CHAPTER 5 – THE BROTHER WHO NEVER DIED
CHAPTER 5 – THE BROTHER WHO NEVER DIED
No one in the ballroom dared to breathe.
Marco Moretti's face filled the screen.
Five years earlier, New Jersey newspapers had declared him dead after a yacht exploded off the Atlantic coast. His funeral had been attended by politicians, judges, and every major figure in the state.
Vincent himself had carried his brother's casket.
Now Marco smiled as though death had merely been an inconvenience.
"If you're watching this," he said calmly, "then Adrien did his job... or he failed spectacularly."
Every pair of eyes turned toward Adrien.
He took one cautious step backward.
Vincent noticed.
"So," Vincent said quietly, "my lawyer has been keeping secrets."
Adrien forced a smile.
"You don't know when this video was recorded."
Marco continued speaking before anyone else could interrupt.
"Vincent always trusted loyalty more than proof. That's why he never questioned my funeral."
The room grew colder.
Marco leaned closer to the camera.
"There wasn't a body in that coffin."
Gasps rippled through the ballroom.
"I paid the coroner. I paid the investigators. I paid everyone except my brother... because I knew he'd never accept betrayal."
The video ended abruptly.
Silence lingered.
Then Vincent turned toward Adrien.
"Where is he?"
Adrien answered without hesitation.
"I don't know."
Vincent nodded once.
"Carmine."
Two guards immediately seized Adrien by both arms.
"I've worked for you for twelve years!" Adrien shouted.
"And you've lied for at least five," Vincent replied.
Far beneath the mansion...
Lily and Mason finally reached the end of the underground tunnel.
An old steel door blocked their path.
Mason entered a six-digit code.
Nothing.
He tried another.
Still nothing.
The footsteps behind them were getting closer.
Lily looked around desperately.
Then she noticed faded writing scratched into the brick wall.
1958
"What is that?" she whispered.
Mason looked.
His eyes widened.
"The original wine cellar was built in 1958..."
He quickly entered the numbers.
The heavy lock clicked open.
They slipped inside just as bullets slammed into the steel door behind them.
The room beyond wasn't another tunnel.
It was an abandoned office.
Dust covered everything.
Old ledgers.
Maps.
Photographs.
One wall was filled with newspaper clippings about the Moretti family.
At the center hung a giant framed photograph.
Two young boys stood beside an elderly man.
Vincent.
Marco.
And their father.
Lily noticed something strange.
Someone had drawn a red X over Vincent's face.
Not Marco's.
Vincent's.
Back upstairs...
Carmine searched Adrien.
His expression darkened.
"Boss."
"What?"
"He wasn't carrying one phone."
He placed three identical phones on the table.
"Burners," Vincent muttered.
Carmine switched on the newest one.
A message arrived immediately.
STATUS?
Another followed.
HAS THE GIRL BEEN FOUND?
Vincent looked directly at Adrien.
"You said you didn't know."
Adrien remained silent.
Then the phone rang.
Unknown caller.
Vincent answered without speaking.
A familiar voice laughed.
Marco.
"I wondered how long it would take."
The ballroom fell completely silent.
"Hello, brother."
Marco sounded relaxed.
Almost cheerful.
"You've always hated surprises."
Vincent finally spoke.
"Where are you?"
"Closer than you think."
"You sent people after a child."
"I sent people after evidence."
"There's a difference."
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
"You've forgotten who taught you the family business."
Marco chuckled.
"No."
"I simply improved it."
The line went dead.
At that same moment...
Every television in the ballroom suddenly switched on.
No one had touched the remotes.
Wedding photographs disappeared from the screens.
Instead...
Live security footage appeared.
Lily.
Mason.
The abandoned office.
Someone was watching them.
Right now.
May you like
Marco's voice echoed through the speakers.
"Checkmate, Vincent."
