Disillusioned (Swept Away 2)

I stared at him in shock as he laughed. Jakob walked over to him and punched him in the face.

I watched as David fell back and looked at his brother with hatred. “What the fuck?” David glared at Jakob. “Bros before hos, man.”

“I don’t know what you’re playing at, David.” Jakob pulled him up off the floor. “I could kill you right now without blinking an eyelid.”

“You’re just jealous of me. You always were and you always will be,” David sneered. “You’re the illegitimate son. You’ve always had something to prove. You can’t stand being under me. You can’t stand that I run the company.”

“What are you talking about?” I looked at both of them in confusion. What was going on here? “I thought you didn’t work at Bradley.” I looked at David in confusion. “I thought you just lived off of your trust.”

“Stupid girl,” he sneered. “You still don’t get it? I’m the one in charge. The big boss. The CEO. I more than work at Bradley Inc., I run it.” He smirked as he watched me.

“But Mattias . . .” I didn’t even know why I was bringing him up anymore. I didn’t understand what the fuck was going on, but I knew that there was no Mattias.

“There is no Mattias,” Jakob said softly, confirming what had been in the back of my mind for a little while. He turned to look at me, a look of pity on his face. “There is no Mattias, Bianca.”

“I don’t understand.” My voice cracked. “What do you mean? Why would you create a fake person?” David started laughing, a loud, hysterical sound. I stared at his face and noticed just how calculating he looked, just how deceptive his eyes were. How had I ever thought this man was boyish and charming?

“Did you really think you were that smart, you dumb bitch? Did you really think I would lead you to Mattias?” David looked at me disdainfully. “Did you really think you could con your way into a shareholders’ meeting of one of the biggest companies in the world and not be found out?”

I chewed on my lower lip and stared at him, not saying anything.

“Larry called me and told me that you’d asked him to procure shares to come to the meeting. We both knew that there was only one reason for you to be at that meeting.”

“Larry told you I was coming?”

“Yes, ‘Uncle Larry’ told me everything.” David laughed. “He told me about the boxes of papers your dad left for you. I told him to destroy them, but I think he felt guilty, so he handed them to you. Worst decision he ever made. If he’d just destroyed those boxes, he could have saved all of us a lot of aggravation.”

“You knew this?” I looked at Jakob with hurt eyes, but he didn’t respond. “So there is no Mattias?” I looked at David. “So all this time, all those days you said you were asking him to join us for dinner, you were lying.”

“What do you think?” David sneered. “Didn’t you ever think it was weird that there were no photos of Mattias and no one had ever met him and that he didn’t even go to his own company’s shareholder meeting?”

“I just don’t understand. It says he’s the CEO on the company website. Your father’s bio says he has two sons, Mattias and David Bradley.”

“I did have a brother.” David shrugged. “He died when he was a baby, but his name wasn’t Mattias. Mattias was a name that Larry came up with, actually.” David laughed.

“Larry?” I frowned. “Larry knew there was no Mattias?”

“I should think so. He’s the one who did all the legal paperwork for the corporation. He’s the one who took care of everything.”

“Why?”

“My father thought it would be easier on me if people thought there was someone else in charge of the corporation.” David looked cynical. “And it’s true. People don’t bother me as much. I don’t have gold diggers and other leeches chasing me down so much. People think I’m the playboy son, nothing important—and that’s how I like it.”

“You knew?” I turned to Jakob. “You knew there was no Mattias and you didn’t tell me?”

“What could I say?” He pursed his lips, his blue eyes unreadable as he stared at me.

“I don’t even know what to say.” I shook my head, my entire body shaking from the shock. “You deliberately let me believe you were Mattias.”

“You’re the one who assumed I was Mattias. I never said I was.” He shook his head and walked toward me. “You asked me if I was David’s brother and I said yes. I never said my name was Mattias. I never lied to you, Bianca. I tried to tell you that there were things you didn’t know.”

“Don’t be mad at him,” David cut Jakob off. “You can’t believe that a stupid little girl like you can manipulate us? We’re Bradleys, Bianca. You can’t just show up and act like Nancy Drew and not set off our warning signals.”

“Is that why you both threatened Larry?” I looked back and forth at them. “Is that why he’s in hiding? Did he set off your warning bells as well? Were you scared he was going to come clean about everything? And what did you do to Steve? Was that all part of the act as well? Where is he now? Laughing in some hotel room and counting all of the money you paid him?”

“What?” David frowned, his expression changing, and he looked at Jakob. “What’s she talking about? What threats did you send to Larry?”