Chapter 7 - The Brother Who Was Never Dead
The security camera showed his face.
I had never seen him before.
But Dominic had.
The second Marco Russo appeared on the monitor, Dominic stopped breathing.
Not because he was shocked.
Because somewhere deep inside, he had always feared this moment would come.
The man everyone believed was dead was standing at the front gate.
Alive.
Waiting.
I looked at Dominic.
"Is that really your brother?"
He didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
The same screen that had just destroyed four years of certainty.
Elena stepped closer.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Marco."
Dominic finally moved.
He grabbed the security tablet from the desk.
"Lock every entrance."
The guards immediately responded through the speakers.
"Yes, sir."
"Nobody enters."
A pause.
Then Dominic added:
"And nobody leaves."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
His eyes met mine.
Because of everything that had happened, I expected anger.
Instead, I saw fear.
"He knows too much."
The answer made my stomach tighten.
"Your brother?"
Dominic looked back at the screen.
"Marco was the only person who knew every part of my life."
Elena's expression changed.
"And that's why he was dangerous."
Dominic turned toward her.
"You knew."
She looked away.
"You knew he was alive."
"I suspected."
"You suspected?"
His voice became sharper.
"You let me believe my own brother was dead."
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"I was trying to keep Lily alive."
That stopped him.
The mention of Lily changed everything.
Because no matter what happened between them, they both loved the same child.
Dominic looked toward the stairs.
Toward his daughter.
Then back at Elena.
"What did Marco want?"
Elena shook her head.
"I don't know."
The security tablet suddenly made a sound.
A notification.
A message appeared.
From the front gate.
Dominic opened it.
Only five words.
"Let me see my niece."
Everyone went silent.
My heart started beating faster.
Niece.
Not daughter.
Not Lily.
Niece.
I looked at Elena.
She looked terrified.
"What does that mean?"
She didn't answer.
Dominic noticed.
"Elena."
She closed her eyes.
"I didn't tell you everything."
The sentence felt like a second betrayal.
Dominic's expression hardened.
"What else?"
She looked toward Lily's room.
Then whispered:
"Marco wasn't only helping me escape."
"Then what was he doing?"
Elena hesitated.
"He was hiding Lily."
The silence afterward was unbearable.
I felt confused.
"From who?"
Elena looked at Dominic.
"From you."
Nobody moved.
Dominic stared at her.
"What?"
"I know how that sounds."
"It sounds impossible."
"It is the truth."
His voice became colder.
"Explain."
Elena took a shaky breath.
"When Lily was born, there were people who wanted access to her."
"Why?"
"Because of your family."
Dominic laughed once.
But there was no humor.
"My family?"
"Your father's old connections."
The room changed.
I had heard rumors about Dominic's world.
But I had never asked.
I didn't want to know.
Now I was standing in the middle of it.
"And Marco knew?"
Elena nodded.
"Marco knew your father had left something behind."
"What?"
"I don't know."
Dominic looked toward the basement.
The hidden files.
The recordings.
The secrets.
Everything connected.
Before anyone could speak, the front gate camera changed.
Marco was no longer standing outside.
The screen showed him walking through the main entrance.
The guards were not stopping him.
They couldn't.
Because Dominic gave no order.
And because Marco knew exactly how to enter.
The front door opened.
Footsteps echoed through the mansion.
Slow.
Confident.
Familiar.
Dominic moved forward.
I stayed behind him.
Elena grabbed Lily's hand.
Then Marco appeared.
He looked older than Dominic.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like someone who had spent years carrying a secret alone.
He stopped when he saw Elena.
Then he smiled sadly.
"You're alive."
Elena stared at him.
"You knew."
Marco looked at Dominic.
"Yes."
The answer was immediate.
Dominic's face became unreadable.
"You knew she was alive."
Marco nodded.
"Yes."
Four years of pain.
Four years of questions.
Four years of believing a lie.
And Marco admitted it with one word.
Dominic stepped closer.
"Why?"
Marco looked at Lily.
His expression softened.
"Because I was protecting her."
"From who?"
Marco looked back at him.
"From the people who wanted to use her."
Dominic's voice became dangerous.
"And you thought lying to me was protection?"
Marco didn't respond.
Because he knew the answer.
Then his eyes moved.
Toward me.
Toward my stomach.
His expression changed.
"You didn't tell him."
I froze.
Dominic immediately noticed.
"Tell me what?"
Marco looked at me.
Then at Dominic.
"The baby isn't the first secret."
My heart dropped.
"What does that mean?"
Marco walked closer.
"The reason they are interested in Norah isn't only because she is carrying your child."
Dominic stared at him.
"Then why?"
Marco reached inside his jacket.
Dominic immediately moved.
But Marco only removed an old envelope.
He handed it to Dominic.
"This belonged to your father."
Dominic looked at the envelope.
A name was written on it.
Not his.
Not Marco's.
Someone else's.
I couldn't read it from where I stood.
But Dominic could.
And the moment he saw it...
his entire expression changed.
"No."
Marco looked at him.
"Yes."
Dominic shook his head.
"That's impossible."
"What is?"
I asked.
Neither of them answered.
Dominic opened the envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
He looked at it.
Then slowly lowered it.
His face had lost all color.
"Who is she?"
I stepped closer.
Dominic looked at the photograph.
A woman.
A newborn baby.
And a date.
A date from before Lily was born.
Marco spoke quietly.
"Your father had another child."
The words hit the room like an explosion.
Dominic stared at him.
"You're lying."
"I wish I was."
Elena looked at the photograph.
Then at Dominic.
"That's why they came after Lily."
I felt confused.
"Why?"
Marco looked at me.
"Because your baby is connected to the same secret."
My hand moved over my stomach.
"What secret?"
Nobody answered.
Because the lights suddenly went out.
The entire mansion fell into darkness.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
Again.
I opened the message.
Only one sentence.
"Dominic still doesn't know who the real father is."
I looked up.
Dominic was already staring at me.
Because his phone had received the same message.
Then another message appeared.
This time on both screens.
A photograph loaded.
A photograph taken only seconds ago.
Inside the mansion.
Inside the room we were standing in.
May you like
And behind me...
someone was already there.
