Chapter 4 - The Brother Who Was Never Found
Adrian stared at the message on his phone.
Ask him about your brother.
The words were simple.
But they carried a weight Adrian had not felt in years.
His brother.
A name that had disappeared from his life.
A name that everyone around him avoided.
A name connected to the one tragedy Adrian never allowed himself to investigate too deeply.
"Who is my brother?"
The question came out colder than he expected.
Daniel did not move.
Clara looked between them.
The security chief lowered his weapon.
Nobody spoke.
Adrian placed the phone on the desk.
"Daniel."
The former commander looked at him.
"Tell me."
Daniel took a slow breath.
"I knew this day would come."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"That is not an answer."
"No."
Daniel looked down.
"It isn't."
The room became silent.
Adrian hated silence.
Silence was where people hid things.
And for years, too many people had hidden things from him.
"My brother died twelve years ago."
Daniel said nothing.
Adrian stepped closer.
"That is what I was told."
Daniel looked at him.
"And you believed it."
The sentence felt like a slap.
Because it was true.
Adrian believed it.
Not because he was weak.
Because the evidence had been impossible to ignore.
The accident.
The destroyed vehicle.
The body that was identified.
The funeral.
Everything had been arranged perfectly.
Too perfectly.
"What was his name?"
Daniel hesitated.
Adrian's voice became sharper.
"Say it."
"Leon."
The name echoed through the office.
Leon Voss.
Adrian's younger brother.
The only person who knew Adrian before the empire.
Before the money.
Before the violence.
Before people feared his name.
Leon was the person who reminded him that he was still human.
They grew up together.
They fought together.
They promised each other they would never become like the men who destroyed their childhood.
Then one night, Leon disappeared.
And Adrian buried him.
Or at least, he thought he did.
"Why would someone use my brother?"
Daniel looked at the broken glass.
"Because your brother was the first person who discovered the truth."
"What truth?"
"The same truth you are discovering now."
Adrian's face changed.
"The poisoning?"
Daniel nodded.
"But it started long before your eyesight began failing."
Clara looked confused.
"How long?"
Daniel answered:
"Six years."
Adrian froze.
Six years.
Not months.
Not a year.
Six years.
The number changed everything.
"Explain."
Daniel walked toward the window.
"Leon discovered that someone inside your organization was moving money."
Adrian frowned.
"Marcus?"
Daniel did not answer immediately.
That was enough.
Adrian already knew.
"He was stealing from me."
"Not just stealing."
Daniel turned around.
"He was building something."
"What?"
"An empire inside your empire."
The words stayed in the room.
Because Adrian understood.
Marcus was not trying to kill him.
Not immediately.
He was trying to replace him.
Slowly.
Quietly.
Patiently.
Just like the poison.
Adrian walked back to his desk.
"Why didn't Leon tell me?"
Daniel looked away.
"Because he did."
Adrian stopped.
"No."
"He tried."
Daniel's voice became quieter.
"But someone made sure you never received the message."
Adrian remembered.
A night twelve years earlier.
Leon had called him.
Three missed calls.
Adrian was busy dealing with an attack from a rival family.
He ignored them.
The next morning, Leon was gone.
Adrian had always blamed himself.
But now...
Something felt wrong.
"What happened that night?"
Daniel reached into his jacket.
He pulled out an old envelope.
"I kept this because I knew someday you would need it."
Adrian took it.
The envelope was worn.
Old.
The paper was damaged.
His name was written on the front.
Adrian Voss.
Handwriting he recognized immediately.
Leon's handwriting.
His fingers tightened.
"Where did you get this?"
"Leon gave it to me."
Adrian looked up.
"When?"
"The night he disappeared."
The room went completely silent.
Adrian opened the envelope.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
Only one sentence.
Adrian, if you are reading this, someone close to us has already taken control.
His breathing slowed.
He continued.
Do not trust the person who tells you I died.
Adrian stopped reading.
Because the sentence was impossible.
Everyone told him Leon died.
Everyone.
Including Marcus.
Especially Marcus.
Then another detail caught his attention.
At the bottom of the page was a symbol.
A small mark.
One Adrian had seen before.
On the investigation report.
On the bottle records.
On the hidden files.
A symbol connected to the poisoning.
"The same person."
Adrian whispered.
Clara looked at him.
"What?"
Adrian held up the paper.
"Whoever killed my brother is the same person who tried to destroy me."
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
Adrian looked at him.
"Then why are you helping me now?"
Daniel remained silent.
That silence bothered Adrian.
"You know something else."
Daniel looked at the floor.
"Yes."
"What?"
Daniel looked at Adrian.
"I know who helped Marcus."
The room became tense.
"Who?"
Daniel opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
A sudden alarm interrupted them.
The security chief looked at his device.
"We have movement."
Adrian turned.
"Where?"
The man looked nervous.
"Your private archive room."
Adrian's expression changed.
Nobody entered that room.
Nobody.
The archive contained everything.
Business records.
Family documents.
Secrets.
The history of the Voss family.
"How did they get inside?"
The security chief checked the cameras.
Then his face went pale.
"Because someone opened the door from inside."
Adrian slowly looked toward Daniel.
Then Clara.
Then the empty hallway.
Someone had been in the mansion the entire time.
"Take me there."
The security team moved quickly.
The archive room was located on the second floor.
A place Adrian rarely visited.
The door was made from reinforced steel.
Only three people had access.
Adrian.
Marcus.
And Leon.
But Leon was dead.
Or he was supposed to be.
They reached the hallway.
The door was closed.
The security chief checked the lock.
"Someone was inside."
Adrian stood still.
"Open it."
The man hesitated.
"Mr. Voss..."
"Open it."
The lock clicked.
The door slowly moved.
Inside, everything was dark.
The shelves.
The files.
The old photographs.
Nothing looked disturbed.
Until Adrian heard something.
A quiet sound.
A person breathing.
Someone was inside the room.
The security team raised their weapons.
Adrian stepped forward.
"Who is there?"
No answer.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
A voice Adrian had not heard in twelve years.
A voice he thought belonged to a dead man.
"Adrian..."
His entire body froze.
May you like
Because the person standing inside the archive room whispered:
"I've been waiting for you to find out what Marcus did to me."
