Chapter 5 - The Brother Who Stole His LifeThe private club in Boston occupied the top three floors of an old banking building.
Its members included senators, billionaires, shipping executives, and men whose fortunes had never survived a serious accounting investigation.
Adrian Keene stood at the center of the main conference room.
He wore an expensive navy suit and a silver watch.
He looked older than Silas remembered.
But he was unmistakably alive.
“Gentlemen,” Adrian announced, “the Keene family has suffered enough uncertainty. My brother's death left a vacuum. Tonight, we close that chapter.”
A few men applauded.
Adrian smiled.
“By the end of the month, every remaining Keene asset will be transferred under my authority.”
Walter Dain raised his glass.
“To the future.”
Then the conference room doors opened.
The applause stopped.
Silas walked inside.
Black suit.
White shirt.
No tie.
His expression was calm enough to frighten everyone in the room.
Adrian's glass slipped from his fingers.
It shattered against the floor.
“Hello, brother.”
For several seconds, Adrian couldn't speak.
Then he laughed nervously.
“This is impossible.”
Silas looked around the room.
“Apparently, everyone has been telling people that.”
Adrian took a step backward.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
“I've heard.”
Silas walked toward the table.
“Three years, Adrian. Three years of searching for my wife. Three years of believing you were dead, too.”
Adrian's face tightened.
“You don't understand what happened.”
“Then explain it.”
“It was business.”
Silas stopped.
“Business?”
“Mallory was never supposed to disappear permanently.”
Silas's eyes turned cold.
“You arranged her kidnapping?”
Adrian looked toward Walter.
Walter immediately looked away.
Adrian exhaled.
“She was leverage. Nothing more.”
Silas's hand tightened around the back of a chair.
“She was my wife.”
“She was the one thing you cared about more than the organization!”
“And your solution was to destroy her life?”
Adrian raised his voice.
“You were becoming weak! Every decision revolved around her. You were going to hand the company to legitimate investors and walk away from everything our father built.”
Silas stared at him.
“So you decided to take everything.”
“I did what I had to do.”
“Did you also arrange my funeral?”
Adrian hesitated.
“Yes.”
The room became silent.
“Why?”
“Because the organization needed a clean transition.”
Silas stepped closer.
“And Mallory?”
Adrian looked toward Walter.
“Walter was supposed to keep her quiet.”
Silas suddenly understood.
The mansion.
The false funeral.
The employment contract.
The years of isolation.
Everything had been part of the same plan.
“You let her believe I was dead.”
Adrian shrugged.
“She was easier to control that way.”
Silas looked at the men seated around the table.
“Anyone here know about the child?”
Nobody answered.
Then a man near the window spoke.
“Adrian promised the boy would never become a problem.”
Silas turned.
“Who are you?”
The man slowly removed his glasses.
“Victor Hale.”
Silas recognized him.
The Black Circle's financial architect.
The man whose ring had appeared in the security photograph.
Victor smiled.
“Your family has always been difficult to manage, Mr. Keene.”
Silas looked at Adrian.
“Who is he?”
Adrian's silence answered the question.
Victor stood.
“Perhaps it's time you understood something. Your brother didn't organize this operation alone.”
He placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Mallory holding a newborn baby.
Silas stared at it.
On the back was a handwritten message.
The boy belongs to the Circle.
Silas looked up.
Victor smiled.
“Your son is the final piece of a much larger arrangement.”
Before Silas could move, every light in the building went out.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Jonah's voice crackled through Silas's earpiece.
“Silas! We have a problem!”
“What?”
“The estate has been attacked.”
Silas's blood turned cold.
May you like
“Mallory?”
“She's safe. But Noah is missing.”
Related Stories
