Chapter 7: The Brother I Thought I Lost
For eight years, I had believed my brother was dead.
I had attended a funeral.
I had watched a coffin lowered into the ground.
I had stood beside Anthony’s grave and listened to people tell me how tragic it was to lose him so young.
But the man standing in Elena’s doorway was not a ghost.
He was alive.
And he was smiling.
"Vincent.""
The sound of his voice pulled me back to every memory I had buried.
Anthony Moretti.
My younger brother.
My blood.
My family.
The one person I believed would stand beside me when everyone else turned away.
Daniel lifted his weapon immediately.
"Don't move.""
Anthony looked at him and smiled.
"Still protective, Daniel? That's always been your problem.""
Daniel's face changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
"You.""
Anthony looked amused.
"You remember me.""
I stepped forward.
My mind was moving faster than my body.
The funeral.
The coffin.
The grave.
The years of silence.
None of it made sense.
"You're dead.""
Anthony looked at me.
Then slowly spread his arms.
"Apparently not.""
My hands curled into fists.
"What kind of game is this?""
His smile faded slightly.
"A game?""
He looked around the room.
"Is that what you think this is?""
He glanced at Elena's old bedroom.
"The woman you loved disappeared. I disappeared. Your enemies multiplied. Your wife tried to poison you.""
His eyes returned to mine.
"And you still think you're the one controlling the board.""
The words hit because they were close to the truth.
Too close.
I moved toward him.
Daniel stepped beside me.
"Boss.""
I ignored him.
Anthony noticed.
He always noticed everything.
That was what made him dangerous.
"You still walk like him.""
I stopped.
"What?""
Anthony smiled faintly.
"For months, everyone believed Vincent Moretti was broken.""
His eyes moved down toward my legs.
"But I knew better.""
My expression changed.
"You knew?""
"Of course.""
A cold feeling spread through me.
"How?""
Anthony leaned against the doorway.
"Because I was the one who ordered the accident.""
The room went silent.
Daniel reacted instantly.
But I raised my hand.
Not yet.
I wanted to hear him.
I needed to hear him.
"Say that again.""
Anthony looked directly into my eyes.
"I arranged the crash.""
Eight years of brotherhood disappeared in one sentence.
The man who taught me how to fight.
The man who stood beside me when our father died.
The man whose name I defended when others questioned him.
He was the reason I almost died.
"Why?""
My voice was quiet.
Anthony looked away.
"Because I needed you weak.""
"Why?""
"Because you would never listen otherwise.""
I laughed once.
A humorless sound.
"You put me in a wheelchair because you wanted a conversation?""
"No.""
Anthony stepped closer.
"I put you in a wheelchair because you were about to destroy the wrong person.""
My eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?""
Anthony looked toward the old bedroom.
"Elena found out what you were becoming.""
The sentence angered me.
"What I was becoming?""
"Exactly.""
Daniel stepped forward.
"Watch your words.""
Anthony ignored him.
"You built an empire, Vincent. You told yourself it was about protecting the family.""
He shook his head.
"But somewhere along the way, protecting became controlling. Loyalty became fear. Love became ownership.""
I stared at him.
"Are you done?""
"No.""
His voice hardened.
"Because Elena saw it too.""
My jaw tightened.
"Don't use her name.""
"Why? Because you still miss her?""
Anthony's expression became colder.
"Or because deep down you know she was afraid of you?""
The room felt smaller.
I wanted to hit him.
I wanted answers.
I wanted eight years of my life returned.
But anger was what he wanted.
I had spent decades learning not to give enemies what they wanted.
So I stayed calm.
"Explain.""
Anthony sighed.
"The night Elena disappeared, she found something in the family accounts.""
"The theft.""
He nodded.
"But not by who you think.""
My eyes narrowed.
"Adrian Vale?""
"No.""
He looked at me.
"Me.""
The confession was almost casual.
Almost.
"I moved money.""
Daniel looked shocked.
"Why?""
Anthony laughed quietly.
"Because I was trying to save the family.""
I stared at him.
"By stealing from it?""
"You don't understand.""
"Then explain.""
Anthony walked into the room.
For the first time, I noticed how different he looked.
Older.
Tired.
Like a man who had spent years carrying something heavy.
"Father left us enemies.""
He looked at the photographs on the wall.
"He built an empire that everyone wanted to destroy.""
Anthony turned back.
"You thought fear would keep it alive.""
"And you thought what?""
"I thought we needed to change.""
My expression hardened.
"So you betrayed me.""
"No.""
His voice sharpened.
"I betrayed the version of you that would never stop.""
That sentence stayed in the air.
Because it sounded like something Elena might have said.
And I hated that.
Anthony reached into his coat.
Daniel immediately raised his weapon.
Anthony slowly pulled out a small object.
A flash drive.
"The rest of Elena's video is here.""
Everything stopped.
My eyes locked onto it.
"Where did you get that?""
"Elena gave it to me.""
A thousand questions.
"She trusted you?""
Anthony looked down.
"She did.""
The answer hurt.
Because Elena had trusted my brother.
Maybe more than she trusted me.
"Why didn't you show me?""
Anthony looked at me.
"Because the video doesn't just expose me.""
A pause.
"It exposes you.""
I stared at him.
"What did I do?""
Anthony didn't answer.
And that scared me more than anything.
Daniel moved slightly.
"He's manipulating you.""
Maybe.
But the problem was, Anthony knew things.
Things only family knew.
Things no enemy could know.
I looked at the flash drive.
"Give it to me.""
Anthony didn't move.
"First, you need to promise something.""
I almost smiled.
"You are in no position to make demands.""
"Maybe.""
He looked at me.
"But you need the truth.""
"What promise?""
"That when you see what happened, you won't destroy the person responsible.""
My eyes narrowed.
"Why would I promise that?""
"Because if you don't...""
He looked toward the hallway.
Toward where Sophia was.
"...your daughter loses her father for a second time.""
The words froze me.
Before I could respond, a sound came from downstairs.
A scream.
Sophia.
I turned instantly.
The world narrowed.
Nothing mattered except my daughter.
I ran.
Not walked.
Ran.
I reached the stairs in seconds.
Daniel behind me.
The living room was empty.
But the front door was open.
Cold air rushed inside.
On the floor was Sophia's stuffed rabbit.
The one she carried everywhere.
Beside it was a note.
My hands shook as I picked it up.
Three words were written in black ink.
*Come alone, Vincent.*
Underneath was another sentence.
And the handwriting made my blood run cold.
Because I recognized it.
It belonged to Elena.
*Or you will never see Sophia again.*
I looked at Daniel.
At Anthony.
At the empty doorway.
And for the first time in my life, I felt something more dangerous than anger.
Helplessness.
Because someone had taken my daughter.
And the person who left the message knew exactly how to hurt me.
May you like
They knew the one thing Vincent Moretti could never survive.
Losing Sophia.
