Chapter 3 - The Secret My Brother Died Protecting
The paper trembled slightly in my hand.
Not because I was afraid.
I had faced men who wanted me dead.
I had walked into rooms knowing everyone inside wanted to destroy me.
I had watched enemies smile while planning my downfall.
Fear was something I had buried a long time ago.
But this was different.
This was my brother's handwriting.
A message from a man I thought I would never hear from again.
Daniel Whitmore.
For years, I had convinced myself that Daniel had betrayed me.
That he had chosen greed over family.
That he had taken everything he knew about my organization and disappeared because he wanted power.
I had spent years hating a dead man.
Now a teenage boy was sitting in my dining room, holding the last message from him.
And the words were impossible to ignore.
Trust no one inside your organization.
I read the sentence again.
Then again.
Because the meaning behind it was more dangerous than the words themselves.
Someone close to me was a traitor.
Someone who had access.
Someone who knew my routines.
Someone who knew my daughter.
Someone who had been standing beside me while secretly working against me.
I slowly folded the paper.
"Where did you get this?"
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
"My brother gave it to me."
"Daniel gave you this before he died?"
He nodded.
"When?"
"A few weeks ago."
"Where?"
Marcus looked down.
The silence told me everything.
He was afraid to answer.
"Marcus."
My voice was calm.
But firm.
"You walked into my home. You brought me a message from my dead brother. You are sitting beside my daughter, who hasn't spoken in seven years until today."
I leaned closer.
"At this point, secrets are dangerous."
Marcus swallowed.
"He was sick."
My expression changed.
"Sick?"
He nodded.
"He knew he didn't have much time."
The room became quieter.
I looked away for a moment.
Because no matter what happened between us, Daniel was still my brother.
The last memory I had of him was not a good one.
It was raining.
He stood in my office.
Angry.
Frustrated.
Telling me that my empire was becoming something neither of us wanted.
I told him he was weak.
He told me I was becoming a monster.
Then he left.
Three days later, he disappeared.
I never saw him again.
I thought he abandoned me.
But maybe I was wrong.
"What exactly did Daniel tell you?"
Marcus hesitated.
"He said you would be angry."
I almost smiled.
Daniel knew me too well.
"He said you wouldn't believe me."
"What else?"
"He said someone inside your company was watching everything."
My eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
Marcus looked toward Eva.
Then back at me.
"He said the person who betrayed him was someone you trusted more than anyone."
A cold feeling moved through my chest.
Because there were only a few people who fit that description.
My security director.
My business partners.
My closest advisers.
People who had eaten at my table.
People who knew where I slept.
People who knew where Eva played.
The same people who had sworn loyalty to me.
I stood.
"Where is the rest of the message?"
Marcus looked confused.
"There is no rest."
"Daniel wouldn't leave only three sentences."
"He did."
"No."
My voice became sharper.
"Daniel was careful. He planned everything."
Marcus reached into his jacket again.
This time he pulled out a small metal object.
A flash drive.
My security team immediately reacted.
I raised my hand.
Nobody moved.
"Where did you get that?"
Marcus placed it on the table.
"He told me never to open it."
My eyes stayed on the device.
"Why?"
"Because he said if I opened it, the wrong people would know."
A strange silence filled the room.
The wrong people.
Not me.
Not authorities.
Not enemies.
People inside my own organization.
I looked at the drive.
For years, I had built my empire by collecting secrets.
Now my dead brother had left me one.
And I had no idea if opening it would save me...
or destroy me.
Later that night, I sat alone in my office.
The mansion was quiet.
Too quiet.
Usually, silence was something I enjoyed.
Tonight, it felt like a warning.
On the security monitor, I watched the cameras around the property.
Eva was asleep.
Marcus was resting in a guest room.
Guards surrounded the mansion.
Everything looked normal.
But I knew better.
The most dangerous moments in life were usually the ones when everything looked peaceful.
My security director, Victor Hale, entered the office.
Victor had worked for me for twelve years.
Twelve years.
He was one of the few people I trusted completely.
Or at least I thought I did.
"Sir."
I looked up.
"Did you find anything?"
He placed a file on my desk.
"Marcus Reed."
I opened it.
His information appeared.
Birth records.
School history.
Medical records.
But there was something strange.
Too many gaps.
"His parents?"
"Dead."
"Brother?"
"Daniel Reed."
I looked up.
"Same Daniel?"
Victor nodded.
"Yes."
I continued reading.
Then I saw something.
"His brother worked for us?"
Victor paused.
Only for a second.
But I noticed.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't know he had a younger brother."
A lie.
Maybe.
Or maybe not.
I watched Victor carefully.
"Daniel Reed handled confidential projects."
"Yes."
"What kind?"
Victor remained silent.
That was another warning.
"What kind?"
Finally, he answered.
"Financial records."
My eyes hardened.
Financial records.
The same thing Daniel had supposedly stolen before disappearing.
The same thing someone was now warning me about.
"What records?"
Victor looked at me.
"Sir, maybe this isn't the time—"
"Answer."
He lowered his voice.
"Internal transactions."
I leaned back.
Something was forming.
A picture I did not like.
Daniel had not stolen money.
He had stolen evidence.
Evidence about my own organization.
"Find everything Daniel accessed before he disappeared."
Victor nodded.
"Immediately."
"And Victor?"
"Yes?"
"Nobody else knows about Marcus."
A brief pause.
Then:
"Understood."
He left.
I waited.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Then I checked the security monitor.
Victor walked out of the office.
But he did not go toward the main hallway.
He went somewhere else.
Somewhere he shouldn't.
I followed the camera feed.
He entered the underground security room.
My security room.
The place where only three people had access.
Me.
Victor.
And my chief technology officer.
I watched as Victor opened a locked cabinet.
My stomach tightened.
Because he wasn't supposed to be there.
Not without me.
He removed a small device.
A phone.
A hidden phone.
Then he made a call.
I increased the audio.
His voice came through.
"He's here."
A pause.
Then:
"Yes. The boy found him."
My blood went cold.
Victor continued.
"The girl spoke."
Another pause.
Then his expression changed.
A smile.
A smile I had never seen before.
"Don't worry."
He whispered.
"I'll handle it."
The screen went dark.
I sat frozen.
Not because Victor betrayed me.
Not because my trusted man had been lying.
But because one sentence told me something far worse.
They already knew Marcus was here.
And they knew Eva had spoken.
Meaning someone had been watching my home.
Watching my daughter.
Watching me.
For a long time.
I looked toward the guest room where Marcus was sleeping.
Then toward Eva's bedroom.
For seven years, I had tried to give my daughter a voice.
May you like
Now that she finally had one...
someone wanted to silence it forever.
