Chapter 4 - The Dead Brother
Vivian stopped breathing.
“That’s impossible.”
The login attempt appeared again.
D. MERCER — AUTHENTICATION FAILED.
Dominic closed the laptop.
“Could Leo have copied his credentials?”
“No.”
Vivian’s voice shook.
“Daniel created them himself. The key changes according to a mathematical sequence only he and I knew.”
Dominic studied her.
“You're saying your dead brother just tried to enter the system.”
“I watched them bury him.”
“Did you see his body?”
Vivian looked at him.
“No.”
Daniel and his wife, Rebecca, had died when their SUV exploded after leaving a fertility clinic outside Milwaukee.
Police said a fuel leak caused the fire.
The remains were badly burned.
Identification came through dental records.
Dominic made one call.
By evening, the official accident report was on his desk.
He found the problem within minutes.
The medical examiner who confirmed Daniel Mercer’s identity had retired two weeks after the accident.
His new home?
A $1.8 million property in Arizona.
Purchased in cash.
Dominic looked at Vivian.
“Your brother may not have died in an accident.”
Her eyes filled.
“And Rebecca?”
“We don't know.”
That answer hurt more.
Dominic arranged a secure video connection.
Vivian sent a trap into the shadow ledger.
If Daniel’s credentials appeared again, the system would trace the location.
They waited.
An hour.
Two.
At 11:48 p.m., the screen flashed.
Milwaukee.
A warehouse district near the river.
Dominic stood.
“You’re staying here.”
“No.”
“Vivian.”
“If Daniel is alive—”
“You're seven months pregnant and Leo thinks you're dead.”
“My brother may be alive.”
“And walking into a warehouse won't make him more alive.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You’re incredibly irritating.”
“So I've been told.”
“By everyone?”
“Mostly people shortly before unpleasant things happened to them.”
Vivian stared.
Dominic sighed.
“That was a joke.”
“That was a terrible joke.”
But she stayed.
Dominic took six men to Milwaukee.
The warehouse appeared abandoned.
Inside, they found computer servers, surveillance equipment, and photographs covering an entire wall.
Dominic.
Vivian.
Leo.
Salvatore Russo.
The Mercer family.
One photograph showed Daniel Mercer alive.
The timestamp was six months after his supposed death.
Dominic removed it from the wall.
Then the lights went out.
Gunfire erupted.
Dominic dropped behind a steel table.
His men returned fire.
The attackers retreated through a loading bay.
One did not escape.
Dominic caught him behind a parked truck.
He slammed the man against the metal door.
“Who sent you?”
The attacker smiled through blood.
“Ask Mercer.”
Dominic froze.
“Daniel?”
The man laughed.
“Wrong Mercer.”
A gunshot struck him from somewhere in the darkness.
He died instantly.
Dominic’s men searched the surrounding buildings.
The shooter was gone.
Back at the clinic, Vivian studied the photograph of Daniel.
Her hands trembled.
“He was alive.”
“At least six months after the crash.”
“Why wouldn't he come to me?”
Dominic had no answer.
Then Vivian noticed something in the photograph.
Daniel wore a watch.
A silver Hamilton their father had given him.
The hands showed 3:17.
“That watch stopped in the crash.”
Dominic frowned.
“What?”
“The police returned it to me.”
Vivian had stored Daniel’s belongings in a safety-deposit box.
The photograph could not have been taken after the crash.
It had been staged before.
Someone wanted them to believe Daniel survived.
“Leo?” Dominic asked.
“Maybe.”
But Vivian looked unconvinced.
Dominic’s phone rang.
One of his investigators had located the retired medical examiner.
The man had been found dead inside his Arizona home two hours earlier.
Someone was cleaning the trail.
Then Vivian’s disposable phone buzzed.
No one had the number except Dominic and Kane.
A photograph arrived.
It showed Dominic entering the Milwaukee warehouse.
Taken less than three hours ago.
Beneath it were seven words.
You should have let Vivian take the blame.
A second message arrived.
This one contained an audio file.
Vivian pressed play.
Her brother’s voice filled the room.
“Viv, if you're hearing this, Dominic found you before Leo finished what he started.”
Vivian covered her mouth.
Daniel continued.
“And if Dominic Russo is standing beside you, tell him his father didn't die because of Leo.”
Dominic’s face hardened.
May you like
The recording ended with one final sentence.
“He died because of me.”
