Chapter 4 - The Dead BrotherFor several seconds, Adrian couldn't breathe.
Marcus stood in the doorway.
Alive.
Older.
Harder.
A thin scar crossed his cheek.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
The same gray eyes Adrian had spent nine years trying not to remember.
Vincent aimed his weapon.
“Adrian, get behind me.”
Marcus laughed.
“You always were loyal, Vincent.”
Vincent’s jaw tightened.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
“I was.”
Marcus stepped into the room.
“That's the point.”
Adrian stared at him.
“You watched me.”
“Yes.”
“You watched my daughter.”
Marcus nodded.
“She was never the target.”
“Then who was?”
Marcus smiled.
“You.”
Adrian felt anger surge through him.
His heart responded immediately.
The monitor on his wrist began vibrating.
Vincent noticed.
“Easy.”
Marcus’s gaze dropped to it.
“What happened to you?”
Adrian said nothing.
Marcus studied him.
Then his expression changed.
“You're sick.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“How do you know?”
“Because I've been watching you for three years.”
Vincent moved forward.
“Why?”
Marcus looked at him.
“Because Adrian wasn't supposed to become like Father.”
The room fell silent.
Their father had been the architect of the Moretti criminal empire.
Cold.
Manipulative.
Ruthless.
Adrian had spent his life trying to become different.
Marcus had hated him for it.
Marcus looked at Adrian.
“You think I died because of Volkov?”
“Didn’t you?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Marcus smiled.
“Our father.”
Adrian stiffened.
“Our father has been dead for eleven years.”
“That's what you were told.”
Marcus reached into his coat.
Vincent raised his gun.
“Slowly.”
Marcus pulled out a photograph.
He placed it on the table.
Adrian stared.
The photograph showed their father.
Standing beside Volkov.
And beside another man Adrian didn't recognize.
A younger man.
Marcus.
Alive.
The photograph was dated ten years after Marcus was supposedly killed.
Adrian looked up.
“You were working with him.”
Marcus nodded.
“I was.”
“Why?”
“To destroy him.”
Adrian frowned.
Marcus leaned against the wall.
“You don't know what happened the night I disappeared.”
“Tell me.”
Marcus's expression hardened.
“Our father ordered the hit on you.”
Adrian froze.
“Why?”
“Because you discovered the accounts.”
Adrian remembered.
The offshore money.
The missing shipments.
The secret operations.
He had thought Volkov was responsible.
Marcus continued.
“You were going to expose him.”
“And you stopped it?”
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
Marcus looked away.
“I failed.”
Adrian swallowed.
“And the reason you stayed dead?”
Marcus looked back.
“Because being dead was the only way I could investigate who betrayed us.”
“Who?”
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“Someone inside your organization.”
Vincent shook his head.
“Impossible.”
Marcus laughed.
“That's what you said nine years ago.”
Adrian noticed something.
Marcus's hands were trembling slightly.
“Why did you come now?”
Marcus looked toward the hallway.
“Because Volkov isn't the biggest threat anymore.”
Adrian's chest tightened.
“Who is?”
Marcus said one word.
“Lucian.”
Adrian's blood turned cold.
Lucian was their father's former strategist.
A man so ruthless that even criminals avoided saying his name.
Marcus continued.
“He's been rebuilding the old network.”
“For what?”
“To take everything.”
Adrian stared.
“What's that got to do with Mia?”
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
“Everything.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“What does he want from my daughter?”
Marcus's face became grim.
“Her mother.”
Adrian frowned.
“What?”
“Clara isn't who you think she is.”
Adrian turned toward the bedroom.
Clara stood there.
Her face was pale.
She had heard everything.
Marcus looked at her.
Clara slowly raised her hands.
“You should have told him years ago.”
Adrian stared at her.
“Told me what?”
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
“Mia isn't the only reason they found us.”
She looked at Adrian.
“They've been looking for something I took from Lucian.”
“What?”
Clara whispered:
“The Black Ledger.”
Marcus's expression changed.
“You still have it?”
Clara nodded.
Adrian looked between them.
“What is the Black Ledger?”
Marcus answered.
“A record of every bribe, murder, kidnapping, politician, judge, cop, and business Lucian has ever controlled.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Where is it?”
Clara looked toward Mia's room.
“I hid it.”
“Where?”
Clara swallowed.
“In the one place nobody would search.”
Adrian followed her gaze.
Mia was sitting on the bed.
Holding Mr. Buttons.
Clara whispered:
“Inside her teddy bear.”
Adrian's blood ran cold.
Before anyone could react, the bedroom door slammed shut.
A gunshot exploded from inside.
Mia screamed.
May you like
Adrian ran.
And the heart monitor on his wrist began screaming.
