Chapter 5 - The Brother Who Came Back From the Dead
Anton survived the shooting.
The bullet had missed his heart by inches.
But while he recovered in a secured medical facility, Saraphina learned that Viktor had already made his next move.
Lucian Morreti was missing.
Three port directors were gone.
And the hidden voting trust had been accessed.
The family was fracturing.
Saraphina stood over the conference table with Nikolai, Dorian, and four senior Morreti officers.
"We need Lucian."
Nikolai nodded.
"We traced his last signal to Harbor Twelve."
Dorian looked up.
"That's Castellan territory."
"Formerly."
Saraphina looked at him.
"Can you get us in?"
Dorian smiled.
"I built the access system."
They arrived at Harbor Twelve before sunrise.
The warehouses were empty.
Too empty.
Dorian noticed immediately.
"Something is wrong."
"What?"
"No cranes."
"Meaning?"
"Someone shut down operations."
They moved deeper inside.
A light flickered above a steel door.
Saraphina heard a voice.
"You're late."
Lucian stepped from the shadows.
Saraphina almost ran to him.
"Lucian."
He smiled.
"Hello, little sister."
She hugged him.
Then stepped back.
"You disappeared."
"I had to."
"Why?"
"Because Viktor wanted me dead."
Dorian looked at him.
"You know him."
Lucian nodded.
"Better than anyone."
"Then tell us."
Lucian's expression became grim.
"Viktor believes the family betrayed him."
"What happened twenty years ago?"
"He was supposed to inherit the crown."
"But he didn't."
"Our grandmother chose my father."
"Why?"
"Because Viktor killed someone."
"Who?"
"A Morreti accountant."
"Why?"
"He discovered Viktor was selling shipping rights."
Dorian frowned.
"To whom?"
"Castellan."
He went still.
"My family?"
"Your grandfather."
Dorian looked shocked.
"You're saying our families were enemies before I met Saraphina."
"Yes."
"And you still let her marry me?"
Lucian looked at his sister.
"She chose you."
Dorian swallowed.
"Why didn't you stop her?"
"Because I wanted to know whether you were like your grandfather."
Dorian looked down.
"I wasn't."
"No."
Lucian studied him.
"You became something worse."
Dorian didn't argue.
Saraphina stepped between them.
"Enough."
Lucian handed her a small drive.
"This is everything Viktor collected."
She plugged it into a secure device.
Video files.
Financial records.
Photographs.
Then one video.
Viktor appeared.
Older.
Thin.
Smiling.
"Dear Saraphina."
She watched.
"You were always the quiet one."
Her face hardened.
"Your brother has my ports."
"He doesn't know the truth."
"The truth is that our family was supposed to control the Syndicate."
"Your grandfather weakened us."
"Your father sold us out."
Saraphina looked at Lucian.
"Don't believe him."
The video continued.
"The crown has one purpose."
"To determine who rules."
"Your father chose you."
"That was his greatest mistake."
"Because you fell in love with a Castellan."
Dorian froze.
Viktor smiled.
"Which means the key to the crown is now split between two families."
Saraphina's expression changed.
"What key?"
The video ended.
Lucian looked at her.
"You don't know?"
"No."
"Our mother left a physical key."
"Where?"
"Inside the original Morreti ship."
Dorian frowned.
"Which ship?"
"The first one."
"The one named Seraphina?"
He looked at Saraphina.
She nodded.
"That's the one."
The vessel had been retired twenty years earlier.
Its location was classified.
They found it in a private dry dock.
The ship was enormous.
Rust covered its hull.
Inside, the corridors smelled of salt and old steel.
Saraphina walked toward the captain's room.
Her mother had once brought her there as a child.
A brass compass sat above the desk.
Dorian turned it.
Nothing.
Lucian touched the compass.
A compartment opened.
Inside was a key.
Blackened steel.
Three silver daggers.
The same symbol as Saraphina's brooch.
Beneath it was another note.
The crown belongs to neither child.
It belongs to the one who refuses to use it for revenge.
Saraphina's eyes filled.
Her mother had known.
She looked at Dorian.
He looked at her.
"That's you."
"No."
She shook her head.
"It's whoever becomes that person."
A sound echoed from the engine room.
Gunfire.
They ran.
Men in dark clothes emerged.
Dorian pulled Saraphina behind a steel column.
"Stay down."
"I can handle myself."
"I know."
He looked at her.
"I'm still going to protect you."
For the first time, she didn't object.
The gunmen fled after several minutes.
But one remained.
He was injured.
Lucian dragged him forward.
"Who sent you?"
The man laughed.
"Viktor."
"Where is he?"
"Already inside the city."
Saraphina stepped closer.
"What's his target?"
The man smiled.
"Your husband."
Dorian frowned.
"Why me?"
"Because Viktor doesn't need your family dead."
He coughed.
"He needs you to sign."
"Sign what?"
"The sale."
"What sale?"
"The harbor."
Saraphina understood.
Viktor wanted Dorian to legally transfer Castellan interests into a new company.
If Dorian signed, the merger would allow Viktor to challenge Morreti control.
And Dorian's name would make it legitimate.
"He wants to make you the face of the takeover," Lucian said.
Dorian nodded.
"Then he thinks I'll betray Saraphina."
Saraphina looked at him.
"Will you?"
"No."
The answer came instantly.
She believed him.
That frightened her more than anything.
Because she still loved him.
That night, Dorian returned to the penthouse.
The place felt empty without Saraphina.
He opened the drawer where she once kept her scarves.
Inside was a note he had never seen.
It read:
When you finally learn who I am, don't ask whether I lied.
Ask whether you ever looked closely enough to see me.
Dorian sat on the floor.
Seven years of memories came flooding back.
The way she knew every shipping route.
The way she could identify vessel engines by sound.
The way she never feared the harbor.
The way senior captains listened whenever she spoke.
The way she had once told him,
"People who know the ocean don't need to shout."
He had thought it was poetic.
She had been telling him the truth.
A knock came at the door.
Dorian opened it.
Vivien stood outside.
Her face was pale.
"What do you want?"
"I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"I was working with Viktor."
Dorian stared.
"What?"
"He approached me months ago."
"Why?"
"Because he promised my father control of the northern corridor."
"You brought him into the gala."
"Yes."
"Did you know who Saraphina was?"
"No."
"When did you learn?"
"Tonight."
Dorian stepped aside.
"Tell me everything."
Vivien entered.
"I made mistakes."
"That's a mild word."
"I know."
She handed him a phone.
"There are recordings."
"Of what?"
"Viktor."
Dorian played one.
Viktor's voice filled the room.
Once Dorian signs, eliminate the wife.
Dorian stopped the recording.
His expression changed.
"Why would you give me this?"
"Because I don't want anyone dead."
She looked at him.
"I wanted power."
"And now?"
"I want out."
Dorian nodded.
"Then help us."
May you like
Vivien swallowed.
"I will."
