And now, unbelievably, he remembered every single one of their secrets...


    He might as well be a criminal. He could practically feel his brothers'' heated stares burning holes through him, their eyes full of usation.


    Ss was speechless.


    Saying sorry now wouldn''t help, would it?


    Why did he get the feeling they all wanted to strangle him?


    Desperately, he nced over at Calliope, silently begging for help.


    Calliope picked up on the murderous vibes from the brothers. She had no idea what they''d talked aboutst night, and even less clue about why the air was so thick with tension.


    She looked at them with a mix of confusion and caution. "What''s going on? Didst night''s chat not go well?"


    "Yeah, you could say that,” Julius replied. “Mr. Myers, did somethinge back to you?"


    Ss yed dumb, rubbing his temples. "I think I had a bit too much whiskey. It''s all kind of hazy."


    "Really?" Norton fixed him with a re that could freeze ake.


    "Really," Ss insisted, keeping up the act. "My mind''s a total nk."


    "Funny, Mr. Myers didn''t seem nearly as drunk as the rest of us," Quentin muttered, frowning. "He was the one grilling us, actually."


    Now their secrets were all out in the open-at least, out to him. It was like the three brothers were standing there stark naked in front of Ss.


    He was the one who should be baring his soul to them, but instead, they''d ended up spilling everything to him.


    They all looked torn, staring at Ss, wanting to say something, but in the end, no one spoke up.


    "Rx, I''m not going to b," Ss said helplessly. "I''ll keep my mouth shut, promise. And, uh... I didn''t mean to interrogate you guys. It''s just a habit."


    He''d had some training, when someone tried to get information out of him, he''d never talk. But he did have a talent for flipping the script and getting people to spill instead.


    It had all been unconscious on his part. He honestly had no idea what he''d done.


    Quentin and the others seemed to pick up on that. So, they let it drop.


    A little whileter, Archie shuffled in, looking groggy, and Mavis emerged from her


    room.


    "Come on, you two, breakfast is ready!" Calliope called, waving them over.


    They sat down to pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon, sharing awkward looks over their coffee.


    After breakfast, Calliope and Ss headed out to the Baker family''s old manor.


    When they arrived, Gideon was justing down the front steps. They bumped right into each other.


    Gideon took one look at Calliope and Ss together. She''s in a white cashmere coat, her red scarf bright against the winter gray, looking elegant and radiant.


    He felt a surge of jealousy so strong it almost knocked him over. Ever since he and Calliope split, her life had just kept getting better.


    And his... well, it was going downhill fast.


    He knew Calliope must be secretly thrilled, probably feeling pretty smug about how things had turned out.


    But there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn''t even get his old job back at thepany. Ss had taken over everything. He''de here today hoping to talk to his grandfather about it.


    But Grandpa just shrugged him off, said he wouldn''t get involved. To Grandpa,


    Ss was always the golden child, more important than anyone.


    Even if Ss screwed over his own grandson, Grandpa wouldn''t lift a finger.


    Thinking about it just made Gideon feel even worse. He red at


    Calliope, ming her for everything. If she hadn''t chosen to marry his uncle, none of this would have happened.


    He used to be the family''s golden boy. Now, he was just a washed-up has-been.