Chapter 7: The Brother Who Lied
The photograph on my phone was grainy, but I knew the face.
I had seen it beside my wedding cake.
I had seen it standing behind my mother’s casket.
I had seen it smiling in the Christmas picture on our mantel for seven years.
I looked up at my brothers.
“Which one of you is he?””
Nobody answered.
The fire alarm continued screaming.
Red emergency lights pulsed through the smoke-filled corridor.
Caleb moved toward the door.
“Everyone stays together.””
I barely heard him.
My eyes stayed on Marcus.
Then Julian.
Then Caleb.
Three brothers.
Three men who had protected me my entire life.
Three men my mother had trusted with the secrets of our family.
One of them was in that photograph.
Or someone wanted me to believe he was.
Adrian stood against the wall, breathing hard.
Vanessa was crying.
Julian took my phone.
“Let me see.””
He zoomed in.
The man in the underground room stood beside my mother’s photograph.
He wore a dark suit.
His face was partially shadowed.
But the wedding photo burned in my memory.
I had seen that same profile near the church entrance.
My heart hammered.
“It's impossible,” I whispered.
Marcus looked at me.
“What did the message say exactly?””
I repeated it.
*ASK YOUR BROTHER WHICH ONE.*
Marcus held out his hand.
I gave him the phone.
He stared at the photograph for several seconds.
Then his expression changed.
Not fear.
Something worse.
Recognition.
“You know him.””
Marcus didn't answer.
“Marcus.””
He looked away.
I felt the room closing around me.
“You know who that is.””
“I know who he resembles.””
“That isn't what I asked.””
Julian stepped closer.
“Marcus?””
My oldest brother finally looked at me.
“It's our father.””
The world seemed to stop.
I shook my head.
“Our father died when I was six.””
“I know.””
“That man is older.””
“I know.””
“He can't be.””
Marcus swallowed.
“He shouldn't be.””
Caleb looked between us.
“What are you talking about?””
Marcus turned to him.
“We were told Dad died in a car accident.””
Caleb frowned.
“What do you mean, told?””
Marcus said nothing.
I stepped closer.
“You never told me anything else.””
“You were a child.””
“I was eighteen when Mom died.””
“We were trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
Marcus stared at the photograph.
“From him.””
I couldn't move.
“My father?””
Marcus nodded.
“You knew?””
“I suspected he survived.””
My voice broke.
“And you never told me?””
“I didn't have proof.””
“You had eight years.””
He flinched.
Eight years.
The same number that had already become a curse.
Eight years married to Adrian.
Eight years believing I was nobody.
Eight years while my brothers apparently kept another secret from me.
I turned to Julian.
“You knew?””
He didn't answer.
“Julian.””
“I knew Marcus had been investigating.””
“And Caleb?””
Caleb looked stunned.
“I knew nothing.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“That's the problem.””
A crash came from downstairs.
Caleb immediately moved into action.
“Enough family history. We need to get out.””
He opened the conference-room door.
Smoke poured through the hallway.
“Fire?””
Julian shook his head.
“Chemical smoke. Probably deliberate.””
Adrian pointed toward the stairwell.
“The service exit.””
Caleb looked at him.
“How do you know?””
Adrian hesitated.
“I used it before.””
Marcus turned.
“When?””
Adrian said nothing.
I suddenly remembered something.
“You knew about the underground structure.””
Adrian looked at me.
“Yes.””
“How?””
“My father found it.””
The room went silent.
My stomach twisted.
“Your father?””
Adrian nodded.
“He and your mother knew each other.””
Julian stared at him.
“What?””
“That's why your mother called me.””
I stepped closer.
“You're saying my mother knew your father?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
“They worked together.””
“Doing what?””
Adrian's face tightened.
“Managing the trust.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“That isn't possible.””
“Why?””
“My mother never mentioned the Vale family.””
Adrian looked at him.
“She wouldn't.””
“Why not?””
“Because your father wasn't a Vale when he met her.””
Marcus froze.
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?””
Adrian lowered his voice.
“Your father used another name.””
Caleb swore under his breath.
Julian shook his head.
“This is getting insane.””
“No,” Adrian said.
“It's finally making sense.””
A burst of sparks flashed beneath the hallway lights.
The alarm became deafening.
Caleb shouted, “Move!””
We ran.
Marcus grabbed my hand.
Julian stayed beside us.
Caleb took the rear.
Adrian followed with Vanessa.
We reached a service staircase hidden behind a panel.
Adrian punched in a code.
The door clicked open.
Caleb stared at him.
“You memorized that?””
Adrian didn't answer.
We descended.
The air became colder.
The smoke thinned.
At the bottom was a concrete corridor with exposed pipes overhead.
I looked at Adrian.
“You've been down here.””
“Yes.””
“How many times?””
“Three.””
“Why?””
“To look for the vault.””
“And did you find it?””
“No.””
Julian glanced at me.
“Until tonight.””
We reached a steel door.
A red light blinked above it.
Adrian stopped.
“This wasn't here before.””
Caleb examined the hinges.
“Someone installed it recently.””
Marcus touched the handle.
“It isn't locked.””
He opened it.
The room beyond was empty.
No vault.
No documents.
No mysterious stranger.
Only one object in the center.
A wooden chair.
Tied to the chair was a man.
He was unconscious.
Julian ran toward him.
“Check his pulse.””
Caleb dropped beside him.
“Alive.””
The man's head rolled to the side.
I recognized him immediately.
The donor from the ballroom.
The man who had recorded Adrian’s slap.
I covered my mouth.
“What happened to him?””
Caleb examined his wrists.
“Zip ties. Bruising.””
Marcus looked around.
“When did he disappear?””
“About ten minutes ago,” Julian said.
Adrian shook his head.
“He came downstairs.””
I turned.
“How do you know?””
“I saw him leaving the ballroom.””
“You followed him?””
“I followed Vanessa.””
Vanessa stared at him.
“That isn't true.””
Adrian looked at her.
“What?””
“I came here alone.””
“Why?””
She swallowed.
“Because he told me where the records were.””
Julian straightened.
“Who?””
“The man who recruited me.””
I stared at her.
“Mr. Black?””
She nodded.
“He contacted me months ago.””
Adrian’s expression changed.
“You never told me.””
“You never asked.””
The words hung between them.
I almost laughed despite everything.
Then the bound donor groaned.
Caleb leaned closer.
“Sir? Can you hear me?””
The man opened his eyes.
His gaze landed on me.
He started shaking his head.
“No.””
“What?”” I asked.
“No, no, no.””
Caleb steadied him.
“Who did this?””
The donor looked past me.
Straight at Adrian.
Then he whispered:
“He knows.””
Adrian went pale.
“Knows what?””
The donor started crying.
“About the room.””
“What room?”” Marcus asked.
“The first one.””
Julian crouched beside him.
“Where?””
The donor's lips trembled.
“Under the house.””
My heart sank.
“The house that was demolished.””
He nodded.
“There was never a house.””
“What?””
“The house was a decoy.””
Julian stared at him.
“Then where is the real entrance?””
The donor shook his head.
“I don't know.””
“Who does?””
The donor looked at me.
“Your mother.””
“She’s dead.””
“No.””
He pointed weakly toward the opposite wall.
“She isn't.””
I stepped backward.
“What did you say?””
“She was there.””
“When?””
“Tonight.””
My knees weakened.
“That's impossible.””
The donor looked at me with terrified eyes.
“I saw her.””
Everyone went silent.
“Where?””
He lifted his trembling hand.
He pointed toward a narrow metal panel beside the room's ventilation duct.
Marcus opened it.
Behind it was a monitor.
The screen flickered.
Then turned on.
A video appeared.
My mother.
Older than I remembered her.
Gray streaks through her hair.
Standing in a room I didn't recognize.
Alive.
I stopped breathing.
Julian whispered, “No.””
My mother looked directly into the camera.
“Hello, Elena.””
I stepped toward the screen.
“Mom?””
She smiled sadly.
“I know they told you I died.””
My body went cold.
Marcus moved closer.
The recording continued.
“I needed everyone to believe it.””
My mother's eyes filled with tears.
“Especially your father.””
I stared at her.
“Your father is alive.””
Marcus went rigid.
Caleb looked at him.
Julian whispered, “Marcus.””
My mother continued.
“And one of your brothers knows where he is.””
The screen flickered.
My mother lowered her voice.
“Before you decide whom to trust, remember this.””
She paused.
“Only one of your brothers was born from the same man you call your father.””
The screen went black.
Nobody spoke.
I slowly turned.
Marcus was pale.
Julian looked stunned.
Caleb stared at both of them.
Then Adrian whispered from behind us:
“That means one of them isn't your brother at all.””
A metallic click came from the corridor.
Someone was unlocking the outer door.
Caleb drew his weapon.
Marcus stepped in front of me.
Julian closed the monitor panel.
The handle began to turn.
And from the other side came a voice I had spent twelve years believing I would never hear again.
“Elena?””
May you like
My father's voice.
“Open the door.””
