Ellis

 

My parents and I are working today at Tony’s home, attempting to sort his belongings for an estate auction. We need to decide what to keep and what to discard. I’m alone in my brother’s office, and the room is a disaster.

He wasn’t neat like me, and it doesn’t help that the detectives rummaged through his things, looking for evidence. Thankfully, they don’t know where his safe is hidden. A safe that may hold sensitive information; secrets that could tarnish my family’s name.

I’ve avoided opening it for hours, worried of what I could uncover inside. Since I have to take its contents home to look through, I decide to get it over with. Locking the door to his office, I go to the credenza against the wall.

I shove it over, revealing my brother’s safe. We exchanged our passwords years ago, before he was corrupt, in the case something like this happened to one of us.

I put in the code, and son of a bitch, he changed it. That conniving shit. Falling to the floor, I sit and think. My brother was smart, but not smarter than me. I can figure this out.

I try several codes from various dates of importance, knowing damn well Tony wouldn’t use anything obvious. Not with his job title.

I rub my temples. I’m tired, having stayed up late with Camilla. Meeting her turned my life upside down, mostly in a good way, but it’s been stressful nonetheless.

Camilla … Liam. No, it’s not possible. Why did the thought even cross my mind? He didn’t know about his son. There’s not a reason to try, yet my fingers can’t help but punch in my nephew’s birthdate.

I hear the click, the unlocking of the truth. I fall back to my ass again and bury my face in my hands.

No. Just fucking no.

I finally get the courage to look inside the dark box built into the wall. There are tons of documents I’ll have to go through over time, but I shuffle through the huge stack, looking for something about Liam.

His birthdate is the damn code, so there has to be at least one piece of evidence that substantiates what a heartless dick my brother was, and then I find it.

The words Camilla Rose are written on a large white envelope that’s closed by little silver clasps. I open it and find pictures of Camilla taken from a distance.

There are a few of her and Liam out in public places and some that appear recent from the looks of Liam’s size. Lastly, I find his birth certificate. No father listed.

Tony knew about his child and did nothing to be a part of his life, or Camilla didn’t tell me the truth, but I can’t see a reason for her to lie.

As soon as she felt threatened in my car that night she would’ve told me Tony knew. Not to mention, she was living at poverty level. If he was seeing Liam, she would’ve been in a better place financially.

How could he not take care of his son? How could he be such a selfish bastard? Growling, I stand and look for anything to throw. Spotting a round glass paperweight, I grab it and launch it across the room. It connects with a bookcase, rattling it loudly.

“Ellis, are you OK?” my mother asks as she knocks on the door.

“Just a minute,” I yell before I shut the safe and quietly slide the credenza back in place. Blowing out some of my anger, I march to the door and open it.

“What are you doing in here? What was that noise?”

“Something fell off the bookcase. I’m still packing up Tony’s things.”

With the back of her hand, she dabs at the sweat above her lip. From her bun, blond strands of hair have fallen around her face, so she brushes them back.

Her hair color should be grey, but she’s determined not to give in to that fact. She’s even in jeans, which is unusual for her. She’s almost always dressed impeccably.

“Your father and I are exhausted and taking off for the day. We’ll return tomorrow.”

“OK.”

“Don’t forget we have that benefit dinner coming up. This one is of the utmost importance, so I expect you to attend.”

I roll my eyes. “Mother, you say that about every event you host.”

“This one is in honor of your brother. Remember? You said I could auction off his collection of paintings to raise money for the Burke Literacy Foundation, so I expect you to be there.”

“Fine. I’ll, uh, need an extra seat at our table.”

“Are you bringing a date?” Her voice is an octave higher as she attempts to hide her smile.

“Yes. Actually, she’s more than that to me.”

“Oh, who is she? I’m sure I know her family.” My mother, Estella, is now clasping her hands in front of her as the Ellis movie plays in her head, with herself cast as the main supporting role.

There are scenes with the planning and execution of a grand wedding and a joining of two affluent families. It would showcase the parties, dinners, showers, and whatever else people like her do for attention.

That’s not my style, and I guarantee it’s not Camilla’s, either; although, she’d show grace through anything. I’m sure of it.

“You don’t know her family. She’s not from this area, and much like me, she keeps to herself. She’s into philanthropy, though, so you two should have plenty to discuss.”

“Now, I’m really intrigued.” Mother grabs me for an embrace. “I’m happy for you and can’t wait to meet her.”

“I need to get back to work. You get some rest.”

After she leaves, I’m plagued with panic. Do I tell Camilla that Tony knew about Liam? Would it crush her to think he cared so little about her and their son? Their son.

I can’t stand the sound of it since I’ve developed feelings for her. And after what my brother did, he doesn’t deserve to be Liam’s father.

What if this news makes Camilla leave? She’d no longer have an obligation to stay, no guilt for believing Tony didn’t know.

She’ll be bitter and will never want his last name on her child’s birth certificate. My last name. And I couldn’t blame her since right now I’m ashamed to call him my brother.