Chapter 8 - The Brother Lorenzo Never Knew Had Been Standing Beside Him for Twenty YearsGabriel refused to speak for three days.
Lorenzo did not torture him.
That surprised everyone.
Including Gabriel.
“You’ve become soft.”
Gabriel sat behind reinforced glass in a private holding facility controlled by the Moretti family.
Lorenzo sat opposite.
“No.”
He adjusted his cuff.
“I became patient.”
Gabriel smiled.
“Your wife taught you that?”
“My wife taught me many things.”
“Dangerous.”
“Yes.”
Lorenzo leaned back.
“For you.”
Gabriel wanted freedom in exchange for the brother’s identity.
Lorenzo refused.
Sophie suggested something different.
“Stop asking him.”
They were in bed.
Lorenzo looked toward her.
“What?”
“Gabriel likes knowing something you don’t.”
“Yes.”
“So stop caring.”
“I have a brother.”
“Maybe.”
Lorenzo frowned.
“The photograph—”
“Proves your father stood beside a woman holding a baby.”
Sophie turned toward him.
“Gabriel wants you emotionally unstable.”
Lorenzo studied her.
“When did you become better at psychological warfare than me?”
“When I spent five years negotiating with landlords.”
The next morning, Lorenzo entered Gabriel’s room.
He did not mention the brother.
He asked about bank accounts.
Political contacts.
International operations.
Gabriel answered almost nothing.
Second day.
Same thing.
Third day.
Gabriel became irritated.
Finally he said it.
“You don’t want to know?”
Lorenzo pretended confusion.
“Know what?”
“Your brother.”
“Oh.”
Lorenzo shrugged.
“If he exists, he’s lived without me for thirty years. He can survive another thirty.”
Gabriel stared.
That evening, he demanded another meeting.
Sophie watched through one-way glass.
Gabriel placed both hands on the table.
“His name is Samuel.”
Lorenzo’s heart changed rhythm.
He showed nothing.
“Samuel what?”
Gabriel smiled.
“Ask your mother.”
When Lorenzo returned home, Isabella was having a difficult day.
She believed Sophie was her sister.
She believed Toby was Mateo.
Then Sophie placed the old photograph before her.
Isabella stared.
Her face changed.
“Lucia.”
“Who is Lucia?”
Sophie asked.
Isabella touched the woman holding the baby.
“Mateo’s sister.”
Lorenzo frowned.
“My aunt?”
Isabella nodded.
“And the baby?”
“Samuel.”
Lorenzo’s jaw tightened.
“Was Samuel Mateo’s son?”
Isabella looked confused.
Then angry.
“No.”
She slapped the table.
“No!”
Sophie touched her hand.
“It’s okay.”
“Gabriel lies.”
Isabella pointed at the photograph.
“Samuel was Lucia’s baby.”
Lorenzo exhaled.
Gabriel had lied.
Or manipulated the truth.
Then Isabella added something.
“After Lucia died, Mateo raised him.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
“What happened to Samuel?”
Isabella smiled.
“He protected you.”
Lorenzo froze.
“When?”
“Always.”
She looked toward the doorway.
Silas stood there.
Everyone became silent.
Silas stared at Isabella.
Then Lorenzo.
“No.”
Lorenzo stood.
Silas closed his eyes.
“Boss.”
“Tell me.”
Silas looked older than Sophie had ever seen him.
“My name wasn’t always Silas Kane.”
Lorenzo stopped breathing.
“It was Samuel Moretti.”
The room seemed to shrink.
Toby whispered.
“Holy…”
Sophie gave him a look.
He stopped.
Lorenzo stared at the man who had guarded him for almost two decades.
“You knew?”
“Since I was fourteen.”
“Who was your father?”
“Not Mateo.”
Silas stepped closer.
“My mother was Lucia Moretti. My father disappeared before I was born.”
“Why change your name?”
“Mateo wanted me protected.”
Silas looked at Isabella.
“Gabriel was killing anyone he thought could inherit.”
Lorenzo’s voice became colder.
“You knew we were family.”
“Yes.”
“For twenty years.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I promised Mateo.”
“My father?”
Silas nodded.
“The week before he died.”
Lorenzo turned away.
Sophie knew that posture.
Anger.
Pain.
Betrayal.
Silas continued.
“He told me that if anything happened to him, my only job was to keep you alive.”
Lorenzo looked back.
“So that’s why you came to work for me.”
“At first.”
Silas’s voice cracked slightly.
“Then you became my brother.”
The word struck harder than any weapon.
Lorenzo crossed the room.
For one moment, Sophie thought he might hit him.
Instead, Lorenzo embraced Silas.
The enormous security chief froze.
Then hugged him back.
Isabella began crying.
“My boys.”
Sophie wiped her own eyes.
Toby failed completely and openly sobbed.
“This family is ridiculous.”
Sophie laughed through tears.
“Yes.”
But the reunion lasted less than an hour.
A call came from Gabriel’s holding facility.
There had been an explosion.
Two guards were dead.
Gabriel was gone.
Someone had helped him escape.
On the wall of his cell, written in blood, were four words.
THE FAMILY ENDS TONIGHT.
Silas looked at Lorenzo.
“Where would he go?”
Sophie answered.
“Here.”
Every alarm in the estate activated.
Then the electricity died.
May you like
Darkness swallowed the mansion.
Outside, gunfire began.
