Chapter 5 - The Brother Nobody Knew Existed
His name was Adrian Russo.
He was thirty-one.
Three years younger than Damian.
He had the same dark eyes.
The same sharp cheekbones.
The same cold stillness.
But unlike Damian, Adrian smiled constantly.
That made him more dangerous.
Meline stared.
“You're lying.”
Adrian shrugged.
“Ask Harold.”
Harold looked down.
“Adrian is Victor's biological son.”
Damian's voice was low.
“Where have you been?”
“Everywhere.”
“Why come back?”
“To finish what our father started.”
Meline stepped backward.
“You knew about me.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Of course.”
“How?”
“Our mother told me.”
“Your mother?”
Adrian smiled.
“You know exactly who.”
Meline understood.
A woman who had once been part of the Russo household.
Someone connected to the old records.
Adrian approached.
“You were hidden because you were valuable.”
“I was a child.”
“To our father, that was irrelevant.”
Damian stepped between them.
“You won't come near her.”
Adrian smiled.
“Still protecting what you don't understand.”
Vincent moved closer.
“What does he want?”
Adrian looked at him.
“The company.”
Damian frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does.”
Adrian explained.
Victor had created a trust.
A legal structure that would transfer control of the Russo fortune to his children.
But only if the heirs were united.
Damian alone could never access the final portion.
Meline alone couldn't.
Adrian alone couldn't.
Together, they could.
“And you want all three of us.”
“I want the trust.”
Damian shook his head.
“You don't need us alive.”
Adrian's smile faded.
“Exactly.”
The lights went out.
Gunfire erupted.
Damian tackled Meline.
Vincent dragged Harold behind cover.
When the emergency lights returned, Adrian was gone.
So was the ledger.
But he left one message.
COME TO THE PINES AT MIDNIGHT.
Meline's heart sank.
“The Pines.”
Her workplace.
Adrian knew everything.
They rushed back.
The mansion was empty.
Every guard had been disarmed.
Sylvia was missing.
Meline ran toward the service wing.
“Damian!”
He caught her arm.
“Wait.”
A note had been placed on the kitchen counter.
FOR THE MAID.
Meline opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Elias.
Alive.
Bound.
And beneath it:
BRING THE KEY YOUR MOTHER LEFT.
Meline stared.
“What key?”
Damian looked at her.
“The one your brother found.”
“She doesn't have it.”
“Maybe you do.”
She searched her memory.
The red ribbon.
The childhood house.
Her mother's bedroom.
A music box.
She suddenly remembered.
“The necklace.”
“What necklace?”
“My mother gave me one when I turned eighteen.”
She had always thought the little silver pendant was sentimental.
Damian looked at it.
He opened the clasp.
A tiny key fell into his palm.
Meline stared.
“This?”
“Yes.”
They went back to the lake house.
The key opened a hidden cabinet.
Inside was a sealed file.
Not money.
Not weapons.
Photographs.
Birth certificates.
And a final letter from Meline's mother.
My daughter, if you are reading this, then the men who separated us have found you again.
Trust Damian.
He will believe blood matters more than power.
Meline cried.
Damian read the next page.
Your father will try to make your brothers fight.
Do not let him.
Meline looked at Damian.
“He knew.”
“She knew.”
The final page contained an address.
An old warehouse.
North Harbor.
Damian recognized it.
“That place belongs to Adrian.”
Vincent arrived.
“We're going.”
Meline grabbed the pendant.
“No.”
Damian stared.
“I'm going.”
“You stay here.”
“Elias is there.”
Damian couldn't argue.
They went.
The warehouse was silent.
Too silent.
They found Elias tied to a chair.
Meline ran to him.
“Elias!”
He looked at her.
“Don't trust Adrian.”
“Where is he?”
A voice came from behind.
“Right here.”
Adrian stepped into the light.
And behind him stood a man Meline had never expected to see again.
May you like
Her father.
Alive.
