Chapter 6 - The Brother Adrian Never Knew
Gabriel Ortega Jr. was thirty-four.
Adrian had spent thirty-six years believing he was an only child.
Now he stood face-to-face with a brother.
Same father.
Different mother.
Gabriel had been hidden because his mother was part of The Haven.
He had been raised under another name.
The resemblance wasn't obvious.
But the eyes were.
The same dark eyes as Adrian.
The same scar over the right eyebrow.
Adrian didn't know whether to believe him.
“Prove it.”
Gabriel handed him an old photograph.
Their father stood between two boys.
Adrian was six.
Gabriel was four.
The photograph had been ripped in half.
Adrian stared.
“I don't remember this.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
“Why?”
“Because my mother feared your mother.”
Adrian looked at Sofia.
Sofia nodded.
“Your mother wanted all the Ortega inheritance.”
Adrian frowned.
“Why?”
“She was part of Blackridge.”
Gabriel continued.
“She used Gabriel Sr. to access the family accounts.”
“Until Sofia discovered it.”
“Yes.”
Elina listened quietly.
“Where is my grandmother?”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Waiting.”
They drove to an isolated estate in Wisconsin.
The house was old.
Almost abandoned.
An elderly woman sat beside the fireplace.
Adrian stopped breathing.
“Mom?”
The woman looked up.
Tears filled her eyes.
“My son.”
Adrian walked slowly toward her.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me grow up.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
He laughed bitterly.
“Everyone says that.”
His mother reached for him.
He didn't move.
Not yet.
Elina watched from the doorway.
Her grandmother looked at her.
“Elina.”
The young woman froze.
“You know me?”
“I knew the day you were born.”
Elina's eyes filled.
“Then why didn't you come?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Clara?”
“No.”
The woman looked toward Adrian.
“Of your father.”
Silence.
“Gabriel was not the man you thought.”
Adrian stiffened.
“He protected Blackridge.”
His mother nodded.
“Until he discovered what they were doing.”
“Children?”
“Yes.”
“The identity trafficking?”
“Yes.”
“And Sofia?”
“She was trying to expose them.”
“What stopped her?”
His mother looked at Elina.
“You.”
Elina's heart stopped.
“Me?”
“You were the reason Sofia kept fighting.”
She explained.
Elina had been used as the final link in a financial transfer.
Blackridge believed that because she carried Ortega blood, she could unlock hidden accounts.
Sofia refused.
Gabriel refused.
So Blackridge began killing people connected to the family.
Sofia staged her death.
Gabriel disappeared.
The grandmother hid.
And Elina was raised under her mother's maiden name.
Then the grandmother handed Adrian a box.
Inside was a small black notebook.
“The ledger.”
Adrian opened it.
Names.
Millions of dollars.
Bribed officials.
Judges.
Police.
Business leaders.
The entire network.
And one final page.
THE PERSON WHO STARTED BLACKRIDGE: CLARA ORTEGA.
Adrian looked up.
“Clara?”
His mother nodded.
“She built it.”
Elina whispered:
“Why?”
“Power.”
Gabriel looked at Adrian.
“And now she wants Leo because the family bloodline is the last key.”
Adrian closed the ledger.
“We end this.”
His mother shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Clara has one thing you don't know.”
Adrian frowned.
“What?”
“She has Sofia's medical records.”
Sofia froze.
“Why?”
“Because you aren't the only one who can prove the Ortega bloodline.”
Elina looked at her mother.
“What does that mean?”
The grandmother looked at Leo.
“It means Clara doesn't want to kill him.”
May you like
She paused.
“She wants to use him.”
