My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}-Chapter 234: Getting Caught

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I could hardly believe my eyes—there was Ethan, standing in the doorway like one of those dramatic plot twists from a cheesy spy movie.

His usually perfect hair was a bit messy from whatever antics he’d been up to at the gala downstairs, and those sharp blue eyes of his were narrowing at us, mixing confusion with what looked suspiciously like betrayal.

My heart was already racing from our little break-in, but now it felt like it was about to leap out of my chest and sprint for the elevator.

How had he gotten here so quickly? Had he followed us? Or was this just life’s way of slapping me with a reminder that my brilliant ideas often came with a side of chaos?

Probably the last one.

I stood frozen, mouth agape like a fish out of water, while Adrien stepped instinctively in front of me, his broad shoulders forming a ridiculous barrier that was part protective, part frustratingly endearing. It mostly made me feel like a male damsel in distress at that moment.

Ethan’s gaze skimmed over the chaos we’d created—the drawers flung open like they were the source of our frustration, the suitcase sprawled across the bed with its contents spilling out in a sad display of mismatched socks and wrinkle-free shirts, and finally, it settled on Adrien, who was glaring back at him with all the subtlety of a territorial cat.

The atmosphere in the suite thickened, shifting from tense to almost electric, like the air right before a storm. Ethan’s look of confusion turned sharper; his brows knitted together as he processed the mess in front of him, and I could see him piecing together just why his uncle’s room looked like it had been hit by a tornado named Noah and Adrien.

"Okay," Ethan said finally, his voice calm, but you could hear the tightness that hinted he was a hair’s breadth away from either laughing or calling security—or maybe both, given our luck. He crossed his arms over his chest, the fabric of his tux straining slightly on his athletic frame, and fixed his gaze on me

. The hurt in those blue eyes twisted my stomach in a familiar way. "Someone needs to explain why I just walked into my uncle’s hotel room to find you two tearing it apart like amateur detectives. And wait, Noah, what are you doing here? This isn’t really your scene, is it?"

I swallowed hard; the lump in my throat felt like I’d just downed a whole champagne flute in one gulp. I could feel Adrien’s tension radiating off him like heat from a radiator, still standing protectively between us, as if Ethan might lunge at any moment. Adrien didn’t skip a beat, his voice low and defensive like he was ready for a showdown.

"That’s none of your fucking business," he snapped, jaw clenched so tightly I thought he might crack a tooth. I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

Seriously, Adrien? Great way to defuse the situation.

Ethan let out a sharp, incredulous laugh that echoed a bit too loudly in the sterile silence of the room. He tilted his head back, showing off that annoyingly perfect jawline. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Funny, because it looks like my business to me," he retorted, his eyes narrowing as they flicked back to me. The confusion was being overtaken by genuine hurt, and I felt like the worst person in the world. "This is my uncle’s room, after all. And you, Noah—seriously? What’s going on?"

His stare pinned me down, and I could sense Adrien bristling more, his hand twitching like he wanted to pull me back behind him. But I stepped forward anyway, placing a hand gently on Adrien’s arm to signal him to back off.

"Adrien," I said softly, my voice steadier than I felt, though inside, I was a whirlwind of fear and that annoying butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling that always hit me around Ethan, even during moments like this. "Please. Let me take care of this."

Adrien shot me an unwilling look, his hazel eyes searching for any hint of doubt, but he finally stepped aside just enough to give me room, though he stayed close like a shadow ready to leap at any sign of trouble.

I turned back to Ethan, taking a deep breath to steady myself, the faint scent of some fancy air freshener—a citrusy, artificial smell—mixing with the lingering trace of Adrien’s cologne, making my head spin.

"Ethan," I started, forcing my voice to remain calm even though my heart was pounding like it was at a rock concert. "I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but I can’t keep lying. Not about this. It’s tearing me apart inside, and if we’re going to deal with this mess, you deserve to know the truth."

I took another breath and began to spill everything, the words rushing out at first but slowing as I found my rhythm. I tried to paint the picture as clearly as I could without turning it into a soap opera...though, let’s be real, our lives were basically one at this point.

I talked about Joanne, Adrien’s mom, and how her death always felt off, like a puzzle with too many missing pieces. I explained Logan’s role as her lawyer, the inconsistencies in the accident report that read more like a half-hearted excuse than a real document, and how records had disappeared like they’d been devoured by some bureaucratic black hole.

I shared my growing belief that Logan was hiding something dark behind his polished facade. As I spoke, I watched Ethan’s expression shift from disbelief to something deeper, his arms uncrossing as if the weight of my words was finally settling on him.

"I think he was involved," I said, my voice dropping to just above a whisper, the room’s heavy silence amplifying my words until it felt like I was confessing in a booth. "Or at least, he helped cover something up. I’m not just being paranoid...there are too many loose ends and inconsistencies."

Ethan stared at me, utterly stunned, those blue eyes wide and searching, like he was trying to reconcile the uncle he knew with the monster I was describing.

"You’re saying my uncle—" he started, but then stopped, shaking his head as if to clear it, an incredulous laugh escaping him that sounded more pained than amused. "You’re saying Logan killed Adrien’s mother? That’s... that’s insane. He wouldn’t... would he?"

Before I could respond, Adrien jumped in, anger lacing his voice like a sharp edge that always came out when Ethan was around.

"We don’t need your damn help to figure this out," he snapped, crossing his arms like he was mirroring Ethan’s earlier stance, dripping with sarcasm that was almost funny if the situation weren’t so serious. "So don’t flatter yourself, golden boy. This has nothing to do with you. We were fine without your princely intervention."

Ethan’s eyes flashed with irritation, his posture straightening as old grudges resurfaced, making the room feel like a pressure cooker filled with unresolved tension.

"Funny, coming from the guy breaking into my uncle’s room like a wannabe Bond," he shot back, his voice rising just a notch, though still controlled...classic Ethan.