----------------------------------------------
Content Warning
----------------------------------------------
Content Warnings:
In this work, characters discuss sexual assault, abuse, murder, and similar vile acts. This is NOT part of the erotic content of the story, nor is it described in detail. Still, the plot is more of a dark thriller/mystery than standard incest erotica.
There is detailed/eroticized BDSM and rough/violent (although very much consensual) sex. Some of my readers really aren't into it, and that's understandable. You can skip this one if certain BDSM-related activities turn you off. The people engaging in this sex still have a great deal of affection and love for one other.
There's some action/thriller-style violence in here as well.
Every family has secrets. Some are much darker than others. Come learn those of the De Heer family.
----------------------------------------------
Author's Note
----------------------------------------------
Feel free to skip to the next section if you want to get to the good stuff.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this story over many months. Originally it was supposed to be rather short and self contained. Now it's around 68,000 words, and there have been quite a few edits, changes, and re-writes. I do hope that you enjoy it.
I also wanted to address the matter of priorities. Some people have quite eagerly wanted me to attend to a particular sequel or type of story next, and may wonder why I have written this instead.
There are a few reasons why I release the things that I do. First of all, I write for pleasure. I do not, at this time, get any sort of payment for my longer-form stories. So, naturally, I am going to write what interests me, and sometimes that deviates from what my readers expect. I ask only for your patience and understanding.
Secondly, I never work on one thing at a time. I am simply not capable of it. So I always have multiple projects in the works. I won't ever post a real schedule, because sometimes I need to stop one item and work on another. That's just how I write. What that means in practical terms is that there are some stories, including requested sequels or spinoffs, which are being worked on.
Lastly, I have been guilty of releasing stories too quickly in the past, and it's led to my work being of a lower quality than I would like. So, I will be patient, edit for grammar and wording, rearrange chapters, and listen to feedback. That adds time, but I think it also makes a better final result.
Thank you for reading my work at all, and, in any case, I hope you enjoy reading about Reuben and Isa De Heer (and the other characters) as much as I enjoyed creating them. Their world is a dark place, but full of delights for those who seek them.
----------------------------------------------
Dedication
----------------------------------------------
This work is dedicated to hannahslamma from reddit. Their thoughtful and incisive feedback added much-needed clarity, direction, and subtlety.
All errors, plot issues, and poor writing still belong to me.
----------------------------------------------
De Heer
----------------------------------------------
CelebRumors.corp, October 14th, 20xx
by Victoria Evans
Reclusive Matriarch of De Heer Family Dead at 63
The secretive and ultra-rich De Heer family has long been a source of rumors and hints of scandal, but none ever seemed to touch Tess De Heer. Known for her charity work and gentle method of applying her family's extensive and powerful influence to what she deemed as good causes, her absence is already being felt by those in the highest echelons of power. Financial experts are cautiously optimistic that her passing will not affect the family's fortunes or investments. Tess passed after a three-year-long struggle with ovarian cancer.
Tess' husband Rudi passed away several years prior due to complications related to the sudden onset of heart disease. She survived by her twin children, Isa and Reuben. Isa, who is expected to be Tess' primary heir, has been managing the family's business operations for the past five years. Reuben, on the other hand, has been estranged for years and is rumored to have been disowned. One can only wonder what kind of depravity finally disgraced him from his debauched family.
As always, when we dig up more dirt, you'll be the first to see it!
----------------------------------------------
The Funeral
----------------------------------------------
She watched me through the entire funeral. It was unnerving, to say the least. Every time I looked over, my sister's eyes met mine. Once, she even curled her lip in dark amusement. Mostly she just kept an expressionless mask up, one that she'd been very good at presenting to the world even when had been children.
I sighed and turned back around in my pew. I only had to sit through the rest of this service, then go to the burial. Technically there was a will reading later, but I'd heard from the lawyers well in advance of this. Unsurprisingly, I'd been written out of it. I wasn't upset. It was what I wanted, in any case.
As the disowned scion of the De Heer family, I wasn't even sure if I would be welcomed at my own mother's funeral. Still, I was pleasantly surprised to be treated as roughly an equal most of the attendees, if not my sister.
Isa, or Ms. De Heer to her friends, was my last living relative, and my twin. We'd been very close once. Some would say too close. But that changed when I finally learned the depths of my family's sins. Granted, much of it wasn't anything that would surprise most people, but the darker stuff would shock even the most jaded members of polite society. At least those who weren't also actively participating in it. I spoke to my mother and father about making the family finances ethical, redistributing investments, ceasing our involvement with predatory organizations like the Brigantine, and perhaps even giving some extra funds to charity. They reacted to me with laughter at first and then anger. Was I not grateful for how I lived? For the vacations and tutors and private schools? I was, but I wouldn't back down. After the fight, I had expected Isa to back me up, at least a little, but she joined with our parents and called me naive. It hurt quite a bit to realize that she was quite happy to inherit the profits of murder, war-profiteering, drug smuggling, and money laundering, to name a few of our family's more commonly known achievements.
So at the wise age of twenty-one, I left, and my family cut me off completely. They even sent a friendly notice on attractive letterhead asking me to change my last name, which I ignored. I finished college at a state school rather than at the Ivy League institution that I had started at. The education compared favorably but didn't put me in nearly as much debt as remaining would have.
I never apologized, and they never contacted me, although I reached out when my father died. He had never liked me, but I would have attended his funeral had I been allowed. A year later, at twenty-five, I had reached out to both mother and Isa, attempting to salvage our relationship. I was sent another letter on even more beautiful stationery, stating that neither their fellowship nor their money would be forthcoming. To my credit, I never wanted a dime of that bloodstained fortune, but I would have liked to have seen Mom before she died. I had never thought she would bear a grudge that long.
Four more years passed. I became a respected academic in a small sub-field in history. I struggled and taught and earned a reasonably early tenure at a decent state school on the west coast. I wrote papers and attended conferences. I dated and was married, very briefly, to a lovely woman named Nina. It was unwise, and both of us realized it after a month. We separated amicably enough, and we still have lunch and, on occasion, sex.
I suppose what I'm saying is that I made a life for myself. I didn't make a lot of money, nor did I have much in the way of creature comforts, but I did have a small group of good friends (including Nina). What I had never been able to do, however, is open up romantically to virtually anyone. At the ripe old age of twenty-nine, when I'd gotten the phone call from some legal secretary informing me that my mother had passed away, I had given up on dating and romance altogether, if not casual sex.
I'm not even sure why I attended the funeral, except maybe for closure. I'd sent one last email to the only address I had for Isa, and she hadn't even bothered responding. Hence, I assumed that she had no interest in seeing me. I had no illusions about being in the will. I suppose I loved my mother and wanted to say goodbye, even if she never quite returned the favor.
The service, simple and rich and protestant, ended. I watched my mother's casket as she was carried into the family vault. Then the door was sealed again with great finality. Finally, it was all over. I made for my rental in the parking lot of the ancient cemetery, but, to my dismay, I could not find it.
I found the space. I was sure that it was the right one. It was in the corner, and there had been an oil stain in the space next to it. The car itself was nowhere to be found. There was no broken glass, and the burial had been swift, taking around twenty minutes. I looked around, and there didn't appear to be anyone else having similar issues. I sighed. Of course, the one person here who was not rich would have their property stolen. I took my phone out and was about to dial 911 when a voice startled me.
"Sir," she said, and I spun on my heel. I hadn't heard her approach. She was about three years older than me, with short auburn hair and a rebellious glint in her eye. She wore a men's style suit, but it was tailored to her very feminine frame. I recognized her at once.
"Rachel," I said, raising an eyebrow, "you startled me."
She smirked, and I knew that had been her intent.
"My apologies, Mr. De Heer. I simply came over to invite you to make use of your family's transportation. I'm parked right over there."
