Chapter 10 - My mother had aged eight years.Not twenty.
Not enough.
She should have been seventy.
She looked sixty.
There were scars along her neck.
A small surgical mark behind her ear.
She looked tired.
But alive.
I couldn't speak.
“You died.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
“You left me.”
“I watched you every day.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“You let me mourn you.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I had no choice.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone says that.”
She flinched.
“Your father said it too.”
“What did he do?”
“He betrayed the family.”
“Which family?”
“The Original Five.”
She sat down.
“Your father wanted to destroy the organization.”
I placed the ledger on the table.
“He created the ledger.”
“Yes.”
“And the money?”
“Moved into hidden trusts.”
“The Foundation?”
She nodded.
“Then why did he give everything to me?”
“Because he knew they would never suspect his youngest son.”
I froze.
“Youngest?”
She looked at me.
“You are not the fourth.”
“Then who is?”
“Samuel.”
I stared.
“The birth certificate says Samuel was born years after me.”
“It does.”
“But?”
“He was born sixteen years after.”
I frowned.
“Then the document Dominic showed me was fake.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make you believe Samuel was part of the succession.”
“Where is the real Samuel?”
“Safe.”
“With Luca?”
“No.”
“Then who has him?”
My mother looked at Beatrice.
Beatrice whispered:
“Luca.”
My mother nodded.
“He needs Samuel's blood.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“To unlock the second trust.”
“There are two?”
“There are five.”
I sat down.
Five trusts.
Five families.
Five heirs.
“This isn't about my empire.”
“No.”
“What is it about?”
My mother looked at me.
“An organization that controls more money than any family in Chicago.”
“Who runs it now?”
She whispered:
“Victor.”
I felt the pieces click together.
Victor had manipulated Dominic.
Dominic had killed my mother.
Luca had infiltrated our family.
Elias had been hidden.
Samuel was another key.
And my father had spent his final years building a weapon against all of them.
The ledger.
My mother reached beneath her coat.
She pulled out a photograph.
It showed me as a child.
Beside me stood another boy.
Same age.
Same face.
I stared.
“Who is that?”
My mother's hands trembled.
“Your twin.”
I looked at her.
“I don't have a twin.”
“You did.”
“What happened?”
She whispered:
“He was taken the day you were born.”
I stared at the photo.
A child named Adrian.
And another named Aaron.
“What was his name?”
“Aaron.”
I felt dizzy.
“Where is he?”
My mother closed her eyes.
“We thought he died.”
“Thought?”
She looked at me.
“He was seen twelve years ago.”
“By whom?”
“Luca.”
I stood.
“Where?”
She whispered:
“At the funeral.”
“Whose funeral?”
My father's.
I remembered that day.
Hundreds of people.
Black suits.
Rain.
Coffins.
And a stranger standing at the back.
A young man staring directly at me.
I had assumed he was a soldier.
A bodyguard.
A mourner.
My mother said:
“That man was your brother.”
Before I could respond, an explosion shook the mansion.
The walls cracked.
Glass shattered.
My mother fell.
Beatrice pulled me down.
Gunfire erupted upstairs.
Then a voice boomed through the speakers.
Victor Hale.
“Adrian.”
I stared at the ceiling.
“You wanted the truth.”
A pause.
“Now you can have all of it.”
The television flickered on.
Victor appeared.
Behind him stood Luca.
And Samuel.
Samuel was terrified.
Victor smiled.
“Bring me your mother.”
My mother whispered:
“Don't.”
Victor continued.
“Bring me the ledger.”
“Or Samuel dies.”
The screen went black.
Then a second message appeared.
A timer.
05:59:41.
My mother looked at me.
“You have six hours.”
I picked up my gun.
“No.”
She stared.
“I don't negotiate with people who threaten my family.”
I looked toward the shattered doors.
“I end them.”
But before I could leave, Elias grabbed my arm.
“There is something you still don't know.”
“What?”
He stared at our mother.
“She wasn't the one who abandoned us.”
My mother looked away.
May you like
Elias whispered:
“Father did.”
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