Falling for my Enemy's Brother Chapter 11: Cut from the same cloth

I walked fast across the campus courtyard, hoping the pace would burn off so of the emotion still clinging to .

My eyes were still a little swollen from last night, proof I’d cried myself to sleep again. I looked like hell, but whatever. It matched the way I felt inside anyway.

Laughter and voices floated around , distant and hollow. The world hadn’t stopped, even though mine had cracked open. I tucked my chin down and wrapped my arms tighter around myself, trying to block everything out. I didn’t want anyone to see like this.

Then I heard it, quick and intentional footsteps.

"rlina, wait up!"

I turned halfway, not surprised to see gan. Phoebe trailed close behind her. They both wore that familiar look, guilt written all over their faces.

"I’m sorry. We... we didn’t an to hurt you," Phoebe said, her voice thinner than usual. "It was stupid. Really stupid."

"Yeah," gan added, softer than I’d expected. "We were out of line. And... we didn’t know. We didn’t know who your mom was."

I stared at them, arms folded tightly over my chest. Pity wasn’t what I needed. This sudden concern felt fake, and every part of wanted to scream, but I held it in. My voice ca out brittle instead.

"It’s fine," I said, the lie hanging between us. "You didn’t know. But it’s hard... hearing things like that when no one ever tells the truth."

I saw the hit. It wasn’t anger in my voice, it was sothing else, sothing raw. The silence stretched between us. gan took a small step forward.

"What do you an?" she asked gently. "What happened to your mom?"

I almost turned away, almost kept it to myself. But the weight of it had been building too long. I exhaled, slow and deliberate, and let the truth inch forward.

"My dad told it was an accident. That’s all. All year, we never talked about it. Not once. Like it didn’t happen, or like it was forbidden to speak about. But I know he’s hiding sothing. I can feel it. I need to know the truth."

gan and Phoebe exchanged a quiet look, their faces softening with understanding.

"I want to help," gan said. "Actually... I know soone who might know more. My brother, Louis. He’s been following the case. I think he could help you."

Phoebe nodded. "We’re really sorry, rlina. Let us make it right."

I hesitated, but my body relaxed, just a little. Maybe this was a start.

"Your brother, Louis... can I et him?"

The ride to Louis’ dorm was tense. I stared out the window, while buildings blurred past like a movie on mute. Every bump in the road pressed harder against the knot in my chest.

gan knocked on the door, sharp and fast. "Louis, open up. It’s ."

The door creaked open, revealing Louis. He looked like he hadn’t left his laptop in days, rumpled shirt, ssy hair, and eyes too sharp for soone his age.

He glanced up and saw behind gan. "Didn’t expect company."

"This is my friend rlina," gan said. "rlina, my brother Louis."

"Nice to et you," I said quietly.

"Sa," he replied, offering a half-smile. "Am I in trouble or sothing?"

"The world doesn’t revolve around you," gan snapped.

"We need your help," she said, her voice turning serious. "Rember that professor you told about? The one who was... assaulted and—"

"Mrs. Marjorie Sanchez?" Louis interrupted. "Yeah. She was my Eco Professor. Why?"

gan stepped aside, revealing . "You’re looking at her daughter."

Silence. Louis stared at like the ground had shifted under his feet.

"You’re her daughter?"

I nodded, my heart pounding. "I need to know what happened the night she died. gan said there was a suspect."

Louis pushed his laptop aside and sat up straighter.

"First, I’m sorry about your mom." His voice softened, careful. "The police never officially said it, but... the pri suspect was Conor."

I froze.

"Everything pointed to him. He swore he didn’t do it. And sohow, the whole case just... disappeared. So people believed he was innocent. Most didn’t."

"But why?" I asked. "Why would he do that to her?"

"He was obsessed with your mother. Everyone knew. She reported him after he crossed lines, he got suspended briefly. But he didn’t stop. Said he was going to get his way, one way or another."

Louis’ expression darkened. "The night she was found... Conor was the last person on your mom’s call log. He was also found unconscious near the scene, in his car. Claid he’d been drugged. The cops bought it. Her death got written off as a tragic accident. But a lot of people think his family made it all go away."

I stared at the floor, my heart racing.

"Conor’s mom’s a Judge," Louis added. "Dad’s a big shot in finance. That kind of power? It buys silence."

My voice trembled. "What else do you know?"

"Not everything. But I’ve been following the threads. Every ti Conor screws up, the world just... forgets. His record’s cleaner than it should be." Louis’s jaw tightened. "Conor Lesnar’s one lucky bastard."

My breath caught. "Lesnar...?"

gan remained unfazed beside .

Louis nodded. "Yeah. The Lesnars, they’re... untouchable. They made the whole investigation vanish, people stopped asking questions. He didn’t just get off clean; he’s been living like nothing ever happened. There are rumors, whispers, but the Lesnars hold the kind of power that makes silence louder than justice."

I turned to gan, my heart in my throat. "Hold on... Conor Lesnar, as in Craig Lesnar? Are they—"

"Brothers? Yes," Louis confird. "Cut from the sa cloth. You know Craig Lesnar?"

My stomach dropped. My face burned. "Yeah... no... um... I kinda know him." I stole a quick glance at gan, half-expecting her to say sothing, but she stayed quiet, her expression neutral.

Louis leaned back, eyes narrowing. "That one’s just as twisted. A delusion of superiority runs through their veins like it’s their birthright. There’s a darkness in that family."

The words hit hard. I swallowed, struggling to grasp everything I’d just learned.

"Did you know about this?" I asked gan, voice low and accusatory.

How could she have known so much about the Lesnars, their wealth, their father, without ever ntioning the darker side of it? The fact that his brother was a suspect in a murder here at this school, and yet it never ca up in any conversation?

We had dinner with him at Barsea. Laughed at his best friend’s jokes. Heck-Phoebe’s dating his best friend!

gan knew about his family’s influence, but this? Why hadn’t she said anything? Was it just... not important enough to ntion? Was my mom’s death really that insignificant?

"No, I’m just as shocked as you are," gan said gently. "But rlina... you need to be careful. This runs deeper than we thought."

I looked back at Louis, my jaw clenched.

"Craig Lesnar..." I whispered, barely able to force the na past my lips. His na tasted different now, like sothing sharp and all shades of wrong.

Like poison.

"I know," Louis said. "It’s a ss. But I’ll help you. We’ll get to the bottom of it."

I nodded slowly. My shock was fading, replaced with sothing hotter, sharper.

"I need to know everything," I said. "About Conor. About Craig. All of it."

"You got it."

I looked at gan. She nodded.

"I told you I’d help," she said. "I will."

I took a long breath.

This was it. The mont everything shifted. The reason I ca to Belview was no longer just a quiet ache, it was real now, unfolding right in front of . The beginning of the truth. The beginning of everything.

"Then let’s get started." I cleared my throat, trying to shake off the weight of everything I’d just learned.

But there was one more thing I needed to say. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, staring at the glowing screen for a mont before holding it up to Louis and gan.

"I’ve been getting these texts," I said, my voice steady despite the tremor in my fingers. "From an unknown number."

Louis furrowed his brow. "What kind of texts?"

I handed it to gan. She scanned it quickly, her eyes narrowing.

’Stop digging, rlina. There are eyes on you, eyes that can see everything. The truth isn’t what you think it is. It’s closer than you realize.’

I felt the weight of their silence before Louis spoke.

"Jesus," he muttered. "This... this has been happening for a while?"

I nodded, looking at both of them now. "For weeks. And I don’t know who it is, or how they even know I’m here. But it feels... strange."

gan handed the phone back, her expression serious now. "This isn’t just a coincidence. Soone’s watching you."

Louis leaned back, running a hand through his hair. "We need to figure out who’s behind this, and fast. If soone’s trying to warn you, they might know more than we think."

"I don’t know what to do with this," I whispered. "I thought it was just so sick joke at first, but now... I don’t know anymore."

gan’s eyes softened, but her tone was firm. "rlina, whoever’s sending those ssages knows more than they’re letting on. And they’re not the only ones who’ve been watching."

I shivered at her words, and Louis added, "This is deeper than I thought, soone is pulling strings. We have to be careful about what we dig into."

Louis’ earlier words echoed in my thoughts.

There’s darkness in that family.

That one’s just as twisted.

They’re cut from the sa cloth.

And deep down, a question started to burn.

Was Craig Lesnar just like his murderous brother?