Chapter 4 - My Brother's Letter Accused Someone I Trusted—And Explained Why He Was Afraid to Leave His Children AloneEthan's letter was twelve pages long.
He wrote that he had discovered financial fraud inside the family business.
Millions were missing.
He had traced the money to Victor.
But Victor wasn't dead.
He had staged his death.
Rebecca knew.
And worse—
Rebecca had been working with him.
Ethan had planned to expose them.
Then he started receiving threats.
The final paragraph made my hands shake.
Thomas, I know what you're going to do when you read this. Don't.
I laughed bitterly.
My brother knew me too well.
You built your life around violence because you thought it protected us. I need you to protect my children by staying away from that world.
I stopped reading.
Because I'd already broken that promise.
The letter continued.
If something happens to me, don't trust Rebecca. Don't trust anyone who says they were helping me.
Then the final sentence.
The person who killed me is closer than you think.
I looked at Dante.
“Find Victor.”
He nodded.
“Alive?”
“Alive.”
“And Rebecca?”
“She's gone.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice spoke.
“Hello, Thomas.”
I recognized it.
Victor.
“You should have stayed out of this.”
I gripped the phone.
“You killed Ethan.”
He laughed.
“Your brother died of a heart attack.”
“Did you cause it?”
Silence.
Then—
“You're smarter than he was.”
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
Dante asked,
“What did he say?”
May you like
I looked toward the hospital room where Leo and Maya slept.
“He confirmed it.”
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