Undressed By His Arrogance-Chapter 303: I Have To Go

When Winn got the call informing him that his mother had been arrested, the world tilted violently off its axis. His stomach dropped, a cold, hollow sensation spreading through his chest. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. The plan—carefully constructed, risk-assessed, rehearsed—had accounted for Tom. Tom was supposed to be humiliated, briefly detained, destabilized just enough to weaken his grip.

Anna was never meant to be collateral damage.

When Maurice filled in the details—Anna’s breakdown, the gun, the shots fired, the police response—understanding followed swiftly. This wasn’t strategy gone wrong. This was decades of rot finally surfacing.

Winn pushed back from his chair and stood abruptly. No matter how fractured their relationship was, Anna was still his mother. Still someone he loved, fiercely, unconditionally.

He had just grabbed his jacket when Lydia appeared in the doorway. "Mr. Kane," she said carefully, "someone is here to see you."

"Cancel it," Winn snapped without missing a beat. "I have to go."

"He says he is your brother," Lydia said.

Winn turned instantly. His brows drew together, confusion flashing briefly before being replaced by instinctive caution. "My brother?" he repeated slowly.

"Yes. That’s what the lobby says," Lydia replied.

"Call down," Winn said after a beat. "Ask Reese to check him out before sending him up." If Tom had taught him anything, it was that surprises were never gifts.

"Okay, sir," Lydia nodded, stepping out smoothly and closing the door behind her.

Alone again, his mind worked fast, sifting through fragments of half-known truths. His brother? Did Tim—his biological father—have other children? Winn had never pursued that part of his truth. Wanting answers required caring.

A knock came at the door. Reese entered first, his presence solid and reassuring, followed by a young man who looked wildly out of place amid the steel, glass, and quiet power of the office.

"He’s clear, sir," Reese said simply.

Winn nodded once, then gestured subtly for Reese to give them space. The door closed, leaving the two of them alone in a room that suddenly felt too large.

The young man—boy, really—stood stiffly near the door, hands clenched at his sides as his eyes darted around.

"I’m told you are my brother," Winn said at last, breaking the silence.

The kid swallowed. "My name is James Kane," he said. "I...I don’t know what I am doing here."

That honesty hit Winn unexpectedly. He’d been bracing for bravado, entitlement, manipulation. This was none of that.

"You came all the way here, didn’t you? Then there must be a reason. You want to sit?" Winn said, gesturing toward one of the chairs opposite his desk.

James pulled the chair out and sat. He perched on the edge, spine rigid, knees bouncing slightly. His fingers twisted together in his lap, then fidgeted with the seam of his jeans. He looked small in the chair, swallowed by money and power and the weight of the man sitting across from him.

"You say your name is James?" Winn asked, leaning back slightly, folding his hands together as he studied him.

James nodded quickly.

"Tom is your father?" Winn continued.

Another nod. Slower this time. He swallowed.

"Then you are not my brother," Winn said calmly. "What is this about?"

James inhaled sharply, as if bracing himself. "I saw your interview last night," he said. "It... it was nice."

"James, I really have to be somewhere. Can we hurry this up?"

James’s face flushed. He stood abruptly, chair scraping softly against the floor. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here. This was a mistake."

He turned toward the door, shoulders hunched, already retreating into himself.

"He hits you, doesn’t he?" Winn said.

James turned instantly, eyes wide, breath caught somewhere in his chest.

Winn smiled with grim recognition. "I see all the signs," he said quietly. "I had them. I’m guessing your mother doesn’t do anything?"

"She... she doesn’t know. I mean, not really. He hides it from her."

Winn exhaled slowly through his nose, nodding. "That’s a nice change of pace," he said dryly. "Looks like your father might be scared of your mother."

"He found me at Sylvia’s grave and he punched me in the face," James said quietly. "My mum saw it and she... I heard her threaten to kill him if he did it again. She thinks that was the first time." He let out a breath. "I just want to know how you made it stop."

Winn smacked his lips slowly. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"You knew Sylvia?" Winn asked.

"Yeah," James said, nodding. "We used to talk and meet every once in a while. She... she was nice to me. She listened. I liked her."

The math clicked into place in Winn’s head. Sylvia and James were step-siblings. And Winn—Winn had never been Tom’s son at all. Which meant James wasn’t his brother.

Actually, James was his cousin.

Winn ran a hand over his face, exhaling slowly. "Look, kid," he said. "I really do not want to have anything to do with Tom. I want to keep him as far away from my life as possible. So..."

He trailed off.

James nodded. "I get it," he said softly. "Thanks anyway."

He turned toward the door again, shoulders curling inward, the same way they had when he first walked in. Winn watched him take two steps, then three—and felt guilt twist in his gut.

"You fight back," Winn said bluntly.

James turned again, one hand already on the door handle.

"You want to make it stop. You fight back. Slap for slap. Punch for punch. Hit for hit. Fight even though you know he will only get angrier." Winn continued.

James frowned, processing it all, eyes darting briefly to Winn’s hands, then to his face. "Is that what you did?" James asked.

"Yes. But I was a hell of a lot younger than you are now. I wish I could tell you the abuse ended. It didn’t. It just transitioned—to emotional, verbal, and psychological abuse." His eyes hardened slightly. "For that, you just have to grow a tough skin."

(A very merry Christmas to everyone. There is a chance I will be taking the day off. I love you all. Remember to spend time with family and loved ones, take lots of pictures and videos and please come tell me about it. I’m having a depressing December.)