Chapter 4 - My Dead Brother Had Left Behind a Secret Nobody Was Supposed to DiscoverAdrian Russo had been erased from my family's history.
Every official record.
Every photograph.
Every mention.
Gone.
But he had existed.
And according to the documents hidden beneath my estate, he had been alive until three years ago.
I spent the next six hours reading everything my father had tried to conceal.
Adrian wasn't a criminal.
He was worse.
He was honest.
He had wanted to leave the family business.
He had wanted a normal life.
He had fallen in love with Sienna.
And he had discovered that our father was planning something far more dangerous than organized crime.
A network of biological leverage.
Families were being threatened using bloodlines.
Children.
Inheritance.
Medical conditions.
Secrets.
Anything that could force powerful people into obedience.
Adrian had tried to expose it.
He failed.
He died three years ago.
And Sienna had given birth to Elsie weeks later.
I looked toward Sienna.
"You were with Adrian?"
She nodded through tears.
"He told me he had a brother."
"Did he tell you my name?"
"No."
"Why?"
"He said your father would kill you if I knew."
I closed my eyes.
My entire childhood suddenly looked different.
Every secret conversation.
Every locked room.
Every warning my mother had given me.
Then I remembered something.
Nero.
Nero wasn't just a guard dog.
He had belonged to Adrian.
My father had given him to me after Adrian died.
Why?
Because Nero had been trained to protect Adrian's family.
And now he was protecting Elsie.
I knelt beside Nero.
"You knew."
He stared at me.
"You knew who she was."
His tail moved once.
Dr. Monroe suddenly spoke.
"There is something else."
I looked at him.
"Your brother wasn't killed because he betrayed the family."
"Then why?"
"He was killed because he found the ledger."
I looked at the old book.
"What ledger?"
"The one containing the identities of every family involved in your father's network."
"And Elena?"
Dr. Monroe lowered his eyes.
"She was one of the children protected by that network."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"Her father was one of the most powerful men in your father's circle."
"That's impossible."
"That's why she could access the old rooms."
"She knew about Adrian."
"Yes."
"And she knows about Elsie."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Dr. Monroe answered:
"Because your father promised her family something."
"What?"
"The Russo inheritance."
My hands curled into fists.
Then Marco rushed into the room.
"Boss."
"What?"
"Elena escaped."
I stood.
"How?"
"Someone cut the power to the north wing."
My eyes went toward the window.
Snow was still falling.
"Where is Sienna?"
Silence.
"Where is Elsie?"
Marco's face turned pale.
"They're gone."
My world went black.
Nero barked once.
Then ran.
I followed him.
He led us toward the old greenhouse.
The door was open.
Inside, I found Sienna tied to a chair.
But Elsie was nowhere.
And Elena stood beside the broken glass wall.
She held a knife.
When she saw me, she smiled.
"You always were slower than Adrian."
"Where is the child?"
She tilted her head.
"Safe."
"Where?"
"Somewhere you will never find her."
Nero lunged.
Elena screamed.
Two guards restrained him.
She laughed.
"That's why Adrian loved this animal."
I stepped closer.
"What did you do with my niece?"
Her smile disappeared.
"She's not your niece."
"She's my brother's daughter."
"No."
Elena looked toward me.
"She's the key."
"The key to what?"
"The Russo inheritance."
She reached into her coat.
Pulled out a photograph.
It showed Elsie standing beside a safe.
"Your father left everything to Adrian's bloodline."
I stared.
"And if Adrian's daughter is alive?"
"Everything passes to her."
"Which means me?"
"No."
Elena smiled.
"Which means whoever controls her."
Then the lights went out.
May you like
A gunshot shattered the greenhouse.
And Elena disappeared.
Related Stories
