Chapter 9 - THE BROTHER'S LAST CONFESSION
Anthony stood beneath the bare branches of an oak tree, his hands buried in the pockets of his black coat.
Behind him, a marble headstone carried his name and the date of his supposed death.
Dominic approached alone.
I remained near the car with two officers, watching through the cemetery gate.
“You have a talent for dramatic entrances,” Dominic said.
Anthony gave a humorless smile.
“You always hated my sense of theater.”
“You faked your death, manipulated Elena, and threatened a child. I think we've moved beyond sibling disagreements.”
Anthony's smile faded.
“I never threatened Lily.”
“Someone did.”
“Someone wants you to believe I did.”
Dominic studied him.
“Then tell me who.”
Anthony looked toward me.
“Her father.”
Dominic went still.
“Thomas?”
Anthony nodded.
“He discovered that our father had used his identity to authorize a series of transfers. Thomas threatened to expose him. The family tried to silence him, but the accident happened before anyone could intervene.”
Dominic's voice dropped.
“Are you saying our father had him killed?”
“I'm saying I don't know who caused the accident. But I know our father was involved in the cover-up.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was trying to protect you.”
Dominic laughed bitterly.
“That's the excuse everyone uses when they want to control someone else's life.”
Anthony looked down.
“Perhaps.”
For the first time, he seemed tired rather than dangerous.
He explained that after Thomas died, he discovered a hidden ledger connecting the Northstar accounts to several shell companies. He had tried to use the ledger to force their father to step down, but the plan backfired.
He fled Chicago and staged his death with help from a former business associate.
“I thought I could gather enough evidence to bring the whole thing down,” he said. “Then I learned Elena was pregnant.”
Dominic's expression changed.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I knew you would go after her. Our father would have followed. I thought disappearing was the only way to keep her safe.”
“You could have told me the truth.”
“I didn't trust you to make the right decision.”
Dominic stared at him.
“And you decided to make every decision for everyone else.”
Anthony had no answer.
He handed Dominic a small black notebook.
“The ledger is in a storage unit under a false name. The key is inside.”
Dominic took it.
“Why give it to me now?”
“Because someone has been following Elena and Lily. Someone who knows the ledger still exists.”
“Who?”
Anthony looked toward the cemetery road.
“Martin Vale.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
Vale had been a trusted financial adviser to their father and remained connected to several Moretti businesses.
“If Vale is involved,” Dominic said, “then he has access to our accounts, our properties, and our security records.”
“And he knows where Lily lives.”
The realization hit them both.
Dominic turned toward the car.
A sharp crack echoed through the cemetery.
Anthony staggered.
Dominic caught him as he fell.
Blood spread across the front of Anthony's coat.
“Anthony!”
The officers rushed forward.
I ran from the gate despite their calls to stay back.
Anthony's eyes fluttered.
“I'm sorry,” he whispered.
Dominic pressed his hands against the wound.
“Stay with me.”
Anthony looked toward me.
“Tell Elena the truth about the money. Thomas wasn't trying to steal it. He was trying to return it.”
His breath caught.
“And the child…”
I leaned closer.
“What child?”
Anthony's eyes widened with fear.
“Not Lily. The other one.”
Then his head fell back.
The paramedics arrived within minutes.
Anthony survived the shooting, but he was taken into protective custody and placed under medical supervision.
Dominic stood beside the ambulance, blood on his hands, staring at the black notebook.
I approached him.
“What did he mean by another child?”
“I don't know.”
“Could he have been talking about someone else in the family?”
“Possibly.”
I watched him closely.
“Are you hiding something from me?”
He met my eyes.
“No.”
For once, I believed him.
But that did not mean Anthony had told us everything.
That night, investigators recovered the ledger from the storage unit.
It documented years of suspicious transactions, falsified records, and payments to companies controlled by Martin Vale.
There was enough evidence to begin a formal investigation.
But the final page contained a handwritten note.
The original beneficiary was removed from the trust before the first transfer. The replacement beneficiary is still alive.
Below it was a name.
Not Dominic.
Not Lily.
May you like
Not Anthony.
Elena Ruiz.
