Chapter 3 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
The door opened three inches.
Then stopped.
Marcus reached for the weapon beneath his jacket.
Desmond raised one hand.
“Don't.”
Marcus froze.
The door moved again.
A man stepped into the hallway.
He was older than Desmond by several years.
Dark hair.
Gray at the temples.
A thin scar crossed his cheek.
Desmond stared at him.
The man smiled.
“Hello, little brother.”
Sadi felt the temperature of the hallway change.
Desmond's face became expressionless.
“Adrian.”
The man nodded.
“Still remember me.”
Marcus whispered something into his radio.
Adrian's eyes shifted toward Sadi.
“And you must be the caregiver.”
Sadi didn't answer.
Adrian smiled.
“She looks exactly like the kind of woman you would hire.”
“What do you want?”
“The truth.”
Desmond's hands tightened around the wheelchair controls.
“You've been dead for three years.”
“Technically.”
Sadi stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian looked at her.
“It means your employer has lied to you.”
Desmond snapped:
“Get out.”
Adrian laughed softly.
“You still think you can order everyone around.”
His eyes dropped toward Desmond's legs.
“You used to hate weakness.”
Desmond's face hardened.
“You caused the explosion.”
Adrian's smile disappeared.
“No.”
A pause.
“Someone else did.”
Desmond stared at him.
Adrian reached inside his jacket.
Marcus stepped forward.
“Hands where I can see them.”
Adrian slowly pulled out a small envelope.
He dropped it onto the floor.
“Open it.”
Desmond looked at Marcus.
Marcus picked it up.
Inside was an old photograph.
Desmond and Adrian stood beside their father.
On the back was a handwritten sentence.
THE PERSON WHO ORDERED THE BOMB WAS ALREADY INSIDE THE FAMILY.
Desmond stared at the words.
Adrian stepped backward.
“You have forty-eight hours.”
“For what?”
“To decide whether you want revenge.”
He looked at Sadi.
“Or the truth.”
Then he disappeared through the side corridor.
Marcus immediately followed.
Desmond remained motionless.
Sadi crouched and picked up the photograph.
“Why would your brother warn you?”
“He wouldn't.”
She looked at him.
“Then who is he?”
Desmond stared toward the corridor.
“That is what I'm going to find out.”
That afternoon, Desmond began reviewing old security records.
Sadi stayed nearby.
For hours, they found nothing.
Then Sadi noticed something.
“Wait.”
She pointed toward a photograph from the night of the explosion.
Desmond leaned closer.
A man stood in the background.
His face was partially hidden.
Sadi enlarged the image.
“That isn't Adrian.”
“No.”
Desmond's eyes narrowed.
“That's Marcus.”
Sadi looked at him.
“You trust him?”
“I did.”
She said nothing.
That evening, Marcus returned.
He claimed Adrian had escaped.
Desmond listened.
Then he noticed mud on Marcus's shoes.
“Where were you?”
Marcus answered immediately.
“North gate.”
Sadi looked down.
The mud was pale gray.
The north gate ground was black soil.
Desmond noticed it too.
Marcus realized his mistake.
His hand moved toward his jacket.
Desmond spoke calmly.
“Don't.”
Marcus stopped.
“You think I betrayed you?”
Desmond stared at him.
“I think someone wants me to believe you did.”
Marcus looked toward Sadi.
Then he smiled.
“Then you should ask your caregiver where she was the night your brother disappeared.”
Sadi froze.
May you like
Desmond turned toward her.
And for the first time, suspicion entered his eyes.
