Chapter 4 - The Father in the Shadows
My father had supposedly died twelve years earlier.
Heart attack.
Private hospital.
Closed casket.
I had watched it go into the ground.
Now Vincent was telling me he was alive.
I didn't believe him.
Until I found the bank records.
Twelve years of monthly transfers.
Every payment came from an account connected to a shell company.
The beneficiary?
Anthony Caruso.
My father.
Alive.
I stared at the records until the words blurred.
Hannah stood across the room.
“Who is Anthony Caruso?”
“My father.”
She went pale.
“I've heard Julian talk about him.”
“What did he say?”
“He was afraid of him.”
“Why?”
“Because your father wanted Grace.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Grace began crying upstairs.
I went to her.
She reached for me.
I lifted her.
She immediately calmed.
I looked into her gray eyes.
“Your father is coming home.”
The words sounded absurd.
But somehow, I believed them.
That night, Vincent arrived alone.
I pointed a gun at him.
“You have ten seconds.”
He sighed.
“I deserve that.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You let me bury my brother.”
“I thought it was the only way.”
“To protect whom?”
“Julian.”
“Where is he?”
Vincent looked at Grace.
“He's closer than you think.”
Before I could respond, the lights went out.
A bullet shattered the window.
Vincent tackled me.
Another shot.
We hit the floor.
Dante returned fire from the hallway.
When the lights came back, Vincent was bleeding.
He had taken the bullet meant for me.
I stared at him.
“Why?”
He grimaced.
“Because I made a promise to your father.”
I froze.
“My father?”
“Your father knew he was dying.”
“But he isn't dead.”
Vincent shook his head.
“The man you knew as your father died.”
I stared.
“Then who is alive?”
Vincent looked at me.
“His twin brother.”
I almost laughed.
“You expect me to believe this?”
“I don't care what you believe.”
He pulled a photograph from his pocket.
Two identical men.
My father.
And another man.
The caption read:
Anthony and Gabriel Caruso.
“Gabriel?”
“My father had a twin?”
“Yes.”
“Why did nobody tell me?”
“Because Gabriel was the architect of the criminal side of the family.”
“And my father?”
“Wanted out.”
My blood ran cold.
“The bombing?”
“Gabriel ordered it.”
“Why kill Julian?”
“He didn't.”
Vincent looked toward Grace.
“He needed Julian alive.”
“Why?”
“Because Julian had access to something Gabriel desperately wanted.”
“What?”
“A ledger.”
The sixty-million-dollar transaction suddenly made sense.
Someone had been moving enormous amounts of money through my organization.
Julian discovered it.
He stole the ledger.
Then disappeared.
I looked at Vincent.
“Where is the ledger?”
He smiled bitterly.
“With Grace.”
I looked at the baby.
“No.”
Vincent nodded.
“Julian hid it inside her medal.”
I pulled the Saint Christopher medal from Grace's neck.
My fingers trembled.
The back opened.
Inside was a tiny memory card.
I stared at it.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice spoke.
“Marco.”
I knew immediately.
The voice was older than I remembered.
But unmistakable.
“Gabriel?”
A pause.
“You're holding something that belongs to me.”
I looked at Grace.
“You're not getting it.”
He laughed.
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
“Julian isn't your only brother.”
Silence.
“Your mother had another child.”
My blood went cold.
“Who?”
Gabriel whispered:
“Ask Vincent.”
May you like
I turned.
Vincent had disappeared.
