The Family Affair©️

The Family Affair 

Welcome back to my dark and twisted mind!

Like all of my stories, this one is for mature audiences due to the graphic nature of some situations including an age gap, dark romance, slow burn, real issues, more than one sexual partner, extreme sexual content, bdsm play, unusual kinks, strong language, dominant, possessive men, violence, crime and dark twisted elements such as human trafficking, kidnapping, domestic violence, abuse, sexual assault, murder, etc...

Reader discretion is advised.

Eden has been harboring a dark secret since she was sixteen- a secret so bad that if it got out it would ruin everything and put her and her family's lives in danger. What she doesn't know is who's behind the nightmares that keep her up all night long. When the truth is finally revealed years later, will Eden succumb to the darkness that clouded her life for so long, or will she find the courage to step into the light and find her voice, finally taking back her power?

Will evil corrupt her and make her even worse than her creator, and if it does, can she muster up the darkness inside of her and end her twisted fate once and for all?

Growing up with her mother, stepfather, and three stepbrothers, Eden felt special with all the attention on her. What she didn't know was that there was a reason she was the center of attention- a secret that's as diabolical as they come. Suddenly, she's thrust into a world of evil danger, sex, and greed, and finds comfort and protection in all the wrong people. But she loves them, or at least she thinks she does, but will she when she finds out what they're hiding?

This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. ©️

Chapter 1: prologue

For mature audiences only, due to the graphic nature of some situations such as:  kidnapping, murder, 15-year age gap,

slow burn, dark reverse harem romance (mmmf), explicit/graphic sexual content (consensual), bdsm play, unusual kinks, foursomes, profanity, violence, drug use, torture, obsessive, controlling, dominant men, and dark twisted elements such as but not limited to: domestic violence, abuse, assault, and human trafficking, etc... 17+

Read at your own discretion.

***This chapter will be taking you back in time, back to when Eden is sixteen and stumbles upon something sinister... What happened on her birthday is the catalyst for the entire story. The story itself doesn't start until she's almost twenty, but the flashbacks to her birthdays are pertinent to the story.***

Flashback to Eden's 16th birthday

"Come on birthday girl! Make a wish and blow out your candles!"My mother says cheerfully as we're seated around the long, rectangular table tucked in the little dining nook in our house. My stepfather Keaton sits at the far end, or the "head of the table" as my mother calls it, she sits at the opposite end, smiling wide. Kallan sits beside me, and Kain and Kash sit directly across from us, everyone waiting on me to blow my birthday candles out so we can get on with the night. I squeeze my eyes shut and suck in a breath making a wish before blowing them out. When I finish blowing, I open my eyes to see one candle still lit. Frustrated, I scrunch my nose and huff out another breath, successfully putting out the flames on all sixteen candles, plus the one for good luck.

I've always wondered if the extra candle shït was just a myth because all the other birthdays I've had, I've never had any sort of luck.

The sound of my mother clapping excitedly pulls me from my daydream and back to the other four smiling faces around the table.

"Alright, who wants cake?"

Mom says as she rises from her seat and grabs the cake off the table, bringing it into the kitchen to cut.

Of course, my stepbrothers all raise their hands, followed by my stepfather, who's a little reluctant to eat the sweet, creamy dessert. I don't raise my hand because I'm not a cake lover like the rest of my family, mom only gets it because everyone else eats it. She's big on birthdays and holidays, so I just play along to make her happy, but not today.

"No cake for you, eden?"

"No, not tonight, ma."

"What's wrong with you, Eden? A little cake never hurt anyone."

"Not in the mood for cake, Keaton."

He huffs, picking up the ice-cold mug of beer my mom poured for him at the start of dinner, bringing the rim to his lips. He keeps his eyes on me as he drinks it slowly, his gaze penetrating through my soul, making me shiver heavily in my seat. I rip my eyes off of him, rolling them as I stand and take my plate to the sink.

"More for us then."

My stepbrother, Kash, announces as he rubs his hands together at the sight of the large piece of cake my mother cut for him. I chuckle as I rinse my plate off and place it into the dishwasher. Even with my back to the table, I can feel eyes on me, and not just any eyes... Kallan's eyes. Sure enough, when I turn around, I lock eyes with my oldest stepbrother, the one who isn't a twin, and I find myself struggling to look away.

"Momma J, cut me a piece too, please."

Kash's twin brother, Kain, says loudly, interrupting the intense staring contest Kallan and I were having.

Grateful for the distraction, I swipe a dishrag from the counter and dry my hands off, peeling my gaze away from his. Wanting to be done with my birthday celebrations, I turn on my heel and begin to head for the stairs, stopping in my tracks at the sound of Keaton's deep, monotone voice.

"Leaving so soon, Eden?"

"Just going to my room to study."

"I made your brothers come here tonight to celebrate with you, you know."

I turn around and glance around the table, watching them dig into the cake like hungry animals who haven't eaten in fuckin days. I get they're growing and shit, but they can kill a week's worth of groceries in one damn day, and it's not like they're ever fucking full. For grown men, they sure rely on my mother to cook their meals every damn day. They moved out years ago, but they're here so much it feels like they've moved back in. At 31, Kallan is the oldest, we're exactly fifteen years apart. And then there are the twins, Kash and Kain, who are 26, ten years older than I am. My mom and Keaton met a few years ago and tied the knot right away, even without my blessing which I thought was bullshit. I realized at a young age though, that no one gives a fuck what you think especially when you're only ten- that's when my mother married Keaton, and he and his sons have been in my life ever since.

"Yeah, Eden, come spend some time with us."

Kallan says, taunting me, his voice dripping with something unfamiliar to me, but if I were to guess, I'd say hunger. I scold my eyes his way and sulk back to the table, plopping my ass down in my seat again, ignoring everyone's stares. Right away, Kallan puts his hand on my thigh and keeps it there, focusing on the giant piece of cake in front of him. He doesn't smile or look at me, he pretends nothing is even happening much to my dismay. Keaton begins to blab about work- he's the police chief here in Brockton, and that's how he and my mother met. One of his suspects was in the hospital being treated by my mother while Keaton was on watch, and I guess the rest is history. I roll my eyes with my head lowered, knowing quickly where he's taking his topic of discussion. He always tries to force me into the medical field for some reason but has never hinted about why. However, I'm not interested in that line of work, I have no idea what I want to do with my life just yet.

"Have you thought about what you're going to choose for your internship, Eden? Senior year is coming and you need to focus on college."

"Do we have to have this talk tonight, Keaton? I mean, I'm not even sure if I want to be a fuc... doctor."

"What aren't you sure about? You don't want to follow in your mother's footsteps?"

"No. No offense ma."

"None taken. Being in the medical field isn't for everyone."

"Tell that to your husband."

I feel Kallan squeeze my thigh as his father grunts, muttering a few curse words directed toward me under his breath. A cold chill sweeps through the air, sending goosebumps all over my body, and making all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I can't pinpoint the reason for my random bad feelings, but that doesn't stop them from hitting me in full force. My heart thumps loudly, my palms begin to sweat, and a loud ringing blares inside my eardrums.

Keaton has always had this bad vibe about him, but even after six years I still can't figure out why.

A part of me thinks he's keeping something from my mother, but the sane part of me refuses to seek answers because I'm too afraid of what I'll find out.

He plays the nice, adoring stepfather role pretty well, but that doesn't mean he's a fuckin Saint.

Shit, even my dad had a bad feeling about him, he even tried to warn my mother but she was too blinded by love to listen to him.

"Don't tell me you want to keep your head buried in books and your fuckin laptop for the rest of your life...writers don't make shit for money."

"I don't care about the money, Keaton."

"Well, you fucking should. How else are you going to pay for shit?"

"Ma."

"Keaton, ease off. It's her birthday."

I plead to my mother, knowing she's the only one who can get him to back the fück off of me.

She joins us back at the table with a glass of wine, sliding one filled halfway over to me with a cheery smile on her face. I look at her, slightly confused, forgetting all about the obsessive nagging from Keaton.

"What's this for?"

"It's your sixteenth birthday, Eden. I figured I'd let you have one glass of wine under my supervision."

I put my palm around the glass, my mouth watering at the sight of the white Riesling inside. I look around the table, making sure it isn't a trap before bringing the glass to my lips and taking a generous sip. The tartness makes my cheeks ache but only for a minute before I swallow it down, enjoying the icy smooth taste that lingers in my mouth once swallowed.

"So, what are everyone's plans for tonight? It's Friday, after all."

"I'm heading to the precinct shortly for a late shift."

Ugh, thank fucking God he's leaving...

"I'm staying in for the night."

"Of course, you are, Eden, you don't ever fucking leave this house."

"So?"

"I'm staying in too."

"Me too."

"Yeah, so am I."

I look around at my brothers, giving them a shocked look because they never stay here longer than they have to. I'm not going to sit here and fight it, though, it'll be nice to have the fuckin company for once.

"Well, it looks like you'll have company, Eden, since I have the graveyard shift at the hospital."

"That's fine, I'll be in my room for the night anyway."

Of course, my stepfather has to mutter shit under his breath, even as I get up from the table, and finished with my glass of wine. I hear the squeak from the chairs sliding out, and moments later the heavy stomping from my brothers' footsteps gets louder as they get behind me. One of them reaches for my shoulder but I pull away and hurry toward the stairs, just wanting the night to be over so I can go see my father tomorrow.

"I'll be in my room!"

I yell as I run up the stairs, catching all three brothers standing at the end when I round the corner to my floor. Kallan has his dark, beady eyes on me while Kash and Kain saunter off, clearly not thinking like their brother.

I ignore it all and slam the door to my room, quickly changing into something comfortable before jumping on my bed to relax and unwind from the eventful day I've had. A knock at my door makes me jump, clutching my hand over my heart to get it to stop thumping.

"It's open!"

I yell, trying to regain my composure.

When my door opens, Kain stands there and stops, waiting for me to invite him in before stepping through the threshold.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah, just shut the door."

He grins, his demeanor dripping with sex appeal as he shuts the door, even going as far as locking it behind him before he saunters over to my bed.

He sits down beside me and reaches his hand to my face, tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear, which makes heat flood my cheeks. There's always been thick sexual chemistry between the four of us, for as long as I can remember, and tonight isn't any different. He looks hungry but he also looks torn, both of us knowing the other is off-limits.

"I wanted to come up and wish you a happy birthday..."

"You already did, Kain, but thank you."

He smiles, showing off his perfect dimples, his eyes beginning to sparkle with desire when he looks down at my lips. Of course, feeling nervous and flustered, my leg begins to bounce as he moves his face closer to mine, his hand now softly cupping my cheek.

"You're right, Eden, but I never did give you your gift."

I swallow hard, trying to remove the lump in my throat. Immediately, my eyes dart to his lips as he licks them, sucking his bottom one between his teeth, like I do when I'm trying to think of what to say.

He inches even closer to me, my heart pounding so loud I'm sure he can hear it too. I lower my eyes, trying to hide my shyness from him, but he clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth. With his wet, shiny lips mere inches from mine, he lifts my head slightly, forcing my gaze onto him.

"Eden..."

For years, Kallan, Kain, and Kash have done nothing but tease me, making it extremely hard to be in the same room as them. And I'm not talking about the bullying kind of teasing, no, I'm talking about the flirtatious kind of teasing. The kind where they drive me crazy to the point they're all I could ever think about. I'll admit, I've made myself come numerous times with thoughts about the three of them. But I'll never fucking admit it out loud. I'm not trying to have them think I'm a pervert. Kain clears his throat, making me snap back to reality, realizing how close our lips are. I try to pull away but he keeps his hand firmly cupping my cheek, refusing to let me back away. He smiles again, and I smile back, wondering what made him come in here in the first place. And then I remember he said something about a gift. I wonder what it could be.

"What? Sorry, I spaced out."

"Do you want your gift?" He asks, his voice laced with desire.

"Yeah, sure."

Without further hesitation, he presses his soft, wet lips against mine, finally closing the torturous gap between us. Shocked to my core, I lean into him and find myself kissing him back, enjoying the way he tastes. Neither of us uses our tongues, but the lingering, intimate kiss is arousing enough to where they're not even needed.

I'm breathless and trembling when we finally do pull away from each other, and completely at a loss for fuckin words.

"Damn...Kain, What was that for?"

"You know damn well what it was for, Eden. You're lucky you're a virgin because we would've corrupted your ass a long time ago."

"We?"

"Yeah, Kallan and Kash want you just as bad as I do."

"You're my stepbrother, Kain. You know this is wrong and if my ma and your dad ever found out, they'd kill us."

"That's why we're not going to fuckin tell them. Are we, Eden?"

"N-no, Kain, we're not gonna tell them."

"Good girl."

He places a kiss on the tip of my nose and climbs off the bed, walking back out of my room like nothing ever happened. I touch my lips with my fingertips and sit here frozen on my bed, moisture pooling heavily between my thighs. What the fuck was that about? God damn, was it hot, though. Even though it's strictly prohibited, I can't get over how amazing it felt when his lips finally touched mine. Is it bad that I want it to happen again? Trying to take the focus off of what just happened, I smack my cheeks to bring myself back to reality. I grab my phone and turn the music on so it plays from my speakers, turning it up louder than usual as I let the song take me away.

I see a message from my dad so I tap on it, wishing he was here.

Happy 16th birthday, baby girl! I miss you and love you so much, Eden. I can't wait to see your beautiful face tomorrow.

I can't help the smile that spreads across my lips as I message my daddy back, forgetting about all the other shit going on in my life.

Thanks, Daddy! I love you too! Please don't be late to pick me up tomorrow.

Tomorrow my father is supposed to take me to get my permit, so I should be driving soon. I'll be one step closer to gaining my freedom, which is what I've been craving for so fucking long now. If it was up to my ma, I wouldn't have to worry about rules or shït like that, but ever since Keaton's come into the picture, he pretty much calls the shots around here now.

He wants to keep me on a fuckin leash, a short-ass leash at that. Why? I couldn't tell you, but he has his reasons.

My father and I send a few more texts back and forth, filling each other in about what we've missed since we saw each other last. I feel my eyelids getting heavy and they begin to droop, sleep hitting me pretty hard. When our conversation is finished, I plug my phone in the charger and lie down, making myself comfortable in the middle of my bed with the blanket pulled up to my chin. I turn the TV on and flip through the channels, eventually letting a much-needed sleep overtake me.

A few hours later...

I wake up abruptly from a dead sleep, my bladder full and the urge to piss becomes too much to bear; I can't hold in any longer. I bolt out of bed and rush to the bathroom inside my bedroom, relieving myself as I sit in the dark on the cold toilet. After emptying my bladder, the sudden urge for something sweet consumes me, making my mouth water and my stomach grumble, telling me to fuckin feed it. The house is silent when I open my bedroom door and step into the hall, a breezy chill sweeps across my body as I inch slowly down the almost all-dark hallway. No other lights are on upstairs as I carry on down past the other rooms, just the string of led lights lining the perimeter. It's so silent that it gives me the fuckin creeps even as I get to the bottom of the stairs, checking to see if my brother's stayed like they said they were going to. So far, I haven't seen any of them, so it makes me wonder if they left with their father. I hear a noise coming from the basement, so being curious, I make my way down another set of stairs, stopping in front of the closed door, and hearing something banging around on the other side.

I swallow hard and clench my fists, trying to get my hands to stop shaking. I put my hand on the doorknob and twist it quietly, only opening the door a crack.

It's dark and musty smelling, but I can make out a few figures in the dim lighting. What the fuck is going on in there? Taking a deep breath, I push the door open wider and walk through the opening, quietly inching forward to round the corner. The half glass of wine I had earlier still flows through my body, awakening parts of me I never knew existed. I feel good. I feel calm. And I feel flushed.

I fan my hand in front of my face for some light air, stopping dead in my tracks when I hear another noise, this one a lot clearer. I pass the couch, stubbing my fuckin toe on the hard leg of the coffee table, yelping. The noises stop when I cry out, making me crouch and slap my hand over my mouth, stilling while riddled with nerves. I see the shadow of a figure walking my way, so I scurry behind the bookshelf in the darkness, trying my best to not be seen. I hold my breath and wait to die, at least, that's how dramatic my brain is right now. I swear I can hear someone whimpering- a female maybe? It's too far away for me to make out, though. The stomp of heavy boots gets closer, making me freeze.

Fuck you and your nosey ass, Eden... You just had to fucking see what was down here. You couldn't have just stayed the fuck in bed!

Even though there's someone standing feet away from me, I still hear voices in the distance, ain't no fucking doubt about that. My head swirls with confusion and fear as I stay crouched down, hugging my knees to my chest while I bite my tongue to keep from making a fucking sound. I can't stop shaking, thinking of the possibility of there being more than one intruder in my house. I shake my head and roll my eyes at myself, realizing I left my phone up in my fucking room. Of course, I fucking would.

I can tell it's a man by his build and his strong stance, and when he looks over, poking his head in my direction, I can see the whites of his eyes staring back at me. I silently gasp, shaking violently as he leans down and locks his eyes on mine.

I can't tell if he actually sees me or if he's just looking, but I squeeze my eyes shut and say a million silent prayers, begging a God I don't believe in to spare my fucking life.

It's funny how shit happens like that. Finding yourself praying to someone or something you never bothered to pray to before. I guess, when it comes to life and fucking death, people will do just about anything.

Tonight, I'm one of those fucking people.

My eyes shoot open, noticing the shadow is gone. I let out the frantic breath I've been holding and poke my head out of the comfort of the darkness. The way our basement is set up, when you come down the stairs you walk right into the tv room where the couch is and there's a wide hallway where the washer and dryer are, and it leads to four other rooms. One of the rooms is a bathroom, another is an office, and the other two are bedrooms. I can see the faint light from the nightlight plugged into the bathroom, which means the door is open so no one is inside.

My eyes travel down the hall along the carpeted floor, spotting a bright light coming from the crack under the door; someone is in there. With no sign of the shadows I saw and ignoring my rational thinking, I crawl closer to the hall, keeping my body as close to the wall in the dark as fucking possible.

The voices inside my fucking head won't shut up, yelling at me to go back to my room, but of course, my stubborn ass doesn't listen. The closer I get to the door, the louder the voices inside are. There are multiple people inside the room, but nothing distinctive about their voices stands out. It has to be my brothers, right? I mean, who the fuck else would be in my house, in my damn basement of all places?

I stop crawling and back up when I hear the cry of a girl coming from beyond the closed door, knowing now what the noise was I heard earlier.

My lip trembles and my eyes begin to water as I hear her relentless sobs and pleas for help. What is happening right now? Who is in my basement?

I hear a deep voice, very stern, followed by another, but this one is a lot softer... soothing almost. I hear his "shhh" and seconds later the door swings open, the shadowy figures stepping into the light.

"I thought you said no one was out there?"

I hear the man with a deep voice growl out, clearly angry with the other man.

"I didn't see anyone."

The man with the soothing voice says, whispering harshly to the angry man. There's no doubt a girl inside that room, clearly being taken advantage of by whoever is standing at the door, her sobs keep echoing throughout my ears, enough so to drive me fucking insane. The angry man steps out into the hall, shirtless and stumbling as he makes his way in my direction. I can't stop shaking, nor can I stop the tears that stream freely down my cheeks. I squeeze my eyes shut and put my forehead on my knees, saying another prayer and hoping there's a fucking God to save my life. I'm only sixteen, I'm too young to fuckin die. All of a sudden, I let a scream escape my throat the minute I feel something cover my head, making everything around me fade to pitch black. A hard object comes in contact with the side of my head, instantly sending a brutal throb down my neck.

I fall to the carpet and my eyes close as I slowly slip deeper into the darkness. I hear the faint, hushed sounds of the other figures whispering but I can't make out what they're saying. I feel the angry man dragging me toward the tv room, just feet away from where I fell in the hallway. I don't fight, I don't resist, because my head is throbbing painfully and I feel like I'm out of it, probably from the hard blow I took to my head. However, when I'm lifted onto the couch and pinned down, I try to kick my legs and thrash my body, trying to get the angry man off of me.

"Stop fuckin moving, bitch! This will go a lot easier if you just fucking stop fighting me!"

"No! Stop!" I try to scream but it comes out in a cracked whisper.

"Fuckin hold her down, now!"

The angry man on top of me hisses to whoever he's working with. I still try to fight him off, though. I've seen enough crime shows and enough episodes of Law and Order: SVU to know what's about to happen to me right now, but I still do my hardest to fight. It's no use, though. He overpowers me along with his helpers who take over for him. One of them pins my arms above my head, while another pins my legs to the couch so I can no longer move at all.

I can feel their hesitation, though.

"I thought you said we weren't touching her?"

The man holding my arms asks the angry man, concern and shame lacing his soothing voice. My head pounds, even worse when I close my eyes, but I push through the pain and lie here completely helpless. The man holding my legs pipes up, agreeing with the man with the soothing voice.

"Isn't it already bad enough what you're doing? Do you have to drag her into this?"

"She shouldn't have come fuckin snooping around. If she stayed in her room then none of this would be happening right now...She brought this on herself."

A piercing scream has the men freezing. Even I stop fighting and focus on listening to the girl's desperate pleas. I hear another voice coming from the room where the screams are coming from, realizing there are at least four men down here in the basement with me. I shiver as nausea begins to roll through me and black and white dots begin to cloud my already blurry vision.

"Shut her the fuck up! I'll be back in a fucking minute!"

The angry man bellows, ordering the fourth culprit. He turns his attention back to me when the noise stops, lowering his head close to mine. I shiver in absolute disgust when he puts his forehead against mine and begins to run his hand down the front of my silk pajamas. I try to wiggle my legs and arms free but the men tighten their hold at the order of the angry man. His rough, calloused hand dips below the waistband of my shorts, completely bypassing my panties, and I whimper as my tears fall. I try to clench my thighs together but he rips them open, backing his head away from mine. As he begins to put his fingers somewhere that no one has ever been, I begin to silently pray again, this time wishing this nightmare was over. The man with the soothing voice- the one holding my arms, lowers his head and whispers into my ear. His warm breath hits my skin through the head covering, making a tingle run down my spine, and I find myself dozing off to his quiet, secretive words.

" I'm so sorry, Eden, I'm so sorry..."

Even though it's extremely odd, I find his words comforting in a completely fucked up kind of way.

He moves his head away, just as the angry man runs his hand over my cheek, making me gag repeatedly. As he keeps brutally moving his fingers between my thighs, I try once more to free my arms and legs, but like the many attempts before, I fail fuckin miserably. Lying here helpless and utterly confused, I squeeze my eyes shut and accept defeat, slipping into a dark abyss. Right before I let the unknown consume me, I feel another warm breath against my ear, over the thin fabric covering my head. Though, the voice that speaks this time gives me a nauseating chill that rocks my body, sending me into convulsions right before I give up the fight to live. It's the angry man this time, not the man with the soothing voice.

"You should've stayed in your room, Eden... Now I'll have to show you what happens to naughty girls..."