Chapter 11 - The Brother Hidden From the World
Dante had never told anyone he had a brother.
Not Marco.
Not Elena.
Not even the people who had worked beside him for decades.
The revelation shocked everyone.
But nothing shocked me more than the grief in his eyes.
"His name was Gabriel."
Dante sat beside me in the library, staring at the old photograph.
His voice was barely audible.
"He was my twin."
I studied the two boys.
The resemblance was extraordinary.
Same gray eyes.
Same dark hair.
Same narrow chin.
But one wore a blue sweater.
The other wore green.
I pointed toward the boy standing beside Vittorio.
"That's Gabriel?"
Dante nodded.
"What happened to him?"
He looked toward the fireplace.
"When we were eight, Gabriel got sick."
"What kind of illness?"
"A serious infection."
"He was hospitalized for weeks."
I waited.
Dante swallowed.
"Then one day, my father told me he was dead."
My chest tightened.
"I'm sorry."
He shook his head.
"That's not what matters."
"What do you mean?"
Dante looked at me.
"My mother never believed him."
I stared.
"She thought Gabriel was alive?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because she wasn't allowed to see his body."
I felt cold.
Dante continued.
"Father said the hospital had handled everything."
"He told her Gabriel had been transferred for specialized treatment, then claimed he died before she could visit."
"She asked for records."
"She asked for the doctor."
"She asked to see where he was buried."
Dante's voice hardened.
"Father refused."
I stared at him.
"And nobody questioned that?"
"My father controlled everything."
I looked toward the photograph.
The little boy in green stared back at me.
I thought about Daniel.
How I'd spent six months wondering whether he was alive.
Then I imagined spending twenty-two years wondering about a child the world insisted was dead.
My heart ached for Rose.
Elena arrived with copies of old hospital records.
The documents were incomplete.
Several pages had been removed.
One transfer form listed Gabriel Moretti as having been discharged into private care.
There was no verified death certificate in the records Elena had located.
She placed the page on the table.
"We have no evidence that Gabriel died."
Dante stared at it.
"Then why did my father tell us he had?"
Elena shook her head.
"I don't know."
I looked at the photograph again.
Two identical boys.
One raised inside a powerful family.
The other taken away.
What kind of father did that?
Then I noticed something.
"Wait."
Dante turned.
"What?"
I pointed toward Gabriel's left hand.
He was holding a small toy airplane.
The same model Daniel had once owned.
The same one my mother kept in her metal trunk with the Christmas decorations.
My heart began racing.
"I've seen that."
Dante frowned.
"Where?"
"My mother's apartment."
He stared at me.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
I swallowed.
"Daniel and I played with it when we were little."
Dante leaned closer.
"Did it have a broken wing?"
I nodded.
His face changed.
"Gabriel broke it when he was seven."
I looked at him.
"He dropped it down the stairs."
Dante's eyes widened.
"How do you know that?"
I froze.
Because my mother had told me.
She said the airplane belonged to a little boy who had gone away.
I had always assumed it was a sad story about some distant relative.
Now I understood.
My mother had kept something that belonged to Gabriel Moretti.
For more than twenty years.
We spent the afternoon examining Rose's archive.
Most of the documents required professional analysis.
But the recording device contained several files.
One was labeled with a date six days before Rose's fatal crash.
Shaw arranged for a forensic audio specialist to preserve and examine the recording.
Later, she allowed us to listen to a copy.
Rose's voice filled the room.
Strong.
Clear.
Frightened.
"If this recording is ever played, my name is Rose Moretti."
Dante closed his eyes.
I watched him struggle to remain still.
Rose continued.
"I believe my husband, Vittorio Moretti, has been hiding financial transactions connected to a man named Samuel Vale."
Elena looked up.
"Samuel Vale?"
Dante frowned.
"Who is that?"
Marco shook his head.
"I don't recognize the name."
Rose's voice continued.
"The money appears to be moving through trusts established for my children."
"Both of them."
Dante's eyes opened.
"Gabriel."
The recording crackled.
Rose took a breath.
"I also have reason to believe that my son Gabriel is alive."
A chair scraped behind me.
Dante stood.
His face was pale.
Rose continued.
"Vittorio has refused to tell me where he is."
"Last week, I received a photograph."
"It showed Gabriel standing outside a building I did not recognize."
"He appeared healthy."
"He was holding a newspaper dated only two days earlier."
Dante gripped the back of his chair.
Then Rose said something that made the entire room go silent.
"I believe my husband is using our son to control money he cannot legally access through me."
The recording paused.
A faint sound came through.
Footsteps.
Rose lowered her voice.
"If anything happens to me, Evelyn Fields has copies of the records."
"Evelyn knows where I hid the original documents."
"I have asked her to protect Dante."
"And if she can find him..."
Rose's voice broke.
"To protect Gabriel too."
The recording ended.
Dante stared at the speaker.
For a long time, nobody moved.
Then he sat down.
His hands were trembling.
I'd never seen that before.
I moved beside him.
"Dante."
He looked at me.
"My mother knew."
I nodded.
"She was trying to find him."
His face twisted with pain.
"All those years, I thought she was grieving because she couldn't accept his death."
He looked at the photograph.
"She was grieving because she knew someone had taken him."
I put my hand over his.
He didn't pull away.
That evening, we received the first confirmed location connected to Samuel Vale.
He had operated several overseas financial companies under different names.
One business had purchased a remote property near the Canadian border.
Another had leased storage space at Falcon House.
A third had transferred money to Adrian Bell.
Shaw was careful.
"These connections suggest possible coordination."
"They don't prove that Samuel Vale is responsible for the kidnappings."
Dante stared at the map.
"Is he alive?"
Elena nodded.
"As far as we can establish."
"Where?"
"Unknown."
I looked toward the photograph of Gabriel.
"Could Samuel Vale be Gabriel?"
Dante turned sharply.
Elena hesitated.
"It's possible someone used that identity."
Marco leaned forward.
"Or the real Samuel Vale worked for Vittorio."
The room fell silent.
Then my phone vibrated.
A new message from an unknown number.
A video.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Daniel sat in the same dim room.
His face was bruised.
But his eyes were clear.
He looked directly into the camera.
"Cara."
Tears sprang to my eyes.
"Daniel."
He swallowed.
"If you're watching this, I need you to listen."
His voice trembled.
"Don't trust the man who looks like Dante."
My blood turned cold.
Daniel leaned forward.
"He's not who he says he is."
A hand appeared from off-camera.
The video abruptly ended.
I stared at the black screen.
Dante was standing beside me.
He had heard every word.
"Play it again."
I did.
Daniel's voice filled the room.
Don't trust the man who looks like Dante.
Dante's expression hardened.
Then Marco's phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
And looked toward us in horror.
"Boss."
Dante turned.
Marco's voice shook.
"Security just intercepted a visitor at the north gate."
"Who?"
Marco swallowed.
"A man claiming to be your brother."
May you like
My heart stopped.
"And he looks exactly like you."
