Chapter 5 - The Brother Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Nathan was alive.
But barely.
He had been hiding in a secured warehouse near the northern rail yards, guarded by two men Gabriel trusted.
Rose found him sitting in a wheelchair.
For several seconds, neither sibling spoke.
Then Rose ran.
Nathan caught her.
She cried into his shoulder.
“You idiot.”
He laughed weakly.
“You climbed out of a third-floor window on your wedding night.”
“You disappeared for eight months.”
“Fair.”
She pulled back.
“You should have told me.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because Dad had someone inside the family.”
Rose looked at Gabriel.
Nathan followed her gaze.
“So he finally told you.”
“He told me enough.”
Nathan looked at Gabriel.
“Did you let her run?”
“Yes.”
Nathan smiled.
“I knew you would.”
Rose frowned.
“You knew?”
“I met Gabriel six months ago.”
Her eyes widened.
“What?”
Nathan explained everything.
He had discovered irregular shipping records.
Containers that appeared to be empty but carried hidden passengers.
Employees who vanished after asking questions.
Payments routed through shell companies.
He had taken the evidence to the police.
One detective agreed to help.
That detective disappeared.
Nathan went underground.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Dad was watching you.”
Rose's eyes filled with tears.
Nathan continued.
“He thought you were harmless. I needed him to keep thinking that.”
Rose looked down.
“So my entire life was a lie.”
“Not everything.”
Nathan reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small photograph.
It showed their mother standing with a man Rose had never seen.
Behind them was a warehouse.
On the photograph's back was a date.
“Who's that?”
“Mom's accountant.”
“What happened to him?”
“He was murdered two days after Mom died.”
Rose closed her eyes.
Gabriel stepped forward.
“What did your mother know?”
Nathan looked at him.
“She knew Dad wasn't working alone.”
Marcus.
Rose immediately understood.
“Uncle Marcus.”
Nathan nodded.
“But Marcus isn't the real mastermind.”
Gabriel's expression sharpened.
“Who is?”
Nathan pulled out another file.
A federal judge.
A port authority director.
Two corporate executives.
And a name at the bottom.
Vincent Moretti.
Rose recognized it.
Everyone did.
Vincent Moretti was a legendary crime boss who had supposedly retired fifteen years earlier.
Gabriel stared at the file.
“He isn't retired.”
Nathan shook his head.
“He's been financing Dad for years.”
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
“Why?”
“Because Dad controls the shipping company. Vincent controls everything that comes through the ports.”
Rose looked at her brother.
“And me?”
Nathan hesitated.
“You were supposed to become the final piece.”
“What does that mean?”
“You are listed as beneficiary of the family trust.”
Rose stared.
“That trust doesn't exist.”
“It does.”
“Then why don't I know about it?”
“Because Mom created it secretly.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“What's in it?”
Nathan looked at Rose.
“Property. Accounts. And voting rights.”
Rose's eyes widened.
“How much?”
“Enough to destroy Vincent's network.”
The room fell silent.
Rose suddenly understood why everyone wanted her.
Not because she was Richard's daughter.
Because she was the legal key to everything.
Gabriel spoke.
“We need to move.”
A crash sounded downstairs.
The guards shouted.
Gunfire exploded.
Rose ducked.
Nathan grabbed the edge of the table.
Gabriel drew his weapon.
“Stay down.”
The warehouse doors burst open.
Men rushed inside.
Cole returned fire from the upper catwalk.
The lights went out.
Chaos swallowed the building.
Rose crawled toward Nathan.
“Can you move?”
“I can if someone stops shooting at me.”
She grabbed his wheelchair.
“Hold on.”
She pushed.
A bullet struck the metal railing beside them.
Nathan swore.
“Left!”
Rose turned.
A gunman appeared.
Before he could fire, Gabriel tackled him.
The two men crashed through a stack of crates.
Gabriel disarmed him.
Rose froze.
Gabriel looked at her.
“Go!”
She pushed Nathan through a side door.
They reached a van.
Cole appeared seconds later.
“Get in!”
Rose helped Nathan climb inside.
Then she looked back.
Gabriel was still inside the warehouse.
“No.”
Cole frowned.
“What?”
“Gabriel.”
“I'll get him.”
A second explosion shook the warehouse.
Rose refused to move.
Then Gabriel emerged through the smoke.
His suit was torn.
His face was streaked with soot.
He walked toward the van.
Rose opened the door.
For one second, their eyes met.
Something changed in her chest.
She had been afraid of him.
Now she was afraid for him.
He got inside.
“Drive.”
The van sped away.
Rose sat beside Gabriel.
Blood ran from a cut above his eyebrow.
She reached for a cloth.
He stopped her hand.
“I'm fine.”
“You're bleeding.”
“So are you.”
Rose looked down.
A cut had opened across her palm.
She smiled weakly.
“Then I suppose we're both terrible at staying out of trouble.”
Gabriel almost smiled.
Nathan watched them.
“You two are going to be a problem.”
Rose rolled her eyes.
“Not helping.”
Nathan leaned back.
“There is one thing you need to know.”
Rose looked at him.
“What?”
“The wedding wasn't the first time Gabriel saw you.”
She frowned.
“What?”
Gabriel went quiet.
Nathan looked at him.
“Tell her.”
Gabriel stared out the window.
“When you were nineteen, someone tried to abduct you outside college.”
Rose remembered.
She had always been told it was random.
Gabriel said, “It wasn't random.”
Rose turned toward him.
“I stopped them.”
Her breath caught.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Gabriel finally looked at her.
“Because your mother had asked me to.”
Rose's heart pounded.
“My mother?”
“She knew danger was coming.”
Gabriel looked away.
“I promised her I would keep you alive.”
Rose was stunned.
All these years.
Someone had been watching over her.
And she had thought she was alone.
That night, after Nathan fell asleep, Rose stood on the balcony.
Gabriel joined her.
“You've been protecting me for years.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He looked toward the river.
“Because I gave your mother my word.”
Rose was quiet.
Then she asked, “And now?”
Gabriel turned toward her.
“Now I protect you because I choose to.”
Their eyes met.
No contract.
No deal.
No father forcing them.
Only choice.
Rose felt something warm bloom beneath all the fear.
She did not move away when Gabriel stepped closer.
But before either could speak, Gabriel's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then said one sentence.
“Bring me the file.”
He hung up.
Rose knew immediately.
“What happened?”
May you like
Gabriel looked at her.
“Your father just declared you dead.”
