Chapter 5 - Victor Hale had been the man behind my father's throne.He handled numbers.
Connections.
Lawyers.
Judges.
Police.
He had taught me how to turn fear into leverage.
And when my father died, Victor became the one person I trusted completely.
Until he died.
At least, that was what I believed.
Beatrice drove us to a safe apartment on the North Side.
I spent the entire ride staring at Victor's photograph.
“How sure are you?”
“That he's alive?”
“Yes.”
“I saw him six months ago.”
“Where?”
“Mexico.”
“Doing what?”
“Buying something.”
“What?”
She didn't answer.
Instead, she handed me a file.
Inside was a list of names.
Every name was crossed out.
At the bottom was mine.
Beside it:
PENDING.
“What is this?”
“A death list.”
I looked at the names.
Police officers.
Judges.
Businessmen.
Two journalists.
Three members of my organization.
All dead.
“You said six months ago.”
“Yes.”
“So why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was trying to determine whether you were part of it.”
“Part of what?”
“The plan.”
“What plan?”
She looked at me.
“The plan to destroy you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Someone has been trying to kill me for years.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“They don't want you dead.”
“They don't?”
“They want you to become the man your father was.”
I stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
“Your father tried to destroy the organization from inside.”
I leaned forward.
“Why?”
“Because they wanted Luca.”
“Why?”
“Because of what he witnessed.”
“What did he witness?”
She looked away.
“Your mother's murder.”
My pulse stopped.
“My mother died in her sleep.”
“No.”
“That's what the doctors said.”
“The doctors were paid.”
I stood.
“Tell me everything.”
Beatrice hesitated.
Then she said:
“Your mother found out your father had created a private ledger.”
“What ledger?”
“A record of every illegal operation controlled by the five families.”
“And?”
“She planned to expose them.”
“Who killed her?”
Beatrice looked into my eyes.
“Dominic.”
I felt something inside me crack.
I remembered Dominic standing beside my mother at the funeral.
His hand on my shoulder.
Telling me she had died peacefully.
I had believed him.
Beatrice continued.
“But that's not the worst part.”
“What could possibly be worse?”
“She wasn't the only one killed that night.”
“Who else?”
“Your father's second son.”
I stared.
“I don't have another brother.”
Beatrice's face went pale.
“You did.”
Silence.
“My father had another son?”
“Yes.”
“What was his name?”
She hesitated.
“Elias.”
I had never heard the name.
Not once.
“Why don't I remember him?”
“You were six.”
She lowered her voice.
“Someone erased him from the family.”
I looked at the photographs.
There he was.
A boy standing beside me.
Dark hair.
Same eyes.
Same face shape.
My brother.
I touched the photograph.
“What happened to him?”
Beatrice whispered:
“He disappeared the night your mother died.”
I stared at the picture.
Then something strange happened.
I remembered a sound.
A child's voice.
Calling my name.
Adrian.
Adrian.
Adrian.
I had spent twenty years believing it was a dream.
It wasn't.
It was memory.
I looked at Beatrice.
“Where is Elias?”
She shook her head.
“We don't know.”
Then my phone rang.
A video arrived.
I opened it.
The screen showed an underground room.
A chair.
A man sitting in it.
Victor Hale.
Alive.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Adrian.”
I froze.
“You have started opening doors that were buried for a reason.”
Victor smiled.
Behind him stood Luca.
Alive.
And beside Luca stood Dominic.
Holding a gun to his head.
Victor continued.
“You believe your brother is the victim.”
He smiled.
“He isn't.”
Dominic moved the gun closer.
Victor said the final sentence slowly.
“Your brother is the one who betrayed your family.”
Then the video ended.
I stared at the black screen.
Beatrice whispered,
“Don't believe him.”
I looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“Because I was there.”
I froze.
“You were there?”
She nodded.
“The night Elias disappeared.”
I stepped closer.
“What did you see?”
Her lips trembled.
“I saw who took him.”
“Who?”
She looked at me.
May you like
And gave me a name I never expected.
“Your mother.”
Related Stories
