lighting up when she heard your footsteps on the creaking floorboards. Was all that really nothing to you?”

Mrs. Murphy had made her son the sole reason to keep living, the only anchor in her storm–tossed life. She would have given up her life not to burden him–had tried to, in fact. She died never knowing that the son she’d loved for over a decade wasn’t really hers. Never knowing it was her other son–the one she’d waited for all those years–who had destroyed her.

Or had she known?

“My boy,” she’d whispered on her deathbed, her voice so faint he’d had to lean close to hear it, “you’ve grown so tall.”

Had she somehow recognized that he wasn’t Silas? Had she known all along?

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8:19 Tue, Sep 30

Chapter 291

“You think I’d believe that sentimental bullshit? Silas scoffed, covering the momentary lapse in his cold demeanor with forced derision. His fingers twitched slightly at his sides.

I took a step closer, my footsteps deliberate on the hardwood floor. “Are you scared, Silas? Is that what this is about?”

His eyes narrowed dangerously, pupils contracting. “Of what? Your amateur psychological games?”

“The truth,” I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper. “The story you told Chris Jensen in his office–that wasn’t your story.”

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