Chapter 15 - The Man Who Knew Gabriel's NameThree months later, the Callaway empire had changed.
Graham Vale was awaiting trial.
The underground facility had been seized.
The hidden records had been handed to federal investigators.
Elena survived.
Vincent survived.
But Roman had not returned to his old life.
He sold several of the companies.
Closed the private clinics.
Destroyed the secret archives.
And he kept Gabriel close.
Sophia moved into the ninth-floor apartment.
Not because Roman asked her to.
Because she finally had somewhere safe to stay.
One rainy evening, Roman stood beside the window.
Sophia entered carrying Gabriel.
“He's asleep.”
Roman smiled faintly.
“Good.”
Sophia placed the baby in the crib.
For a moment, there was peace.
Real peace.
Then the apartment lights flickered.
Roman turned.
His phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
He opened the message.
A photograph appeared.
It showed Gabriel sleeping in the crib.
Roman's stomach dropped.
The photograph had been taken inside the apartment.
Tonight.
Sophia froze.
“What is it?”
Roman didn't answer.
Another message arrived.
YOU THINK IT'S OVER.
Then:
IT HASN'T EVEN STARTED.
Sophia rushed toward the crib.
Roman stepped in front of her.
A third message appeared.
ASK YOUR BROTHER WHAT HAPPENED ON THE DAY GABRIEL WAS BORN.
Roman called Vincent.
No answer.
He called Marcus.
No answer.
Then he heard something.
A faint sound from the nursery.
Gabriel crying.
Roman and Sophia ran inside.
The crib was empty.
The window was open.
Sophia screamed.
Roman rushed to it.
Far below, a black car waited at the curb.
Its headlights flashed once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then the car disappeared into traffic.
Sophia collapsed.
Roman stood frozen.
On the mattress was a small envelope.
The same brown paper.
The same handwriting.
Roman opened it.
Inside was one photograph.
Gabriel.
Taken moments earlier.
And beside him stood a man Roman had never seen before.
But the man had the same gray eyes as Vincent.
The same scar beneath the chin.
And around his wrist was Roman's old silver watch.
Roman stared at the photograph.
On the back were seven words:
ONE BROTHER WAS NEVER ENOUGH FOR THEM.
His phone rang.
Roman answered.
A calm man's voice spoke.
“Hello, Roman.”
Roman's blood turned cold.
The voice belonged to his father.
A man who had been dead for twelve years.
“I think,” the voice continued, “it's time you met your real family.”
The call ended.
Roman looked at Sophia.
She was crying.
Gabriel was gone.
Outside, thunder rolled over the city.
Roman closed his eyes.
For eleven years, he had believed his family was built on lies.
Now he understood the truth.
The lies had only been the doorway.
Someone had been waiting behind them all along.
And whoever had taken Gabriel didn't want money.
Didn't want revenge.
Didn't even want Roman dead.
They wanted something much more dangerous.
They wanted the child alive.
Because Gabriel Callaway wasn't merely the heir to a billionaire's fortune.
He was the last living key to a secret powerful enough to destroy every family that had spent eighteen years trying to control him.
Roman opened his eyes.
Then he whispered the only promise that mattered.
“I'll find you, son.”
Across the city, inside a moving black car, Gabriel slept peacefully.
A man sat beside him.
The stranger looked down at the baby.
Then smiled.
“Your father is coming.”
He lifted his phone.
One final message appeared on the screen.
PHASE TWO BEGINS TONIGHT.
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And beneath it was a name Roman had never seen before.
PROJECT GABRIEL.
