Chapter 3 - The Missing Brother No One Was Allowed to Remember
The police didn't come.
That was my first realization.
A man as powerful as Damian Volkov disappearing from his own home should have brought helicopters, federal agents, and every television station in Baltimore.
Instead, Grayhaven House went silent.
The gates closed.
The guards doubled.
Phones disappeared.
And I was told to remain in the servants' wing.
I refused.
I found Viktor outside the library.
“Where is Damian?”
“We're looking.”
“You've been saying that for six hours.”
He looked tired.
“Miss Hart—”
“Emma.”
He sighed.
“Emma.”
“You know where he is.”
“I know who took him.”
“Who?”
He looked toward the portrait of Elara.
“Someone from his past.”
I waited.
He finally said, “Gabriel.”
The name meant nothing to me.
“To the rest of us,” he continued, “the missing brother.”
“Damian's brother?”
“Yes.”
“I thought Elara had one child.”
“She had two.”
“What happened to Gabriel?”
“He was declared dead.”
“Was he?”
Viktor didn't answer.
That was enough.
“Where is he?”
“We don't know.”
“You said he kidnapped Damian.”
“We believe so.”
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel has hated this family for years.”
“Why?”
Viktor stared at me.
“Because Victor Volkov killed his mother.”
I felt sick.
“Damian's father killed his own wife?”
“He believed she betrayed him.”
“What did she do?”
“She tried to save Gabriel.”
“And Damian?”
“Damian was the favored son.”
I frowned.
“Then why kidnap Damian now?”
“Because Gabriel believes Damian stole the life that belonged to him.”
I thought of Damian in that room.
The man everyone feared.
The man my four-year-old daughter had approached without hesitation.
He had looked afraid when she touched his heart.
Not because she was dangerous.
Because perhaps she reminded him of someone.
I followed Viktor into the hidden records room.
He unlocked a steel cabinet.
Inside were photographs.
A teenage Damian.
A younger boy beside him.
Gabriel.
The brothers looked almost identical.
Same dark hair.
Same sharp cheekbones.
But Gabriel's eyes were softer.
There was a photograph of them with Elara.
And another of all three children.
Damian.
Gabriel.
A baby girl.
I pointed.
“That's her.”
Viktor nodded.
“Elara's daughter.”
“What happened to her?”
“According to Victor, she died.”
“But she didn't.”
“No.”
“Then where is she?”
Viktor looked at me.
“I don't know.”
My stomach tightened.
“Could she be alive?”
“Yes.”
“Who knows?”
“Victor.”
“Where is he?”
Viktor's jaw tightened.
“Dead.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“Victor Volkov died six years ago.”
That explained the portrait.
It explained the missing records.
But it raised another question.
“Then who has been controlling Grayhaven House?”
“Damian.”
“And before him?”
“Victor.”
“And Gabriel?”
“Anyone who wants revenge against this family.”
Viktor handed me a folder.
Inside was a photograph of Gabriel standing beside a woman.
The woman was me.
Or rather, someone who looked exactly like me.
I stared.
“What is this?”
“Your mother.”
I couldn't breathe.
“That isn't possible.”
“She worked for Victor.”
“My mother cleaned houses.”
“After she disappeared from Grayhaven.”
I looked again.
The photograph had been taken twenty-five years ago.
My mother was young.
And beside her stood Elara.
They were holding the baby girl.
My hands trembled.
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“Because she promised Elara.”
“What promise?”
“To hide the child.”
“Which child?”
Viktor looked at Lila.
My heart stopped.
“No.”
He nodded.
“Your daughter may be the heir everyone thought died.”
I stepped back.
“You're saying Lila is a Volkov?”
“I don't know.”
“But you suspect.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Damian's mother gave your mother that bracelet.”
I looked down at Lila's wrist.
“Why?”
“Because it contains a family code.”
“A family code?”
“Not jewelry.”
“What is it?”
Viktor crouched.
He studied the bracelet.
“Open it.”
“How?”
“There.”
He pointed to a tiny latch.
I had never noticed it.
I pressed it.
The bracelet opened.
Inside was a strip of metal covered with microscopic numbers.
Viktor stared.
“Where did you get this?”
“My mother gave it to me.”
“Then she knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That your daughter was being hunted.”
A noise came from behind us.
We turned.
A speaker crackled.
Damian's voice came through.
“Emma.”
I ran toward it.
“Damian!”
His voice was strained.
“Don't come looking for me.”
“Where are you?”
A pause.
“Somewhere Gabriel won't kill you.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“Are you hurt?”
Another pause.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“That doesn't matter.”
“It matters to me.”
Silence.
Then he said something softer.
“Keep Lila away from Grayhaven.”
“Why?”
“Because she's the reason they will come.”
The line went dead.
Viktor rushed into the surveillance room.
We tracked the signal.
It came from an abandoned church on the harbor.
Twenty minutes later, we arrived.
The church was empty.
Except for Damian.
He sat tied to a chair.
Blood stained his shirt.
I ran toward him.
He raised his head.
“You shouldn't have come.”
“I wasn't going to leave you.”
He almost smiled.
Then Gabriel appeared behind me.
“That's exactly what I wanted to hear.”
I turned.
He removed his mask.
He looked like Damian.
But not quite.
His expression held a grief that Damian had hidden for years.
Gabriel pointed a weapon toward the floor.
“I don't want to hurt her.”
Damian strained against the restraints.
“Then let her go.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand enough.”
Gabriel looked at Lila.
The child was in Viktor's arms.
She stared at Gabriel.
Then her eyes widened.
She reached toward him.
Gabriel froze.
Lila made a sign.
Family.
Gabriel's face changed.
His weapon lowered.
“How does she know?”
I looked at him.
“You tell me.”
He stared at the child for several seconds.
May you like
Then whispered,
“Because she's my niece.”
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