Chapter 5 - The Brother Who Had Been Hiding in Plain Sight
The truth about Patrick changed the entire structure of Declan's world.
Patrick had never simply been an adviser.
He had been family.
The forgotten son of Declan's father and another woman.
A son who had been erased.
A son who had spent decades watching Declan inherit everything.
The empire.
The name.
The money.
The respect.
And now the child.
Mae.
Declan read the ledger again.
Patrick had been marked as an outsider since childhood.
But his name appeared alongside payments.
Orders.
Transfers.
Assassination attempts.
It was clear he had been building something.
Not just revenge.
A takeover.
“He wants the empire,” Declan said.
I shook my head.
“No.”
“What?”
“He wants you to give it to him.”
Declan stared at me.
“How?”
“He wants you afraid.”
The messages.
The shooting.
The hospital breach.
The baby threats.
All of it was psychological.
Patrick wanted Declan distracted.
Angry.
Reactive.
He wanted him to destroy his own organization from inside.
And it was working.
Declan began firing people.
Executives disappeared.
Allies were threatened.
The city felt like it was holding its breath.
I confronted him one evening.
“You're becoming him.”
He looked up.
“Who?”
“Your father.”
He became quiet.
“He hurt your family through fear.”
Declan stared at me.
“I need to protect you.”
“You need to protect us.”
“I am.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You're protecting your empire.”
“That empire protects you.”
“It doesn't.”
He stood.
“What do you want me to do?”
“End it.”
His eyes widened.
“The whole thing?”
“Yes.”
“You know what happens if I walk away.”
“Then walk anyway.”
“I'll be hunted.”
“Then we'll run.”
He stared at me.
“You'd leave everything?”
“Yes.”
“For me?”
“For Mae.”
He looked toward the nursery.
Then back at me.
I stepped closer.
“You promised me once that you would give me everything.”
“I remember.”
“I don't want everything.”
I took his hand.
“I want enough.”
He swallowed.
“A normal life.”
“Yes.”
“A house.”
“Yes.”
“Kids.”
“We already have one.”
He smiled sadly.
“A dog?”
I laughed.
“Maybe.”
He pulled me into his arms.
“I don't know how to do normal.”
“Then learn.”
That night, Declan made a decision.
He would dismantle the empire.
Not immediately.
Not recklessly.
Methodically.
He would sell legitimate companies.
Close criminal operations.
Pay restitution where possible.
Withdraw from illegal enterprises.
Protect the people who depended on legitimate work.
And most importantly, destroy the leverage Patrick had built.
It took months.
Patrick attacked.
Cars followed us.
Two men attempted to enter the estate.
Declan refused to retaliate with murder.
Instead, he collected evidence.
For the first time, he trusted law enforcement selectively.
Federal agents became involved.
Tommy cooperated.
Marko disappeared overseas.
Patrick's network began collapsing.
Then Patrick kidnapped Evelyn.
He demanded the ledger.
Declan refused.
He demanded Mae.
Declan almost lost control.
I stopped him.
“We save her.”
“How?”
“By giving him what he wants.”
Declan looked at me.
“No.”
“We give him a fake ledger.”
The plan worked.
Patrick took the false book.
He went to a meeting.
Federal agents were waiting.
But Patrick escaped.
He fled to the docks.
Declan followed.
I stayed behind.
Then my phone rang.
Patrick.
“You've ruined everything.”
I listened.
“You should have stayed out of our family.”
I replied:
“You made one mistake.”
“What?”
“You assumed I was your victim.”
He laughed.
“You are.”
“No.”
I looked at Mae sleeping beside me.
“I am the reason Declan changed.”
Silence.
Then I heard something.
A gunshot.
The call ended.
Declan.
I ran.
At the hospital, I found him alive.
A bullet had passed through his shoulder.
He smiled when he saw me.
“You're supposed to be staying home.”
I cried.
“You're impossible.”
“I know.”
I hugged him carefully.
He whispered:
“Patrick is finished.”
“How?”
“He surrendered.”
I pulled back.
“Why?”
May you like
Declan smiled.
“He finally realized there was nothing left for him to steal.”
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