The Truth About Asher

Aidan jumped to the side just as the car zoomed past him. He fell hard on the grass, his elbow scraping against the sidewalk. The car screeched around the turn and disappeared.

"Aidan! Aidan, are you there?" Elijah's voice was still coming from the phone that had flown from Aidan's hand. He crawled over to pick it up.

"Someone just tried to run me over," Aidan said, his voice shaking.

"Where are you? I'm coming to get you," Elijah said.

Before Aidan could answer, a hand grabbed his shoulder. He spun around, ready to fight, only to find himself looking into a face identical to his own.

"Asher?"

"We need to go. Now." Asher pulled Aidan to his feet. He looked scared, his usually perfect hair messy and his clothes wrinkled.

"Let go of me," Aidan snapped, pulling his arm away. "You're the last person I want to see right now."

"Aidan? Who's there?" Elijah's voice called from the phone.

Asher grabbed the phone from Aidan's hand and hung up. "Don't trust him. He's scary."

"You're one to talk about trust," Aidan said coldly. "You stole my project."

"I had to," Asher urged. "Dad was going to—"

"Save it," Aidan cut him off. "I've heard enough lies from both of you." He turned to walk away, but Asher grabbed his arm again.

"Please, just listen to me for five minutes," Asher begged. "Then if you still hate me, fine. But what I have to say could save your life."

Something in his twin's voice made Aidan pause. He'd never seen Asher look so desperate before.

"Five minutes," Aidan nodded. "Not here though."

They walked to a small park nearby and sat on a bench far from anyone else. Asher kept looking around uncomfortably, like he expected someone to jump out from behind the trees.

"I didn't want to steal your project," Asher began. "Dad made me do it. He said if I didn't, he would fire you from the company."

"That's it? That's your big excuse?" Aidan laughed bitterly. "I would have been better off fired than humiliated in front of the board."

"There's more to it," Asher said. "Dad isn't just mean—he's doing bad things. Illegal things. I've been gathering proof against him for months."

"Right," Aidan said, not believing a word. "Saint Asher, secretly fighting for justice while publicly stabbing me in the back."

"I deserve that," Asher agreed. "But it's the truth. And now Elijah Hart is involved, and that makes everything more dangerous."

"How do you know Elijah?" Aidan asked, remembering what Elijah had told him about working for the FBI.

Something flashed across Asher's face—pain, maybe, or anger. "We have history."

"What kind of history?"

"The personal kind," Asher said quietly. "We used to date. It ended badly."

Aidan felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. "You dated him? And neither of you thought to mention this to me?"

"It was a year ago," Asher said. "I didn't know he was targeting you until yesterday."

"Targeting me? What are you talking about?"

"Elijah works for Dad," Asher explained. "Or at least, that's what Dad thinks. I'm not sure whose side Elijah is really on. That's what makes him so scary."

Aidan's head was spinning. "I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Believe this," Asher said, pushing something into Aidan's hand. It was a small flash drive. "This has proof of what Dad's been doing. I was going to give it to you at the storage place, but it's not safe there anymore."

Before Aidan could reply, his phone buzzed. A text from Elijah: "Where are you? Are you safe?"

"Don't answer that," Asher warned. "In fact, get a new phone. They can track you with that one."

"They? Who's they?"

"Dad, Elijah, Maya—I don't know who's working together anymore," Asher said, looking more scared than ever. "I have to go. Don't tell anyone you saw me." "Asher, wait—"

But his twin was already walking away, quickly disappearing among the trees. Aidan looked down at the flash drive in his hand. Was Asher saying the truth? Or was this another trick?

---

Hours later, Aidan sat in a new hotel room, looking at his laptop. He couldn't bring himself to plug in Asher's flash drive. Not yet. His phone had been going non-stop with texts from Elijah, but he hadn't answered any of them.

A knock at the door made him jump. He hadn't told anyone where he was staying.

"Aidan? It's me." Elijah's voice came through the door.

Heart racing, Aidan opened the door just a crack. "How did you find me?"

"I've been checking every hotel in the area," Elijah said. He looked tired and worried. "Can I come in? Please?"

Against his better sense, Aidan let him in. "I talked to Asher today."

Elijah froze. "When?"

"After someone tried to run me over," Aidan said, watching Elijah's face closely. "He told me some interesting things. Like how you two used to date."

Elijah sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I was wondering when that would come up."

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Yes," Elijah said. "But it's... complicated."

"Uncomplicate it," Aidan insisted.

"Asher and I were together for six months," Elijah stated. "I thought it was real. Then I found out he was just using me to get information about a rival company I used to work for."

"That sounds like Asher," Aidan admitted.

"When I confronted him, he laughed in my face." Elijah's hands tightened into fists. "Said I was an idiot for thinking someone like him would actually care about someone like me."

The pain in Elijah's voice seemed sincere. Aidan sat down next to him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Elijah said. "It was a year ago. I'm over it now." But the look in his eyes said otherwise.

"Asher gave me this," Aidan said, showing him the flash drive. "He said it has proof of Dad doing illegal things."

Elijah took the flash drive, turning it over in his fingers. "This could be exactly what we need. Or it could be another trick."

"How do I know which one?" Aidan asked.

"You don't," Elijah said simply. "That's the problem with your family, Aidan. You never know who's telling the truth."

"My family?" Aidan repeated. "You're making it sound like I'm not part of the problem."

"You're not," Elijah maintained. "You're the only honest Carter I've ever met. That's why I..." He stopped, looking away.

"Why you what?"

"Nothing," Elijah said quickly. "We should check what's on this." He held up the flash drive.

Aidan took it back. "Not yet. First, I want the truth about you and the FBI. Are you really working for them?"

Elijah was quiet for a long moment. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge. It looked real, but Aidan had no way to be sure.

"Does Asher know about this?" Aidan asked.

"No one does," Elijah said. "Except you now."

Aidan's phone buzzed again. This time, it was a text from an unknown number: "Check the news. Now."

Heart beating, Aidan opened the news app on his phone. The top story made his blood run cold: "Asher Carter, Son of Business Tycoon Victor Carter, Found Dead in Apparent Suicide."

Aidan looked up at Elijah in horror. "Asher is dead."

Elijah took the phone, reading the title. His face went pale. "This isn't right. I just saw him this morning."

"With Dad and Maya," Aidan said. "I have a photo."

Now it was Elijah's turn to look shocked. "What photo?"

Aidan showed him the picture he'd gotten earlier, of Elijah meeting with Victor and Maya. "Someone sent me this. They said you were lying to me."

"That's not possible," Elijah whispered. "This picture is fake. I never—"

A loud crash cut him off as the hotel room window broke. Something small and metal rolled across the floor toward them.

"Grenade!" Elijah yelled, taking Aidan and pulling him toward the bathroom.