Chapter 4 - The Brother at the Door
Emergency lights flashed red.
Marco drew his gun.
“Secure the house!”
Men moved through the hallways.
Adrian grabbed my wrist.
“Stay with me.”
The security system had been disabled remotely.
That shouldn’t have been possible.
Yet someone had done it.
Rachel whispered, “Luca.”
Adrian looked at her.
“You don’t know that.”
“Daniel warned us.”
“My brother is many things.”
“Loyal?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
That answer frightened me.
A vehicle approached outside.
Headlights swept across the windows.
Marco checked the security camera.
“Single car.”
“Who?”
He stared at the monitor.
“Luca.”
Adrian closed his eyes briefly.
“Let him in.”
“Sir—”
“Let him in.”
Luca Vale entered five minutes later.
He was younger than Adrian.
Early thirties.
Similar dark hair.
Similar eyes.
But where Adrian carried quiet danger, Luca carried charm.
He looked at the weapons pointed toward him and smiled.
“Nice welcome.”
Adrian approached.
“Why are you here?”
“Because someone tried to kill my brother.”
“How did you know where I was?”
Luca’s smile disappeared.
“What?”
“This location is private.”
“You called Tomas.”
Adrian looked toward one of his guards.
Tomas went pale.
“I told him you were safe, sir.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
One leak explained.
Not everything.
Luca noticed me.
“The waitress.”
I didn’t like the way he said it.
“You know who I am?”
“Everyone knows who you are now.”
“Why?”
“Because you embarrassed half of Adrian’s security organization.”
Marco didn’t look amused.
Luca walked toward me.
“You saved my brother.”
“I warned him.”
“Same difference.”
He extended his hand.
I didn’t take it.
He smiled.
“Smart.”
Adrian placed himself between us.
“Why is your name on Victor Dane’s list?”
Luca’s expression changed.
“What list?”
Adrian showed him.
For the first time, Luca looked genuinely frightened.
“Where did you get this?”
“Answer.”
Luca looked at Marco.
“Victor made that list?”
“Yes.”
“Then we have a bigger problem.”
“What?”
Luca looked at Adrian.
“I’ve been working with Victor for two years.”
Silence.
Adrian’s face hardened.
“Behind my back.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed someone inside our organization killed Dad.”
Matteo Vale had supposedly died from a heart attack.
Apparently that too might have been a lie.
Luca explained that Victor had contacted him secretly.
They had been tracing financial transfers through shell companies.
Every trail led toward the same hidden network Daniel had discovered years earlier.
A network called Meridian.
Not a family.
Not one organization.
A partnership.
Corrupt police.
Politicians.
Businessmen.
Criminal crews.
Meridian survived because nobody knew who truly controlled it.
Victor believed Matteo had discovered its leader.
Then Matteo died.
Daniel disappeared.
And now Adrian had become the next obstacle.
“The shooter was Meridian,” Luca said.
“The poison too?”
“Probably.”
Adrian stared at him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because Victor thought someone near you was compromised.”
Marco bristled.
Luca looked at him.
“Maybe he was right.”
Adrian stepped between them.
“Enough.”
I thought about my father’s warning.
Don’t trust Adrian’s brother.
“Luca.”
He looked at me.
“Where is my father?”
His expression became cautious.
“I don’t know.”
“He called me.”
“When?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
Luca went still.
“What did he say?”
“That you knew where we were.”
Adrian watched his brother carefully.
Luca looked genuinely confused.
Then frightened.
“Elena, I haven’t spoken to Daniel Marlowe.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
He pulled out his phone.
“But I can prove something else.”
He opened a message.
Sent twenty minutes earlier.
From Victor.
One sentence:
DANIEL HAS BEEN COMPROMISED.
My stomach dropped.
“No.”
Rachel grabbed the phone.
“When did Dad send this?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
Adrian looked at me.
“Your father warned you against Luca.”
“And Victor warned Luca against my father.”
“Exactly.”
Someone was manipulating us.
Two old partners.
Two conflicting warnings.
One had to be wrong.
Unless both messages were fake.
Marco examined the metadata.
“Messages are routed through encrypted servers.”
“Can you trace them?”
“No.”
I remembered my father’s recording.
The traitor is someone both families trusted.
Maybe we were still thinking too small.
The next morning brought another shock.
Police announced that the shooter from Bellamont Lodge had died in custody.
Heart attack.
Adrian laughed when he heard it.
No humor.
“Convenient.”
Detective Harris called.
He wanted me to return for questioning.
Adrian refused.
I surprised him by agreeing.
“You’re not going.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Harris is on Victor’s list.”
“That’s exactly why I’m going.”
He stared at me.
“You’re either brave or reckless.”
“Maybe wait until I survive before deciding.”
We arranged the meeting in a public courthouse building.
Adrian’s men surrounded the area.
Harris arrived alone.
He looked exhausted.
“You shouldn’t be with Vale.”
“I’ve heard.”
“Do you know what he is?”
“Do you know where my father is?”
That silenced him.
I placed Victor’s list on the table.
Harris saw his name.
His face changed.
“I can explain.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
“I worked with Victor.”
“So did Luca.”
Harris looked sharply at me.
“You met Luca?”
“Yes.”
“Elena, listen carefully. Victor believed Luca was Meridian.”
“Luca says Victor trusted him.”
“He did. Until three weeks ago.”
“What happened?”
Harris opened his briefcase.
Inside was a surveillance photograph.
Luca meeting Mr. Carver.
The restaurant manager.
The man who fled after the assassination attempt.
My stomach turned.
“When?”
“Four days before Bellamont.”
Adrian stared at the image.
His brother had lied again.
Harris continued.
“We believe Luca arranged the dinner.”
“He did,” Adrian said quietly.
“What?”
“My brother suggested Bellamont.”
Silence.
Every piece suddenly pointed toward Luca.
But something still felt wrong.
Too easy.
Too clean.
I studied the photograph.
Then I noticed the window behind Luca and Carver.
A reflection.
Someone taking the photograph.
Not Harris.
A second photographer.
I pointed.
“Who is that?”
Harris leaned closer.
“I don’t know.”
Adrian took the photograph.
The reflection showed a gray-haired man with a scar.
Victor Dane.
Rachel’s father.
Victor hadn’t merely known about Luca’s meeting.
He had been there.
Harris went pale.
“That photograph came from Victor.”
“Then why did he hide himself from it?” I asked.
No one answered.
My phone buzzed.
A message from my sister.
Except it wasn’t her normal number.
I opened it.
Video.
My sister appeared tied to a chair.
My blood turned to ice.
A man stepped into frame.
Gray hair.
Scar on his chin.
Victor Dane.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Elena, bring Adrian Vale to the old Marlowe house by midnight.”
Rachel gasped.
Victor continued.
“Come alone.”
He leaned closer.
“And if Daniel tells you otherwise, remember something.”
He smiled.
“Your father has been lying to you since the day he died.”
The video ended.
Then another message appeared.
An address.
May you like
And a countdown.
02:59:59.
