Chapter 5 - The Brother Who Never Died
For several seconds, Rafe simply stared.
Nico looked older.
Thirty years old.
Tall.
Lean.
A faint scar crossed his chin.
But the eyes were the same.
Rafe's knees almost failed him.
“Nico.”
His brother said nothing.
Josie stood beside him.
She realized instantly how enormous the moment was.
Rafe took one step.
Nico stepped back.
“Don't.”
Rafe stopped.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I know.”
“I searched.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you come back?”
Nico looked away.
“Because you weren't safe.”
Rafe's voice cracked.
“Safe from who?”
“Everyone.”
They took shelter in an abandoned church several blocks away.
Nico finally told them the truth.
The Castellano and Sutcliffe empires had once been connected through shipping contracts.
But a third organization had infiltrated both.
They manipulated shipments.
Stole money.
Created false conflicts.
Then profited from the chaos.
Rafe's father discovered the plan.
So did Josie's father.
They tried to expose it.
Nico accidentally overheard the meeting.
The people behind the scheme realized he had heard everything.
A staged attack followed.
Nico survived.
Josie's father tried to help him escape.
The fire started.
Everyone believed both were dead.
But Nico had been taken.
He was hidden in Graybridge.
Then moved again.
For seventeen years, he had remained underground.
Why?
Because the people responsible never disappeared.
They simply changed names.
One of them had eventually gained influence within the Castellano organization.
Gideon Vale.
Rafe stared at him.
“Gideon?”
Nico nodded.
“He worked with our father.”
“He betrayed him.”
“Yes.”
“And Camila?”
Nico sighed.
“She discovered the truth.”
“Then why did she kidnap Josie?”
“She thought the people behind the scheme would kill her if she didn't find the evidence first.”
Josie frowned.
“Camila knew about my father?”
“She knew more than she admitted.”
Rafe looked at Nico.
“Where is she?”
“Alive.”
“Where?”
Nico shook his head.
“We have to find her before Gideon does.”
The name made Rafe tense.
“Why hasn't Gideon killed her already?”
“Because Camila has something he needs.”
“What?”
Nico looked at Josie.
“Your father's original records.”
Josie stared.
“What records?”
“The documents proving who ordered the fire.”
Her heart raced.
“Where are they?”
Nico looked at the old bronze medal in Rafe's hand.
“Inside the watch.”
Josie immediately understood.
Her father's watch had hidden the memory card.
But there had to be more.
Nico nodded.
“Your father recorded everything.”
“Then why didn't the authorities find it?”
“Because Gideon removed the first copy.”
Rafe asked, “Where is the original?”
Nico answered:
“The grain elevator.”
Again.
Always the grain elevator.
They returned before dawn.
Josie found a hidden compartment beneath the concrete foundation.
Inside was a metal box.
The original documents were there.
Contracts.
Photographs.
Names.
Payment records.
And one audio cassette.
A handwritten label:
3:14.
They found an old player.
Josie inserted the tape.
Her father's voice filled the room.
“I know who ordered the fire.”
Rafe's eyes closed.
“The order came from Gideon Vale.”
Josie covered her mouth.
But then her father continued.
“Gideon didn't act alone.”
The tape crackled.
A second voice appeared.
Josie recognized it.
Warick Sutcliffe.
Camila's father.
“I don't want blood.”
Gideon's voice answered.
“Then control your daughter.”
Rafe looked at Josie.
The recording continued.
“Camila's engagement to Rafferty will secure the alliance.”
Josie felt sick.
The marriage had been planned years before Camila met Rafe.
It wasn't merely political.
It was part of the operation.
Warick had sacrificed his daughter to maintain control.
Gideon had used the marriage to access the Castellano network.
Then came the final line.
“If Josie's father refuses, remove him.”
The tape ended.
Silence.
Josie could barely breathe.
“My father was murdered.”
“Yes,” Nico said.
Rafe stepped closer.
“I'll make Gideon pay.”
Josie looked at him.
“No.”
He stopped.
“We need the truth first.”
“And then?”
“Then whatever happens, happens through evidence.”
Rafe looked at her.
She had changed.
The girl who once entered his organization searching for answers now stood in front of him with the proof that could destroy half the people who controlled the city.
They found Camila that afternoon.
She had been hiding in an old warehouse.
She looked exhausted.
When she saw Josie, she began crying.
“I am sorry.”
Josie stared at her.
“You tried to kill me.”
“I know.”
“You terrified my sister.”
“I know.”
“You lied to Rafe.”
Camila nodded.
“I thought it was the only way.”
Josie looked at her for a long time.
Then asked:
“Who shot you?”
Camila looked toward the door.
“Gideon.”
The answer was immediate.
Rafe's jaw tightened.
“Then it's over.”
“No.”
Camila shook her head.
“It isn't.”
She pulled a small device from her coat.
“Because tomorrow, Gideon plans to kill someone else.”
“Who?”
Camila looked at Josie.
May you like
“Your sister.”
Everything changed.
