Chapter 12 - Two Men With the Same Face
There are moments when your mind refuses to accept what your eyes are seeing.
I experienced one of those moments when Gabriel Moretti walked through the front doors of his brother's mansion.
He looked exactly like Dante.
Not similar.
Not vaguely related.
Exactly.
The same dark hair.
The same strong jaw.
The same gray eyes that seemed to notice everything.
But there were differences.
Gabriel's hair was slightly longer.
His shoulders were narrower.
A thin scar curved beneath his right ear.
And where Dante carried himself with controlled authority, Gabriel moved as though he expected someone to attack him at any second.
He stopped beneath the chandelier.
His eyes found Dante.
Neither man spoke.
Then Gabriel whispered, "Hello, brother."
Dante stood perfectly still.
I watched his hands curl into fists.
Not in anger.
In disbelief.
"Gabriel?"
The man nodded.
Dante took one step forward.
Then another.
I held my breath.
Gabriel looked at him with tears in his eyes.
"I thought I'd never see you again."
For a moment, I genuinely believed they might embrace.
Then Dante stopped.
"Tell me something."
Gabriel blinked.
"What?"
"Something only my brother would know."
The silence became unbearable.
Gabriel glanced toward Marco.
Then back at Dante.
"When we were seven, you broke the window in Father's study."
Dante didn't move.
"You blamed me."
Gabriel swallowed.
"Mother knew the truth."
Dante's expression shifted.
Gabriel continued.
"She made you apologize."
"And then she made us both clean the glass because we'd been playing ball inside."
Dante stared at him.
For one second, the hardened mafia boss disappeared.
Then Gabriel said softly, "You cried when Father took my train."
Dante's breath caught.
Nobody moved.
Finally, Dante whispered, "Gabriel."
His brother nodded.
And Dante crossed the remaining distance between them.
They embraced.
It wasn't graceful.
It wasn't the kind of hug people exchanged in public.
It was desperate.
Painful.
Twenty-two years of grief compressed into a few seconds.
I turned away because suddenly I felt I was witnessing something too private to watch.
Then Gabriel pulled back.
His eyes moved toward me.
"Cara Fields."
I froze.
"You know me?"
He nodded.
"Daniel talks about you."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"Where is he?"
Gabriel's face darkened.
"That's why I'm here."
I stepped forward.
"Please."
He looked toward Dante.
"Your wife and Adrian Bell are working for our father."
Dante's jaw tightened.
"We know."
Gabriel shook his head.
"No."
"You don't understand."
He reached inside his coat.
Marco immediately moved.
"Hands where I can see them."
Gabriel stopped.
Slowly, he removed a folded photograph.
It showed Daniel sitting beside an old wooden table.
He was thinner.
Exhausted.
But alive.
I grabbed the edge of the photograph.
"Where?"
Gabriel hesitated.
"An old medical facility near the state line."
"Take me there."
"Cara—"
"Take me there."
My voice broke.
"He's my brother."
Gabriel looked at Dante.
Then he said, "I can help you get him back."
For one brief moment, hope rushed through me.
Then he added, "But there's something I need first."
Dante's expression hardened.
"What?"
Gabriel looked at him.
"Control of the family trust."
The room changed.
It was almost physical.
A moment earlier, we had been watching a family reunion.
Now we were watching two men negotiate over millions of dollars.
Dante stepped back.
"Explain."
Gabriel looked uncomfortable.
"Father has been using accounts in my name."
"I know."
"If he believes I've turned against him, he'll move everything."
"Then let him."
Gabriel shook his head.
"You don't understand."
"The money is tied to Daniel's location."
I stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
Gabriel looked toward me.
"Father keeps records of every payment."
"Properties."
"Security."
"Transport."
"Daniel helped me trace those records."
My heart jumped.
"Daniel helped you?"
Gabriel nodded.
"He was trying to find a way out."
"Where is he now?"
Gabriel looked away.
"I don't know the exact room."
I felt my hope falter.
"But you know the building?"
"Yes."
"Then tell the police."
He hesitated.
Dante noticed.
"Why won't you?"
Gabriel swallowed.
"Because Father has people inside the security team."
Marco's expression hardened.
"Names."
Gabriel shook his head.
"I don't know all of them."
Dante stared at him.
"Then why demand control of the trust?"
"Because it's the only leverage I have."
Dante's voice turned cold.
"Over whom?"
Gabriel looked at him.
"Father."
The brothers held each other's gaze.
And for the first time, I began to understand Daniel's warning.
Don't trust the man who looks like Dante.
Maybe it wasn't because Gabriel was lying.
Maybe it was because Daniel had seen what desperation could turn someone into.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
I kept replaying Gabriel's arrival.
The tears.
The embrace.
The demand.
Something didn't fit.
If he'd escaped from Vittorio, why had he arrived at the mansion without injuries?
Why hadn't anyone followed him?
And why did he know so much about Daniel but so little about the place where he was being held?
At two in the morning, I went downstairs for water.
The library door was partly open.
Light spilled across the floor.
I heard Gabriel speaking.
His voice was low.
Angry.
"I told you I need more time."
I stopped.
A pause.
Then he continued.
"No."
"She doesn't know."
My stomach tightened.
Another pause.
"Because I haven't told her."
I stepped closer.
Gabriel's back was turned.
He stood beside the window with a phone pressed to his ear.
"Leave Cara out of this."
My heart began pounding.
He listened.
Then his voice changed.
"Don't you dare touch Daniel."
The call ended.
Gabriel stood motionless.
I should have walked away.
Instead, I stepped into the room.
"Who were you talking to?"
He turned sharply.
For a second, real fear crossed his face.
Then it disappeared.
"Cara."
"Who was on the phone?"
"An old associate."
I folded my arms.
"Does your old associate know my brother?"
Gabriel didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
"You promised you could help me find Daniel."
"I can."
"Then stop lying."
His jaw tightened.
"You don't understand what's happening."
"Then explain it."
He glanced toward the hallway.
"Not here."
"Why?"
"Because the walls have ears."
I looked around the empty library.
"That's convenient."
He moved closer.
"Cara, listen to me."
I backed away.
"Don't."
He stopped.
His expression softened.
"I know you're scared."
I laughed bitterly.
"That's another convenient thing to say."
Gabriel took a breath.
"Daniel is alive."
"Then prove it."
He reached into his pocket.
I tensed.
He slowly removed a small silver ring.
My breath stopped.
It wasn't expensive.
It wasn't even real silver.
It was a simple band Daniel had bought at a street market when he was sixteen.
There was a tiny star engraved inside.
Our mother used to call us her two stars.
Daniel wore it on a chain because it was too small for his finger.
I stared at the ring.
"Where did you get that?"
Gabriel held it out.
"Daniel gave it to me."
"When?"
"Four days ago."
I took it.
My hands shook.
"Why?"
Gabriel's face changed.
"He said you would recognize it."
I closed my fist around the ring.
"Then he wanted you to find me."
Gabriel nodded.
"Yes."
I looked into his gray eyes.
"Tell me the truth."
He stared at me for a long moment.
Then he whispered, "I didn't escape from my father."
My blood ran cold.
"What?"
"He sent me."
I stepped backward.
Gabriel's eyes filled.
"But I came here because I want to stop him."
I stared.
"How do I know that's true?"
He swallowed.
"You don't."
Then footsteps sounded behind us.
Dante stood in the doorway.
His face was unreadable.
"Gabriel."
His brother froze.
Dante looked at the phone in Gabriel's hand.
Then at the ring in mine.
"I think it's time you told us everything."
Gabriel lowered his head.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then he whispered, "Father ordered me to kill you."
I felt the room tilt.
Dante didn't flinch.
May you like
Gabriel looked up.
"And if I refuse, he kills Daniel."
