Chapter 3 - The Secret Behind The Hospital Photograph
The door opened slowly.
Brielle stood frozen in the middle of the room.
She expected a guard.
A servant.
Maybe even Darwin coming to check on her.
But she was not prepared for the person standing outside.
It was Agostino Costello.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
The most powerful man in the house stood there wearing only a dark shirt, his injured side carefully covered beneath fresh bandages.
He looked angry.
But not because of pain.
Because he had questions.
Brielle quickly locked her phone screen.
Too late.
Agostino had already seen her expression.
"You were expecting someone else."
It was not a question.
Brielle stepped back.
"You should be resting."
He ignored the comment.
"Who is Elias?"
Her body went completely still.
That single name confirmed everything.
He knew.
Or at least, he knew enough.
"Why are you asking me that?"
Agostino entered the room.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He closed the door behind him.
"I asked you first."
Brielle looked toward the hallway.
No guards.
No Darwin.
No witnesses.
That was not an accident.
Agostino had made sure they were alone.
"You shouldn't be walking around after surgery."
"You shouldn't be lying to me."
The words hit harder than she expected.
Because he was right.
She had been lying.
Not about everything.
But enough.
Brielle crossed her arms.
"You came here to question me or to receive medical care?"
"Both."
"Then you're going to fail at both."
His eyes narrowed.
"Most people become nervous when I walk into a room."
"Most people probably don't spend their entire shift arguing with you."
A brief silence.
Then something changed in his expression.
A small flicker.
Almost amusement.
Almost.
"You really don't know when to stop."
"No."
She looked directly at him.
"I usually stop when people start listening."
Agostino stared at her.
For a moment, the room felt less like an interrogation.
More like two people trying to figure out who the other one really was.
Then he noticed something.
The photograph still displayed faintly on her phone screen.
His eyes moved toward it.
"Show me."
Brielle immediately picked up the phone.
"No."
"That was not a request."
"And my answer is still no."
Agostino took one step closer.
"Brielle."
The way he said her name made her pause.
Not because it sounded threatening.
Because it sounded almost desperate.
A side of him nobody else ever saw.
"I know that photograph."
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
"You do?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Agostino looked away.
For the first time since she entered his room, he looked uncertain.
And that scared her more than his anger.
"Because that night changed everything."
Brielle watched him carefully.
"What night?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked toward the window.
The city lights reflected against the glass.
"Twelve years ago."
Her heart dropped.
"Twelve years ago, I was not who I am now."
Brielle remained silent.
Agostino continued.
"There was someone I trusted."
His voice became quieter.
"Someone who knew everything about me."
"Elias?"
The name left her mouth before she could stop it.
Agostino turned.
The reaction on his face confirmed it.
"You knew him."
Brielle looked down.
"I knew someone with that name."
"Who was he?"
She hesitated.
Because answering that question meant opening a door she had spent years keeping locked.
"Elias was..."
She stopped.
Her memories became too clear.
The hospital.
The blood.
The fear.
The last conversation.
"He was someone who saved my life."
Agostino's expression changed.
"Saved your life?"
Brielle nodded.
"But he disappeared."
"When?"
"The same night my family told me he was dead."
Agostino looked at her.
"He was not dead."
The words made her breath stop.
"What?"
"Elias Costello was my brother."
The room became silent.
Brielle stared at him.
No.
That was impossible.
The man in the photograph.
The man from her past.
The man she remembered as someone gentle and kind.
He was connected to Agostino?
The mafia boss?
Her mind struggled to accept it.
"Your brother?"
Agostino nodded.
"Older brother."
Brielle slowly sat down.
The pieces were moving.
But they did not fit.
"Why didn't you know about me?"
Agostino's eyes hardened.
"Because someone made sure I didn't."
A cold feeling moved through her.
"Who?"
He didn't answer.
That told her more than words could.
An hour later, Brielle was back in the master suite.
Not because she wanted to be there.
Because Agostino refused to let the conversation end.
And because, despite everything, his condition still mattered.
She changed his bandages in silence.
Usually, he would have complained.
Usually, he would have insulted her.
But this time, he remained quiet.
Too quiet.
"You are thinking too much."
Brielle looked up.
"You can tell?"
"I can see it."
She continued cleaning the wound.
"That's a dangerous skill."
"It keeps people alive."
She paused.
"Or gets them killed."
Agostino looked at her.
"You learned that from Elias."
The name made her stop.
"Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Don't use his name like you know him."
Agostino's expression changed.
"He was my brother."
"And he was the only person who helped me when nobody else did."
The words came out sharper than she intended.
Agostino noticed.
"You cared about him."
Brielle looked away.
"Yes."
A long silence.
Then Agostino asked:
"What happened that night?"
She continued working.
"I was twelve."
His eyes changed.
The number mattered.
"I was in the hospital because of an accident."
"What kind?"
"My family never told me the truth."
Agostino watched her.
"Keep going."
"Elias found me."
She swallowed.
"He told me I couldn't stay there."
"Why?"
"Because someone was looking for me."
The room became colder.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
Agostino leaned forward.
"You don't know?"
"No."
Brielle looked at him.
"But Elias did."
Agostino stared at her.
"What did he tell you?"
She remembered the words.
The exact words.
A sentence that had stayed with her for twelve years.
"He said..."
Her voice lowered.
"He said if anyone ever asked about that night, I had to pretend I remembered nothing."
Agostino's jaw tightened.
"Why?"
"Because he said the wrong person finding me would destroy both of us."
Neither of them spoke.
Then Agostino slowly reached toward the drawer beside his bed.
He pulled out a small metal box.
Brielle watched.
"What is that?"
"Something I found after Elias disappeared."
He opened it.
Inside was an old photograph.
The same photograph.
But different.
Brielle's heart stopped.
Because the picture was not taken outside a hospital.
It was taken inside one.
And standing beside Elias was not Agostino.
It was her.
Twelve years younger.
Holding the same necklace.
Agostino looked at her.
"You were never just a witness."
Brielle stared at the photograph.
"What does that mean?"
Before he could answer, the heart monitor beside him suddenly began beeping faster.
Agostino looked toward the hallway.
Someone had entered the security system.
Darwin's voice came through the intercom.
"Mr. Costello."
A pause.
Then his voice changed.
"Someone is inside the mansion."
Agostino immediately reached for the weapon hidden beside the bed.
Brielle stepped back.
"Who?"
Darwin didn't answer.
Because another sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Confident.
Coming closer.
Then the lights in the bedroom flickered.
And a voice spoke from the other side of the locked door.
"Brielle Edwards."
She froze.
Because she knew that voice.
The door handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
May you like
Then the person outside whispered:
"You finally found Agostino..."
