Chapter 4 - My Brother's Last Recording
We found Daniel's recording in a storage locker registered under a name I didn't recognize.
Marisol knew where to look.
Inside was an old laptop.
A single video file.
Daniel appeared on the screen.
He looked tired.
Older than I remembered.
He stared directly into the camera.
“If Alex is watching this, I'm probably dead.”
I leaned closer.
“I don't know who will get this first.”
He looked away.
“There are people inside our family business working with Meridian.”
He named several.
Then he said:
“Don't trust Chloe Vale.”
My stomach tightened.
“She isn't the mastermind.”
I froze.
“She's a messenger.”
Daniel continued.
“She says her father threatened her. Maybe that's true. Maybe it isn't.”
Then:
“She has access to Alex's life because she needs access to the girls.”
The video ended.
I sat in silence.
Hector spoke first.
“What does that mean?”
“I don't know.”
Marisol looked troubled.
“She wasn't always cruel.”
I turned to her.
“What?”
“Chloe.”
Marisol explained.
“When she first came here, she was terrified.”
“Of what?”
“Her father.”
“Then why did she hurt my children?”
“Because people raised around fear sometimes learn to use it.”
I hated the explanation.
I hated how human it sounded.
But I needed to know.
We found Chloe's location the next morning.
An abandoned church in downtown Los Angeles.
She was waiting alone.
She looked exhausted.
When I entered, she didn't reach for a weapon.
She just stared.
“You found Daniel's recording.”
“Yes.”
She nodded.
“I knew you would.”
“Tell me the truth.”
She laughed softly.
“The truth is ugly.”
“I can handle ugly.”
“No.”
She looked directly at me.
“You can handle blood. You can handle enemies. You can handle death.”
Her voice cracked.
“But you have never been good at accepting betrayal.”
I stepped forward.
“Then betray me properly.”
She closed her eyes.
“My father was part of Meridian.”
“I know.”
“Daniel found us.”
“I know.”
“Your father paid him to leave.”
“What?”
“Your father wanted Daniel alive.”
I stared.
“Then why did he die?”
“Because someone else gave the order.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The night he died.”
My blood went cold.
“What happened?”
“He called me.”
“Why?”
“He said he had proof.”
“And?”
“I went to meet him.”
“Then?”
She swallowed.
“He wasn't alone.”
“With who?”
“Your uncle.”
My chest tightened.
“Marco?”
She nodded.
Marco had been dead for years.
Suicide, they had said.
Chloe continued:
“They fought.”
“Why?”
“Daniel had found the ledger.”
“What ledger?”
“The one your father created.”
“The money?”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“The list.”
“Which list?”
“Every official, police commander, judge, banker and corporate executive who had been paid by Meridian.”
Silence.
“And where is it?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
She shook her head.
“I never had it.”
“Then why did Daniel trust you?”
“He thought I could expose my father.”
I stared at her.
“Could you?”
She looked down.
“No.”
Then she whispered:
“Because my father had threatened Sofia.”
Everything inside me stopped.
“How?”
“He said if I ever betrayed him, he would take the girls.”
I wanted to hate her.
I did.
But I also realized why she had fought so desperately to remain close to me.
Not because she loved me.
Not because she wanted my money.
Because she was trapped.
That did not excuse what she had done.
But it explained it.
“So you chose to hurt my daughters.”
Tears appeared in her eyes.
“I thought I could scare them without actually harming them.”
“You grabbed Sofia.”
“I lost control.”
“You told them I abandoned them.”
“I wanted them dependent on you.”
“You made them afraid.”
“I know.”
She looked broken.
“I know.”
I stepped back.
“You don't get to ask me to forgive that.”
“I won't.”
“What happened to Daniel's evidence?”
“I think Marisol has part of it.”
I turned.
Marisol looked at Chloe.
Then at me.
“No.”
“Marisol.”
She shook her head.
“There is one thing you don't know.”
“What?”
“Your mother.”
I froze.
“My mother died when I was thirteen.”
“No.”
Marisol's voice was quiet.
“She disappeared.”
I stared at her.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your father told everyone she died.”
“Why?”
“Because she was trying to expose Meridian.”
I felt my world tilt again.
Chloe looked at me.
“She knew.”
“Who?”
“My father.”
I turned toward Chloe.
“Your father killed my mother?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Your father hid her.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Marisol spoke.
“She fled because she believed the family would kill her.”
My mind struggled to hold all of it.
My father.
My mother.
Daniel.
Elena.
Chloe.
Meridian.
The girls.
Every secret was connected.
Then Chloe stood.
“I need to tell you one more thing.”
“What?”
“Meridian is not dead.”
A phone rang in the empty church.
Not mine.
Hers.
She looked at the screen.
Her expression changed.
Then she handed it to me.
One message.
WE HAVE YOUR DAUGHTERS.
I called home.
No answer.
I called Hector.
May you like
No answer.
I ran.
