Chapter 4 - The Brother We Thought Never Existed Was Alive—And Victor Had Been Hunting Him Too
The photograph felt heavier than it should have.
A newborn wrapped in a white blanket.
My father holding him.
My mother crying beside them.
And written on the back were four words:
PROTECT HIM AT ALL COSTS.
I stared at Michael.
“What happened to him?”
“He was taken.”
“By whom?”
Michael didn't answer.
I grabbed his collar.
“Who took my brother?”
He remained calm.
“Let go.”
I tightened my grip.
Emily touched my arm.
“Danny.”
I released him.
Michael adjusted his coat.
“Our father believed he could hide the child from the family business.”
“What was his name?”
“Ethan.”
The name echoed through my mind.
Ethan Mercer.
A brother I had never known.
A brother whose existence had been erased from our family.
Michael explained that our father had arranged for Ethan to be raised outside Maryland.
A private adoption.
A new identity.
No records.
No contact.
Nothing that could connect him to the Mercers.
“He was supposed to be safe,” Michael said.
“Then how did Victor find him?”
“He didn't.”
Michael smiled.
“I did.”
I looked at him.
“Where is he?”
Michael slid a piece of paper across the table.
A hospital.
Baltimore.
“Ethan has been here for years.”
My heart hammered.
“Why?”
“He doesn't know who he is.”
Emily sat down.
“This can't be real.”
“It is.”
Michael leaned forward.
“Your father's greatest mistake was believing blood was enough to protect a child.”
I looked at him.
“What do you want?”
“You.”
I laughed once.
“Me?”
“The Mercer organization.”
“You already have Victor's network.”
“I don't want Victor's network.”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“I want yours.”
There it was.
The truth.
Michael didn't care about the Hale empire.
He wanted mine.
Because my organization controlled ports, transportation companies, private security firms, and legitimate businesses.
He wanted the infrastructure.
And Emily's trust would finance it.
Victor's role was simple.
Marry Emily.
Control the trust.
Use it to pressure her.
Remove her.
Transfer authority to Michael.
Then Michael would inherit my empire through manipulation or war.
I looked at him.
“You've been planning this since we were children.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your father chose you.”
I frowned.
“He chose me?”
“He wanted you to inherit the family leadership.”
I shook my head.
“Our father hated this world.”
“He hated what I became.”
Michael's expression hardened.
“He believed you could build something different.”
I looked around the abandoned house.
“You killed him for that?”
“I killed him because he betrayed me.”
Emily suddenly stood.
“You married me off to Victor.”
Michael looked at her.
“I arranged nothing.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You could have stopped him.”
“Yes.”
She began crying.
“You let him hurt me.”
Michael's silence was answer enough.
I stepped toward him.
“You're done.”
He smiled.
“No.”
He tapped the table.
A phone began ringing.
I answered.
Cole's voice came through.
“Daniel, we have a problem.”
“What?”
“Someone just attacked the federal evidence facility.”
“What was taken?”
A pause.
“Everything connected to Victor.”
I looked at Michael.
He smiled.
“Good.”
The call ended.
Michael walked past us.
“You have forty-eight hours.”
“For what?”
“To bring me the Mercer accounts.”
“I won't.”
“Then Ethan dies.”
I froze.
“You have him?”
Michael nodded.
My hand moved toward my weapon.
He didn't flinch.
“Go ahead.”
Emily stepped between us.
“Danny, no.”
Michael left the house.
We didn't follow.
Because somewhere in Baltimore, a man who shared our blood was being held hostage.
And Michael knew exactly how to control me.
By morning, every legitimate media outlet reported that Victor Hale had escaped custody.
But there was another headline.
A Baltimore hospital had reported an unidentified patient missing.
Male.
Thirty-one.
The name on the hospital chart:
Ethan Brooks.
I stared at the screen.
Ethan.
My brother.
Alive.
And missing.
Emily came into the room.
“What are we going to do?”
I looked at her.
“We find him.”
“Before Michael?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“Before Victor.”
Because Victor had vanished from federal custody.
And for the first time, I realized something.
May you like
Michael wasn't controlling Victor anymore.
Victor was becoming dangerous enough to threaten even him.
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