Chapter 4 - THE BROTHER IN THE SHADOWS|
Dominic read Elena's letter eleven times.
Every time he reached the final sentence, the words seemed less like ink and more like a crack opening beneath his feet.
His brother was alive.
Adrian had been buried in a closed-casket funeral three years earlier. Dominic had stood beside the grave in the rain, accepted condolences from men who feared him, and watched his father lower a black rose onto the polished wood.
He had never seen the body.
Vincent had told him the injuries were too severe.
Dominic had believed him.
Now he wondered whether his father had protected him from grief—or deliberately used it to keep him obedient.
“Where is your aunt?” he asked Lily.
“Retired. She lives in Connecticut.”
“Call her.”
“I haven't spoken to her in years.”
“Then we'll find another way.”
“No.” Lily shook her head. “If Elena really said those words, my aunt deserves to tell you herself.”
Dominic studied her for a moment, then nodded.
“You're right.”
He called a trusted attorney, Samuel Price, who had handled the family's legitimate business for nearly twenty years. Dominic ordered him to preserve all financial records and investigate the foundation account used to pay for Noah's lock.
He also gave him a second instruction.
“Find out whether Adrian Moretti is alive.”
Samuel didn't ask whether Dominic was certain.
He simply replied, “I'll begin immediately.”
At noon, Vanessa was escorted to a guest suite under supervision. She was allowed to contact her lawyer, but Dominic removed her access to the household security system and froze any new payments from the private foundation.
She protested loudly enough for the staff to hear.
“This is my home!”
Dominic stopped at the foot of the staircase.
“No. It's my son's home. And until I know what you've done here, you will not be making decisions about him.”
Vanessa's expression turned vicious.
“You think you can protect him from everything? Look at your family. Look at what your father built. You have no idea what you're standing in the middle of.”
“Then enlighten me.”
She leaned closer.
“Ask your father why he paid Adrian after the funeral.”
Dominic went cold.
“Paid him from which account?”
Vanessa smiled without warmth.
“Now you're asking the right questions.”
That afternoon, Samuel uncovered a series of transfers from an offshore account maintained by the Moretti family. The payments had continued monthly for three years.
The recipient was listed under a shell company registered to a man named Andrew Reed.
Marcus studied the name.
“There's no Andrew Reed in our employment records.”
“Check the driver's licenses associated with the account,” Dominic said.
Marcus ran the search.
An hour later, he brought Dominic a photograph.
The man in it was older, thinner, and wore a short beard. A scar crossed his left eyebrow.
But Dominic recognized the eyes.
“Adrian.”
The photo had been taken six weeks earlier outside a private marina in Maine.
Dominic immediately ordered his team to locate the marina and arrange a discreet meeting.
Lily found him preparing to leave.
“You're going after him,” she said.
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“Then take someone you trust.”
He almost smiled.
“I have Marcus.”
“I meant someone who isn't afraid of disappointing you.”
The words struck him because they sounded exactly like something Elena would have said.
He glanced toward Noah's room.
“My son needs me here.”
“Then stay here,” Lily replied. “You can send your security team. But don't confuse chasing answers with being a father.”
Dominic looked at her for a long moment.
Then he put his coat down.
That evening, he ate dinner at the kitchen table with Noah and Lily. Noah pushed peas around his plate and watched his father suspiciously.
“Are you going to work after dinner?”
“No.”
“Even if your phone rings?”
“Even then.”
“What if someone bad calls?”
Dominic set his fork down.
“Then someone else will answer.”
Noah considered that.
“Can we read the dinosaur book?”
“We can read three dinosaur books.”
The boy's face brightened.
For twenty minutes, Dominic read terrible dinosaur voices while Noah laughed for the first time in weeks. Lily watched from the doorway, trying not to smile.
But the moment Noah fell asleep, Dominic returned to his office.
He had asked Marcus to arrange the meeting with Adrian without revealing Dominic's identity.
The response came at 10:43 p.m.
One message.
If you want the truth about Elena, come alone to Pier Nine at midnight. Bring the letter. Do not bring a weapon.
Dominic stared at the message.
Marcus read it over his shoulder.
“It's a trap.”
“Probably.”
“You can't go.”
“Then I'll never know.”
“Sir, with respect, your brother was supposed to be dead for three years. Whoever sent that message knows things about your family that could get you killed.”
Dominic picked up the letter.
“Then we make sure they don't get another chance to bury the truth.”
He went to the marina with Marcus stationed nearby and a second security team watching the surrounding streets. He carried no visible weapon.
At midnight, a figure emerged from the shadows between two warehouses.
“Dominic.”
The voice was older than he remembered.
But it was unmistakably Adrian's.
Dominic stared at his brother.
“You're alive.”
Adrian gave a humorless laugh.
“That's what happens when a family decides your death is more useful than your life.”
Dominic took a step toward him.
“Why didn't you come home?”
“Because I wasn't allowed to.”
“By whom?”
Adrian looked toward the dark water.
“Father.”
Dominic felt anger rise.
“Our father is dead.”
“And he spent the last years of his life making sure his secrets died with him.”
“Did you kill Elena?”
Adrian's face changed.
“No.”
“Did you help someone hurt her?”
“No.”
“Then tell me what happened.”
Adrian pulled a small memory card from his coat.
“Your wife discovered that Father was moving money through the family foundation. Money meant for witness protection, medical charities, and legitimate businesses was being diverted to pay people who should never have been on our payroll.”
Dominic stared at the card.
“She found proof?”
“She found enough to threaten the entire operation. Father wanted her silenced. I tried to help her escape.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was a coward.”
The admission came quietly.
Adrian looked Dominic in the eyes.
“I was afraid Father would destroy both of us. I staged my death because he promised to leave Elena alone if I disappeared.”
Dominic grabbed his brother's coat.
“And you believed him?”
“No. I hoped.”
Adrian's eyes filled with shame.
“I heard about the accident too late. By the time I tried to contact you, Father had told everyone I was dead. He said if I came back, he would make Noah disappear next.”
Dominic released him.
For several seconds, neither brother spoke.
Then Adrian looked toward the road.
“Someone followed you here.”
Marcus's voice came through Dominic's earpiece.
“Sir, two vehicles approaching from the north. No plates.”
Adrian stepped backward.
“You have to leave.”
“Not without answers.”
“Then take the card. It contains the original transaction records and a recording Father made before he died.”
“What recording?”
Adrian's expression turned grim.
“The one in which he explains why Elena's death was never supposed to happen.”
A gunshot shattered the silence.
Adrian stumbled.
Dominic caught him as he fell against the dock railing.
“Adrian!”
His brother clutched Dominic's sleeve.
“Don't trust the person who brought you the letter.”
Dominic looked up.
Across the marina, a figure stood beside a black SUV.
For one brief moment, the headlights illuminated the woman's face.
Vanessa.
She raised a phone to her ear.
Then the SUV accelerated into the darkness.
Dominic looked down at his bleeding brother.
“Stay with me.”
Adrian struggled to breathe.
“She knows where the recording is.”
“Where?”
Adrian pressed the memory card into Dominic's hand.
May you like
Then whispered the name of the person who had been hiding it.
“Your son.”
