Chapter 3 - My Dead Brother Was Alive—And He Was The Only Person Who Knew Why Lucas Had Been Taken
The bullet had been a warning.
Not an attempt to kill me.
That was what frightened me most.
Whoever shot through my window had a clear angle.
They could have killed me.
Instead, they wanted me frightened.
They wanted me to know they could reach me anywhere.
My entire organization went into lockdown.
Restaurants closed early.
Warehouses shut their doors.
Every trusted employee was moved to secure locations.
Nobody understood why.
I didn't tell them everything.
Not yet.
A rumor about my missing son was enough to start a war.
A rumor that my supposedly dead brother might still be alive could start something worse.
Ethan Ross had been my older brother by five years.
He had been the brilliant one.
The strategist.
The man who could turn enemies into allies and make everyone believe the idea had been theirs.
Twelve years earlier, Ethan disappeared.
His car was found near Lake Michigan.
Blood inside.
No body.
We had assumed he had been murdered.
My father had buried his photograph beside an empty grave.
I had spent years believing I was the last Ross left.
Now someone had mentioned the ledger Ethan stole.
Which meant someone had known where he went.
I called the oldest man I trusted.
Frank Deluca.
He had worked for my father before I was born.
“Frank.”
“Boss.”
“Do you remember the ledger?”
He went quiet.
“Yes.”
“What was in it?”
“Everything.”
“Everything what?”
“Every payment. Every betrayal. Every secret deal your father ever made.”
“Who had it?”
“Ethan.”
“And then?”
“He vanished.”
“Was he killed?”
Frank hesitated.
“No.”
I sat upright.
“How do you know?”
“Because I helped him leave.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Your father ordered me to keep quiet.”
“My father died.”
“Orders like his don't die.”
I stared at the rain outside.
“Where did Ethan go?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I don't know where he is now.”
The distinction mattered.
“But you know where he was.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
“An underground clinic in Indiana.”
I didn't ask why.
We left that night.
Emily stayed behind with two trusted women from my security team.
She refused at first.
“I promised Lucas I'd stay with you.”
“You're staying safe.”
“I want to help.”
“You already have.”
She looked at me seriously.
“Bring him home.”
I promised.
The clinic was abandoned.
But Frank had left me one final clue.
A locker.
Inside was a passport.
Ethan Ross.
My brother was alive.
There was also a photograph.
Ethan stood beside a woman.
Rachel.
I stared.
“Why were they together?”
Marcus didn't answer.
Behind the photograph was another note.
She wasn't your enemy.
She was running from them too.
I felt as if the entire year of grief had been built on sand.
Rachel hadn't kidnapped Lucas.
She had been hiding him.
From whom?
From my family.
The answer came from another document.
A medical intake form.
Patient: Rachel Ross.
Alias: Rachel Bennett.
Reason for admission: poisoning attempt.
Date: eleven months ago.
The day before she disappeared.
Someone had tried to kill her.
She survived.
Then she vanished with Lucas.
Not to hurt me.
To protect him.
We traced her alias to a rural motel.
The manager remembered her.
“She stayed three nights.”
“Where did she go?”
“Bus station.”
“Which one?”
“South.”
There were no cameras.
But there was a receipt.
A diner.
And a hand-drawn map.
I followed it.
The map led to an old church.
Inside, I found another recorder.
Rachel's voice.
“Sebastian, if you're hearing this, then I'm probably gone.”
I froze.
“I know you think I took Lucas from you.”
Her voice broke.
“I didn't want to.”
“Someone threatened him.”
“They threatened me first.”
“If I told you the truth, they would come after you.”
“So I made you hate me.”
“I knew you'd keep searching.”
“And as long as you were searching, they'd think I was still running.”
There was a long pause.
“Lucas knows the truth.”
“Please believe him.”
I pressed my fist against my mouth.
Rachel continued.
“The man behind everything is someone you trust.”
My heart pounded.
“Someone with access to every part of your life.”
The recording ended.
I knew then.
Not Daniel.
Not Frank.
Someone closer.
Someone who knew about my father.
Someone who knew about Ethan.
Someone who had access to my accounts.
Then my phone rang.
Marcus.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“Emily is gone.”
Everything inside me turned cold.
“What do you mean gone?”
“The guards were knocked unconscious.”
“Any sign?”
“Her coat is missing.”
I closed my eyes.
A text arrived.
Bring the ledger.
We have the girl.
Then another.
And Lucas.
I stared at it.
Lucas.
Alive.
I looked at Ethan's passport.
My dead brother was alive.
My ex-wife had been trying to protect our son.
And now both children were being used against me.
I picked up the phone.
“Find Daniel.”
Marcus nodded.
“We will.”
“No.”
I looked at the church doors.
“We find my brother first.”
Because if Ethan had the ledger, he knew who was behind everything.
And if that person had Emily and Lucas...
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They had finally made the one mistake I could never forgive.
They had touched my children.
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