Chapter 5 - The Brother Who Never Died
For ten years, I believed my brother was buried at the bottom of the ocean.
I believed there was no goodbye.
No final conversation.
No explanation.
Only an empty grave and a family that refused to talk about him.
But Richard Vale was standing in front of me.
Alive.
Watching me.
The same man I had mourned.
The same man everyone told me was gone.
The mansion was filled with gunfire behind us, but I couldn't move.
I couldn't think.
All I could do was stare.
"Adrian."
Hearing my name from his mouth felt impossible.
My hand tightened around the key Victoria had given me.
"You're dead."
Richard looked at me with tired eyes.
"I know."
The answer was so calm that it made me angry.
"You know?"
I stepped forward.
"You know what I went through?"
His expression changed.
For the first time, I saw regret.
"I know everything."
A gunshot hit the wall behind him.
Daniel shouted.
"Move!"
Reality came rushing back.
We weren't standing in a room having a family reunion.
People were trying to kill us.
Richard grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the hidden passage.
"Not here."
I almost pulled away.
"Don't touch me."
He stopped.
For a moment, we just looked at each other.
Then he nodded.
"I deserve that."
Another shot.
The ceiling cracked.
Victoria pushed Clara and Lily into the passage.
"We need to leave now."
I followed.
Not because I trusted Richard.
Because I needed answers.
The hidden tunnel beneath my mansion was colder than I expected.
The walls were old.
Older than the house itself.
Dust covered the floor.
Every step echoed.
I walked behind Richard, watching him carefully.
Ten years of questions followed every movement he made.
"Start talking."
Richard didn't turn around.
"I will."
"No."
My voice became harder.
"Now."
He stopped.
The others looked at me.
Daniel stayed silent.
Victoria looked away.
They all knew.
They had all been carrying pieces of my life while I was living inside a lie.
Richard slowly faced me.
"I disappeared because someone wanted me gone."
"Who?"
"The same person who killed Marcus."
My expression hardened.
"Marcus was murdered."
Richard nodded.
"Yes."
The answer should have shocked me.
But somehow, after everything I had discovered, it felt expected.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I tried."
He looked at Daniel.
"Three times."
Daniel lowered his eyes.
I looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
Richard continued.
"The night Marcus died, he sent me a message."
"What message?"
Richard reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small device.
An old phone.
"The truth was on this."
He handed it to me.
I looked at the cracked screen.
The battery was dead.
"Why didn't you give it to me?"
Richard's face became serious.
"Because I never got the chance."
He looked down the tunnel.
"Someone found me first."
The hallway behind us became silent.
Too silent.
"Who?"
Richard looked at me.
"The person you trusted after I disappeared."
My mind immediately went through every person.
Every ally.
Every employee.
Every friend.
But before I could ask, the tunnel lights suddenly turned on.
Everyone froze.
Richard looked alarmed.
"That's impossible."
Daniel immediately raised his weapon.
"What?"
Richard stared at the lights.
"This system was disconnected years ago."
Victoria whispered:
"Someone activated it."
A low sound came from deeper inside the tunnel.
A mechanical click.
Like a lock opening.
I looked ahead.
At the end of the passage was a metal door.
A door I had never seen before.
A door hidden beneath my own home.
Richard walked toward it.
"No."
I grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait."
He looked at me.
"What?"
"How do you know what's behind that door?"
His face changed.
And I knew.
He had been there before.
"I built it."
The words hit me.
"You built this?"
Richard nodded.
"Marcus and I built it together."
My anger returned.
"You and Marcus were hiding things from me."
"No."
Richard looked at me.
"We were hiding things for you."
I hated how every answer created another question.
I hated that part of me still wanted to believe him.
The metal door had a small keypad.
Richard entered a code.
The screen flashed red.
ACCESS DENIED.
He tried again.
Red.
Denied.
His expression changed.
"The code was changed."
"By who?"
Nobody answered.
Then Lily quietly spoke.
"Maybe not."
Everyone turned.
The little girl was staring at the keypad.
"What did you say?"
She stepped closer.
"My mom used to come here."
Clara immediately grabbed her hand.
"Lily, don't."
But it was too late.
I looked at Clara.
"You knew about this tunnel?"
She looked ashamed.
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Since before Marcus died."
My patience disappeared.
"Everyone knew."
Nobody spoke.
"Everyone knew except me."
The silence hurt more than any betrayal.
Then Lily pointed at the keypad.
"There was another number."
Richard looked at her.
"What number?"
She whispered:
"His birthday."
I stared.
"Whose birthday?"
She looked at me.
"Yours."
Nobody moved.
Richard slowly entered my birth date.
The screen flashed.
Green.
The door unlocked.
A cold wind came from inside.
The room beyond was small.
But it contained something that made every person stop.
A desk.
A chair.
A camera.
And dozens of photographs covering the walls.
Photographs of me.
My entire life.
My childhood.
My first business.
My meetings.
My relationships.
Every important moment.
Someone had been watching me.
Recording me.
Studying me.
For years.
I walked closer.
On the desk was a file.
My name was written on it.
Not Adrian Vale.
A different name.
The name my mother used when I was a child.
A name almost nobody knew.
I opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
A photograph of me as a teenager.
Standing beside someone.
Someone I recognized.
Someone who had been in my life for years.
Behind the photo was a handwritten message.
Five words.
"Your enemy raised you."
I felt my heartbeat slow.
Because suddenly I understood.
The person who betrayed Marcus.
The person who manipulated Richard.
The person who watched me all these years.
Wasn't trying to destroy my empire.
They were part of my empire from the beginning.
Daniel stepped beside me.
"Adrian..."
I looked at him.
"Who knew about this room?"
Before he could answer, the old camera on the desk suddenly turned on.
A red light blinked.
Someone was recording.
Then the screen showed a live video.
A man appeared.
Older.
Smiling.
Someone everyone believed had died six years ago.
May you like
Marcus Reed looked directly into the camera.
And said my name.
