Chapter 2 The Room Where Truth Goes to Die

The black car that arrived the next morning was silent and smelled of leather. I sat in the back seat, looking at my reflection in the window. My hoodie was clean, but I felt like a stain on the expensive interior. We drove into the heart of the city and stopped at a tall building of dark glass.

A woman met me at the door and led me to the top floor. She opened a pair of heavy doors and stepped aside.

"They are waiting for you," she said.

I walked into a large room with a long table. An older man sat at the end. He had white hair and a sharp gaze. That was Arthur Conti. But my eyes went to the man standing by the window.

Klaus.

He was sitting by the window, looking out at the city. He didn't turn around. He was wearing a suit that looked like it cost more than my life. He looked taller, broader, and completely different from the boy I used to know.

"Liam Vance," Arthur said. "Please, sit down."

I took a chair as far from Klaus as I could. 

"Why am I here? Is this about when we were kids?"

Arthur smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. 

"No one is suing you, Liam. In fact, we are here to offer you a job."

I looked at Klaus, waiting for him to say something. To look at me. To acknowledge that we used to be best friends. But he stayed perfectly still, staring at the buildings outside.

"A job?" I asked, looking back at Arthur. "I’m a photographer. I don’t think I fit in here."

"Actually, that is exactly why you are here," 

Arthur said. He pushed a tablet across the table toward me. It showed the video of the argument between Klaus and his teammate, James. "Klaus has a bit of a PR problem. The world thinks he is a loner. We want to show them that he has a lifelong friend he has kept out of the spotlight. You."

I felt a cold laugh bubble up in my throat. 

"You want me to lie? You want me to pretend we’ve been friends this whole time?"

"It’s not a lie if we make it a reality now," 

Arthur said. "You would become the team’s official photographer. You would live in Klaus’s penthouse. You would be seen with him everywhere. The world will see two childhood friends who never let fame come between them."

I finally stood up, my chair scraping loudly against the floor. Klaus finally turned his head. His eyes were like flint—gray, hard, and completely empty. There was no trace of the boy who used to share a bed with me when the heat went out in our old house.

"This is insane," I said, my voice shaking. 

"You vanished, Klaus. You left me in the dirt for two years. You didn't call. You didn't write. And now you want to hire me to be your prop? To help you sell more jerseys?"

Klaus didn't flinch. He didn't apologize. He just looked at me like I was a bug he was studying.

"It’s a business arrangement, Liam," Klaus said. His voice was deeper than I remembered, but so flat. It was the 'Ice King' voice. "Don't make it emotional."

"Don't make it emotional?" I stepped toward him, my anger finally boiling over. "My father died a year ago. My brother is in a hospital bed right now fighting for his life. I am drowning in debt, and you are worried about your image? I don’t want your money, and I don't want to be your fake friend. I’m leaving."

I grabbed my bag and turned toward the door. I got halfway there before Klaus spoke again.

"The oncology wing at Seattle City Hospital is very expensive," Klaus said.

I froze. My hand was inches from the door handle. I turned back slowly. "What did you say?"

Klaus stood up. He was much taller than me now. "Leo’s treatment. The private room. 

The specialized nurses. I know exactly what it costs per month. I also know that your bank account has less than fifty dollars in it."

The room felt like it was spinning. I felt exposed. "You’ve been spying on me?"

"I’ve been keeping track of my interests," 

Klaus said, walking closer. He stopped just a few feet away. I could smell his expensive soap. "If you walk out that door, Dr. Reed will tell you tomorrow that Leo has to move to a general ward. You can’t save him on your own, Liam."

He picked up the contract from the table and held it out to me. "Sign it. All your problems go away."

I looked at the paper. Then I looked at Klaus. 

He wasn't even looking at me with pity. He was looking at me like I was a problem he was buying.

The grief of the last two years, the nights I spent crying over my dad, the days I spent starving so Leo could have a snack—it all hit me at once. And it was all because this man decided I wasn't worth a phone call.

I didn't take the paper. I snatched it out of his hand, but I didn't sign it.

I crumpled the thick, expensive paper into a ball in my fist. I looked him dead in the eyes, seeing the stranger who had stolen my best friend's face.

"You think you can buy me?" I asked, my voice low and trembling. "You think you can watch me struggle for two years, watch my family fall apart, and then show up with a checkbook when you have a bad day in the press?"

"Liam, be reasonable," Arthur started to say, but I ignored him.

"Reasonable?" I turned back to Klaus. 

"You’re not a king, Klaus. You’re just a coward in a nice suit. You're so afraid of the world seeing who you are that you'd rather buy a fake life than live a real one."

I stepped into his space, forcing him to look at me. "I would rather work ten jobs and sleep on the hospital floor than spend one second pretending I like the man you’ve become."

I took the crumpled ball of the contract and threw it as hard as I could. It hit him right in the chest, bouncing off his expensive tie and falling to the floor.

Klaus didn't move. He didn't even blink. But I saw his jaw tighten.

"Keep your money," I spat. "And keep your fake life. Don't ever contact me again."

I turned on my heel and walked out of the room. I didn't wait for the elevator. I found the stairs and ran down flight after flight until my lungs burned. I burst out of the lobby and into the bright Seattle sun, my heart racing.

I had my dignity. But as the tears finally started to burn my eyes, I realized that dignity wouldn't pay for Leo’s medicine.