Chapter 4 - The Voice From The Grave
"Your brother is not the one you should be afraid of."
The words echoed through my office.
The man on the screen stared directly at me.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
Adrian Hayes.
My brother.
The man I buried seven years ago.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because sometimes the impossible is not shocking because it cannot happen.
It is shocking because a part of you always knew it could.
I stepped closer to the computer.
"Adrian."
His eyes changed.
For a second, I saw the brother I remembered.
The man who taught me how to fight.
The man who protected me when we were children.
The man who promised me nobody would ever take my family away.
Then the image glitched.
His face disappeared.
The screen went black.
I slammed my hand against the desk.
"Bring it back."
Marcus immediately moved toward the computer.
"I can't."
I turned toward him.
"Try."
"I am trying."
His fingers moved quickly.
The connection had been cut.
Whoever sent the video wanted us to see it.
But they didn't want us to talk to him.
That meant one thing.
Adrian was still hiding.
Or someone was hiding him.
I looked at Marcus.
"Start explaining."
He didn't answer immediately.
That was becoming a habit.
And I hated it.
"Marcus."
He looked at me.
"The night Adrian disappeared wasn't an accident."
The room became colder.
I already knew what he was going to say.
But I needed to hear it.
"Tell me."
Marcus looked down.
"Your brother discovered someone inside the organization was working against you."
I laughed quietly.
A bitter sound.
"Someone inside."
The same words.
The same enemy.
Always hiding close.
"Who?"
Marcus shook his head.
"I never found out."
I pointed toward the computer.
"But you found Adrian."
"No."
"You found evidence."
"Yes."
"And you hid it."
Marcus accepted that.
"I did."
My anger grew.
"Why?"
His answer came quietly.
"Because Adrian made me promise."
I stared at him.
"My dead brother gave you orders?"
Marcus looked at me.
"Your brother called me three days after his supposed death."
The room went completely silent.
Sadie looked shocked.
"That's impossible."
"I thought so too."
Marcus walked toward the desk.
"He called from a blocked number. He said he was alive, but if anyone knew, you would be killed."
I narrowed my eyes.
"You expect me to believe he stayed away for seven years to protect me?"
"No."
Marcus looked at me.
"He stayed away because someone powerful wanted you dead."
I looked at Sadie.
Then back at Marcus.
"Who?"
Marcus didn't answer.
That was the answer.
I grabbed his collar.
"Who?"
His voice was barely a whisper.
"The person closest to you."
My hand loosened.
Because I already knew what he meant.
The betrayal was not from an enemy.
It was from someone who had access.
Someone who knew my schedule.
Someone who knew my security.
Someone who knew my weaknesses.
I released Marcus.
Sadie stepped forward.
"Declan."
I looked at her.
"There is something else."
I waited.
She reached into her pocket.
And pulled out a small piece of paper.
Folded.
Old.
Damaged.
"Where did you get that?"
She looked nervous.
"From the archive file."
I took it.
The handwriting was familiar.
Adrian's handwriting.
Only six words.
"Do not trust the man beside you."
I looked at Marcus.
He looked at the paper.
Then his face changed.
"What?"
I held it up.
"You knew about this?"
"No."
But his reaction came too quickly.
I noticed.
And he knew I noticed.
Before anyone could speak, the entire penthouse shook.
A loud explosion came from downstairs.
The lights flickered.
Then every security monitor turned on.
Not one by one.
All at once.
The screens showed different rooms inside my building.
The lobby.
The garage.
The private elevator.
The security office.
Someone had hacked my entire system.
Then one camera feed changed.
It showed my office.
The room we were standing in.
Except the camera angle was impossible.
It was inside the office.
Behind us.
Watching us.
Sadie slowly looked around.
"Someone was here."
I didn't answer.
Because I knew.
The camera had not been installed by my security team.
I had personally approved every camera placement.
There was no camera behind my desk.
No camera facing the door.
No camera hidden in the walls.
Unless someone had added it recently.
Marcus moved toward the wall.
He touched a small crack near the bookshelf.
"There."
He pulled the shelf aside.
Behind it was a hidden compartment.
Inside was a small recording device.
And a red folder.
My name was written on it.
Declan Hayes.
I opened it.
The first page made my hands stop.
It was a copy of my birth certificate.
The second page was a medical record.
The third page was a photograph.
A photograph of my mother.
But she wasn't alone.
Standing beside her was Adrian.
And another man.
A man I recognized.
The same man from the video.
The man who told me Marcus wasn't the person I should fear.
I turned the photograph over.
There was writing on the back.
One sentence.
"Your family was built on a lie."
My phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
Nobody spoke.
I answered.
"Who is this?"
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a voice.
Weak.
Older.
Familiar.
"Declan..."
My entire body froze.
Because I knew that voice.
"Adrian?"
A quiet breath.
Then:
"I don't have much time."
I stepped away from Marcus.
"Where are you?"
The voice became lower.
"Before I tell you, you need to understand something."
"What?"
A pause.
Then he said:
"The man who betrayed us was never working alone."
The call suddenly ended.
A new message appeared on my phone.
One location.
One address.
And one name.
The address was my old family mansion.
The name was my father's.
I stared at the screen.
May you like
Because my father had been dead for fifteen years.
And the front door of the mansion had just opened on the live security feed.
