When The Boys Are Away

Part 58

Harlow sat back up in shock, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. If Lana was alive and married to Sabini, everything the Wentworths had told her about their sister was a lie. When Harlow had first visited them, they had plainly told her that an enemy of theirs had killed their sister as an act of revenge. She had sat and comforted Marvin as she mourned the loss of his twin; none of it made any sense. 

But then again, it was just one of those days. 

Lana studied Harlow's clearly bewildered expression closely, and she fiddled with the necklace that hung limply around her neck. It was a sign of nervousness, and Harlow felt bad making her nervous. 

"I'm guessing you know my brothers, judging by that reaction. You look like you've seen a ghost." Lana spoke quietly, having used her intuition that she had picked up throughout her life within two different gangs. 

It wasn't far off. Lana was dead in Harlow's mind; her being alive was almost like seeing a ghost. It was mindboggling. If the Wentworths had gone far enough to lie about the death of their own sister, what else were they not telling the truth about? 

"I'm sorry, I just-" Harlow struggled to form any sort of sentence, but Lana seemed to understand and nodded her head in response, "They told you I was dead, didn't they?" Lana enquired, rolling her eyes. 

Harlow didn't know what to say, she believed she had a strong bond with the Wentworths and would never want to go behind their backs, but with what she just discovered, she now wasn't so sure. 

Today was one hell of a day, she could no longer trust Tommy, Alfie or the Wentworths; something wasn't right. 

Clearing her throat discreetly, Harlow shook her head to show her confusion, "Why would they lie about that? I don't understand." Maybe it was because of her glass of champagne, or perhaps the information was just too bizarre, but her head was starting to throb and the music was growing much too loud. 

Lana sighed, moving to fiddle with her ring, clearly it offered her some reassurance, "They are liars, they lie for a living. That's why I left," She stared at Harlow as if begging her to believe her story, "They would rather pretend I'm dead than accept the fact that I married a man I love just because of his reputation. They are cruel and manipulative." Lana froze, a panicked expression emerged on her face,

"Wait, please tell me you're not my sister in law." Lana visibly relaxed when Harlow shook her head immediately and Lana placed an arm on her shoulder, "Thank God, I would not wish that upon anybody. Whatever they've told you is most likely a lie. Get away from them before they try to ruin you like they almost did to me." 

Harlow sat in disbelief. She couldn't believe that the Wentworths she knew and the people Lana was talking about were the same people. Dale was no liar, Marvin wasn't manipulative, Callum wasn't cruel. Nothing made sense. 

"But - this makes no sense. I comforted Marvin whilst he cried over your death. He was telling me stories of you, he was genuinely heartbroken." Harlow tried to defend the Wentworths, even if she wasn't sure about their honesty anymore.

 Lana shook her head suddenly, pointing her hands to enforce her point, "That's what they do Harlow, do not trust anything they say. Unless you are in their brotherhood, they will stab you right in the back. Even me - their own sister - wasn't exempt from that. Please, get away from them. We can find you a place here if you need help, my husband has contacts." 

Harlow knew all about Sabini's contacts, and from what she had heard, none of them were very ethical. However, thinking about the people who had told her these things only twisted her perception even more. If she couldn't trust Alfie, Tommy or Dale and his brothers, she had little power left.