Chapter 4 - The Brother Who Wanted His Name
The first thing Luca did after the attack was order every road out of Chicago monitored.
The second was demand the truth from his mother.
Elena sat in her bedroom, surrounded by old family photographs.
Luca stood across from her.
“Start at the beginning.”
She looked at the photograph of two newborn boys.
“Your father wanted both of you to inherit the family business. But Adrian was born with a serious heart condition. The doctors said he might not survive childhood.”
Luca's anger softened slightly.
“Why was he sent away?”
“An enemy family had threatened to kidnap the children. Antonio believed separating you would make it harder for them to find both of you.”
“Did Adrian know about me?”
“Not until he was sixteen.”
Elena explained that Antonio had secretly maintained contact with Adrian. He paid for his education, medical treatment, and security. But Adrian grew resentful when he discovered that Luca had been raised as Antonio's public heir.
“He believed your father loved you more.”
Luca looked at the photographs.
“Did he?”
Elena's eyes filled.
“Your father loved you both. But he made mistakes trying to protect you.”
She then revealed what Operation Second Son really meant.
It was a plan to fake Antonio's death, destroy the traitor network, and transfer control of the organization to Adrian while Luca remained publicly in charge.
Antonio had wanted the brothers to rule together.
But someone changed the plan.
The explosion occurred before the final meeting.
“Who changed it?” Luca asked.
Elena whispered, “I don't know.”
Luca didn't believe her.
He left the room and found Gabriel waiting outside.
“I want Adrian.”
Gabriel nodded.
“I know where he'll go.”
“Then take me there.”
They drove to an abandoned church on the south side of Chicago.
Antonio had once used it as a private meeting place. Its stained-glass windows were cracked, and weeds had grown through the stone courtyard.
Gabriel found a message taped beneath the altar.
A photograph.
Vanessa stood beside Adrian in a hospital corridor.
On the back, someone had written:
Ask your fiancée what happened to the first heir.
Luca stared at it.
“First heir?”
Gabriel examined the photograph.
“That's St. Mary's Hospital. Six years ago.”
They returned to the mansion and searched Vanessa's old bedroom.
Behind a loose panel in her wardrobe, Luca found a small envelope.
Inside were medical records, an ultrasound photograph, and a handwritten letter.
The medical records belonged to Vanessa.
The ultrasound showed a pregnancy dated six years earlier.
Luca's hands went cold.
He read the letter.
Luca, if you ever discover what happened to our son, please understand that I never wanted him to become part of this family war.
He looked at Gabriel.
“Vanessa was pregnant?”
Gabriel nodded slowly.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
The letter continued.
Your father knew. Adrian knew. Richard knew. They all agreed the baby would be protected. But after October 3, someone told me my child had died.
Luca sat down.
He remembered Vanessa's strange behavior around children, the way she avoided family conversations, and the unexplained hospital visits she had claimed were for her mother.
“Where is the child?”
Gabriel checked the records.
A birth certificate had been issued under a different surname.
The child was listed as a boy.
His name was Noah Hart.
“Is he alive?” Luca asked.
Gabriel looked at the last page.
There was a recent address.
A foster care facility in Indiana.
Before they could leave, Luca's phone rang.
Vanessa.
He answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
Her voice was trembling.
“Luca, don't come looking for me.”
“Tell me where my son is.”
A long silence followed.
Then she whispered:
“He isn't your son.”
Luca closed his eyes.
“Then whose child is he?”
Vanessa began sobbing.
“Adrian's.”
The call ended.
A second later, a message arrived.
It contained a photograph of a little boy with dark hair and a familiar scar above his left eyebrow.
May you like
Beneath it were four words:
Your brother's son is missing.
