Chapter 13 - The Price of Saving My Brother
I had spent six months imagining the day Daniel came home.
Sometimes I pictured him walking through my apartment door carrying grocery bags, as though he'd simply been away for the weekend.
Sometimes I imagined finding him in a hospital.
Or sitting in a police station.
Or standing outside Bellini's with his hands stuffed into his pockets, waiting for me to finish my shift.
Never once had I imagined that saving him would require one brother to murder another.
Gabriel stood in Dante's library with tears running down his face.
Dante watched him without moving.
I could barely breathe.
"You're saying your father wants you to kill Dante?"
Gabriel nodded.
"Yes."
"And he's using Daniel to force you?"
"Yes."
Dante's voice was cold.
"Why didn't you tell me when you arrived?"
Gabriel looked at him.
"Because I didn't know whether you would believe me."
"Then you should have told me anyway."
Gabriel laughed bitterly.
"You've spent your entire life surrounded by people who obey you."
"I've spent mine trying to survive people who control me."
Dante's jaw tightened.
"That's not an excuse."
"No."
Gabriel lowered his eyes.
"It isn't."
I looked at the ring in my palm.
Then I asked the question that mattered most.
"Is Daniel still alive?"
Gabriel nodded.
"He was alive when I left."
"When was that?"
"Yesterday morning."
My chest tightened.
"Can you take us to him?"
Gabriel hesitated.
Dante noticed.
"Answer her."
Gabriel looked toward the fireplace.
"I can take you to the property."
"Which property?"
"A former rehabilitation clinic about four hours north."
My heart jumped.
"What's it called?"
"Blackwood."
Dante's eyes narrowed.
"Blackwood Medical Center?"
Gabriel nodded.
Marco had entered the library silently.
At the name, his expression changed.
"That facility closed fifteen years ago."
Gabriel looked at him.
"Publicly."
A cold wave moved through me.
I stared at Dante.
"Tell Detective Shaw."
He nodded.
"I intend to."
Gabriel stepped forward.
"No."
We all looked at him.
"If police cars arrive, Father will know."
Dante's expression hardened.
"And your alternative?"
Gabriel swallowed.
"Let me go back."
I stared.
"Absolutely not."
He looked at me.
"Cara—"
"You said your father ordered you to kill Dante."
"Yes."
"And now you want us to send you back alone?"
Gabriel looked ashamed.
"I know how it sounds."
Dante studied him.
"Why would he trust you after you've been here?"
Gabriel looked at his brother.
"Because he thinks blood matters more than anything."
Dante's face darkened.
Gabriel continued.
"He thinks I'll always choose him over you."
The silence stretched.
Then Dante said quietly, "And will you?"
Gabriel met his eyes.
"No."
For the first time, I believed him.
Not completely.
But enough to hope.
Detective Shaw arrived before dawn.
She listened to Gabriel's statement without interruption.
Then she asked the question everyone else had avoided.
"How many people are being held at Blackwood?"
Gabriel looked down.
"I don't know."
"Estimate."
"Maybe six."
My stomach tightened.
"Six?"
He nodded.
"Some are employees who tried to leave."
"Others know too much."
Shaw's expression hardened.
"And Daniel?"
"He was helping with the financial records."
"Voluntarily?"
Gabriel shook his head.
"No."
I stared at the floor.
My brother had spent months trapped in a building where people were kept because they knew too much.
And I had spent those same months wondering whether he'd chosen to abandon me.
The shame was almost unbearable.
Shaw continued questioning Gabriel.
She asked about security.
Building access.
Communications.
Medical staff.
Transport routes.
Gabriel answered as much as he could.
But there were gaps.
Too many gaps.
Afterward, Shaw asked to speak with me privately.
We stepped into the hallway.
"Do you believe him?" I asked.
She considered the question.
"I believe he knows the location."
"That's not what I asked."
She looked at me.
"I don't know whether he's telling the whole truth."
I rubbed my hands together.
"But Daniel is there."
"Possibly."
"He's there."
Shaw softened.
"Cara, I'm trying to help you bring your brother home alive."
My eyes filled.
"Then please hurry."
She nodded.
"We're treating the information seriously."
She placed a hand on my shoulder.
"And I need you to let us do our job."
I wanted to argue.
But for once, I understood.
Running blindly into danger had saved Dante because there hadn't been time to do anything else.
This was different.
Daniel was being held somewhere with guards, cameras, and armed men.
A reckless rescue attempt could get him killed.
I nodded.
"Okay."
By afternoon, the authorities were working to verify Blackwood's status and Gabriel's account.
Aerial photographs showed the old clinic surrounded by dense trees.
Several buildings stood inside a fenced property.
Most appeared abandoned.
But recent tire tracks were visible near a service road.
Electrical usage records suggested that at least part of the facility remained active.
It was enough to justify urgent investigative action.
Not enough to tell us exactly where Daniel was.
I sat beside Dante in the library as Shaw reviewed the information.
He was unusually quiet.
His injuries still bothered him.
Every time he moved, I could see him fighting pain.
"You should rest."
He looked at me.
"So should you."
I folded my arms.
"I'm not the one who fell off a mountain."
"No."
His mouth curved slightly.
"You're the one who climbed down after me."
I looked away.
"That was stupid."
"It was brave."
"It was reckless."
"Both can be true."
I couldn't help smiling.
He watched me for a moment.
Then his expression changed.
"Cara."
I looked up.
"Yes?"
"I need you to understand something."
My smile disappeared.
"What?"
"Gabriel may not be able to protect your brother."
I nodded.
"I know."
"And if Blackwood is under my father's control, this won't end with one rescue."
I stared at him.
"What do you mean?"
"My father has resources."
"People."
"Accounts."
"He's spent years building a system no one knew existed."
I looked toward the map.
"And you're going to destroy it?"
Dante's eyes met mine.
"Yes."
The simplicity of his answer frightened me.
But something about it also made me feel less alone.
That evening, I found Gabriel sitting on the terrace.
He was staring at the gardens.
For a moment, I almost mistook him for Dante.
Then he turned.
His expression was softer.
More openly tired.
"May I sit?"
He nodded.
I lowered myself into the chair opposite him.
Neither of us spoke for a while.
Then I asked, "Did you know your mother was looking for you?"
Gabriel's face changed.
"Yes."
I stared.
"How?"
He looked down.
"Father used to show me her letters."
My chest tightened.
"What letters?"
"She wrote to him."
"She begged him to bring me home."
Gabriel swallowed.
"He told me she didn't want me."
I felt sick.
"Gabriel—"
"He showed me letters where she'd supposedly agreed I was better off away from the family."
His eyes filled.
"I believed him for years."
I looked toward the house.
"She loved you."
He closed his eyes.
"I know that now."
"She never stopped looking."
A tear slid down his cheek.
He wiped it away quickly.
Then he laughed bitterly.
"I'm almost forty years old."
"And I still don't know how to talk about my mother without falling apart."
I looked at him.
"That doesn't make you weak."
He smiled sadly.
"Daniel said something like that once."
My heart jumped.
"He did?"
Gabriel nodded.
"He said grief doesn't disappear just because you get older."
I smiled through tears.
"That sounds like him."
Gabriel looked at me.
"He's a good man."
"I know."
"He talked about you constantly."
My throat tightened.
"What did he say?"
Gabriel smiled faintly.
"That you used to work double shifts to pay his college tuition."
"That you pretended you weren't hungry so he could have the last slice of pizza."
"That when your mother got sick, you never let him see how frightened you were."
I covered my mouth.
Gabriel continued.
"He said you were the bravest person he knew."
Tears rolled down my cheeks.
"He was wrong."
Gabriel shook his head.
"No."
"He wasn't."
At 9:42 p.m., Detective Shaw called.
I was sitting in the library with Dante when my phone rang.
I answered immediately.
"Did you find him?"
Shaw's voice was controlled.
"We have confirmation that Blackwood is occupied."
My heart began racing.
"Is Daniel there?"
"We haven't confirmed individual identities."
I closed my eyes.
"But you're going in?"
"We're coordinating an operation."
"When?"
"I can't discuss tactical details."
I swallowed.
"Please call me the moment you know."
"I will."
The call ended.
Dante looked at me.
"News?"
I nodded.
"They confirmed the building is active."
He exhaled slowly.
Then Marco entered.
His face was tense.
"Boss."
Dante looked up.
"What?"
Marco held out a tablet.
"Something came through the company's secure reporting channel."
Dante read the screen.
His expression darkened.
"What is it?" I asked.
He turned the tablet toward me.
An internal Moretti Holdings alert reported that several senior executives had received forged instructions authorizing emergency changes to company accounts.
At the bottom was a digital signature.
DANTE MORETTI.
I stared.
"But you didn't sign that."
"No."
Marco looked grim.
"Someone is using your credentials."
Dante reached for his phone.
"Freeze access to the affected systems and notify our legal and compliance teams."
Marco nodded.
Then a second alert appeared.
A scheduled public announcement.
The title made my blood run cold.
DANTE MORETTI STEPS DOWN FOLLOWING FINANCIAL IRREGULARITIES.
I looked at him.
"They're trying to take your company."
Dante's expression turned icy.
"Yes."
Then a third notification appeared.
This one came from the estate security system.
The north gate had opened.
An authorized vehicle was approaching.
Marco frowned.
"No arrivals were scheduled."
The camera feed appeared.
A black SUV rolled up the driveway.
It stopped beneath the entrance lights.
A woman stepped out.
Blonde hair.
Elegant red coat.
Perfect makeup.
Vanessa Moretti.
I stared at the screen.
Dante's wife looked directly into the security camera.
May you like
Then she smiled.
And held up a photograph of Daniel.
