Chapter 4 - THE BROTHER IN THE SHADOWS
The stranger entered the room without hesitation.
Sebastian studied him the way he studied every potential threat.
Height.
Hands.
Eyes.
Balance.
No visible weapon.
No fear.
The man stopped beside Jonathan Vale.
“My name is Gabriel.”
The birth registration flashed through Sebastian’s memory.
Twin A: Gabriel Vargas.
Twin B: Matteo Vargas.
“You’re Elena’s son.”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened.
“I’m Carlo Moretti’s son.”
Sebastian looked at Vale.
“That hasn’t been proven.”
“It has.”
Vale opened another folder.
“DNA.”
Sebastian didn’t touch it.
“From whom?”
“Carlo’s stored medical sample.”
“You expect me to trust paperwork from a man who faked his death?”
Gabriel gave a humorless smile.
“I said the same thing.”
That surprised Sebastian.
Vale looked irritated.
Gabriel continued.
“So I tested myself against Thomas.”
Thomas stared.
“When?”
“Last month.”
“And?”
“We aren’t father and son.”
Thomas looked away.
A quiet grief crossed his face.
For almost thirty years, he had believed those babies were his.
Sebastian noticed.
So did Gabriel.
But Vale seemed uninterested in anybody’s pain.
Sebastian looked at Lucy again.
“Release her.”
Vale shook his head.
“Not yet.”
Gabriel turned sharply.
“You said she would be released when Sebastian arrived.”
“Plans changed.”
Gabriel’s expression hardened.
Sebastian saw the shift immediately.
Interesting.
Gabriel hadn’t known Lucy would remain hostage.
“Did you know he kidnapped a child?”
“I knew he intended to bring you here.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Gabriel looked at Lucy.
“No.”
Vale said, “Don’t become sentimental now.”
Sebastian’s voice lowered.
“Gabriel.”
The younger man looked at him.
“Whatever you think I stole from you, Lucy didn’t take it.”
Gabriel’s eyes held his.
“I know.”
“Then move away from Vale.”
Vale laughed.
“Sebastian manipulates exactly like Carlo.”
Gabriel ignored him.
Sebastian continued.
“You want the Moretti name?”
“No.”
“Money?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“The truth.”
“That makes two of us.”
For the first time, something shifted between them.
Not trust.
Recognition.
Vale saw it.
And disliked it.
He pulled a pistol from beneath his coat.
Thomas swore.
Lucy whimpered.
Sebastian didn’t move.
Vale pointed the weapon toward the floor.
“Enough family bonding.”
Gabriel turned.
“You didn’t need a gun.”
“I need cooperation.”
“You promised nobody would get hurt.”
Vale smiled.
“I promised you answers.”
Sebastian saw Gabriel’s hand tighten.
Another fracture.
Good.
He needed only a few seconds.
Anthony was somewhere in the building.
Vale said, “Evelyn hid records before she died. Rebecca was supposed to recover them.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed.
“Was she working for you willingly?”
“At first.”
“What changed?”
“She developed feelings.”
Sebastian said nothing.
“That was inconvenient.”
Gabriel glanced toward Vale.
“You told me Rebecca was searching for records because Sebastian had killed Evelyn.”
Sebastian’s gaze sharpened.
“What?”
Vale’s expression changed slightly.
Too late.
Gabriel continued.
“You said Evelyn discovered Sebastian had taken over the Mercy operation and he silenced her.”
Sebastian laughed.
“My mother died of pancreatic cancer.”
“That’s what I was told.”
“By him?”
Gabriel looked at Vale.
“Yes.”
Vale snapped, “Gabriel.”
Sebastian now understood.
Vale had built different lies for different people.
Rebecca believed she was finishing her father’s investigation.
Gabriel believed Sebastian had murdered Evelyn.
Thomas believed hiding was the only way to protect everyone.
Maria had been frightened into silence.
And all of them had remained separated long enough that none could compare stories.
Classic control.
“You needed us divided,” Sebastian said.
Vale smiled faintly.
“Now you’re paying attention.”
“Why?”
“Because family becomes dangerous when it communicates.”
Vale stepped closer to Lucy.
Gabriel moved between them.
“Leave her alone.”
Vale raised the gun.
“Step aside.”
“No.”
Vale stared at him.
“You owe me everything.”
Gabriel’s face hardened.
“You found me in foster care. You told me who my father was. That doesn’t make you my owner.”
Vale’s mouth tightened.
Sebastian watched Lucy.
She was staring at the floor.
Then she slowly pushed one shoe off.
It dropped.
Vale glanced down.
Lucy kicked the other shoe toward Sebastian.
Childish distraction.
Tiny.
But enough.
Gabriel grabbed Vale’s wrist.
The gun fired into the ceiling.
Sebastian moved.
He crossed the room in two strides, hit Vale’s arm, and sent the weapon sliding across the floor.
Anthony appeared through the doorway with two men.
“Clear!”
Vale was forced against the wall.
Gabriel stepped back.
Sebastian immediately lifted Lucy.
She wrapped both arms around his neck.
“Mr. Sebastian.”
“You’re okay.”
“I left stickers.”
“I saw them.”
She pulled back proudly despite the tears.
“So you could find me.”
Sebastian kissed her forehead.
“Best security system in Chicago.”
Gabriel watched them.
Something difficult moved across his face.
Perhaps envy.
Perhaps grief.
Sebastian turned to him.
“You’re coming with us.”
Gabriel gave a bitter laugh.
“As a prisoner?”
“As a man with answers.”
“I don’t have all of them.”
“Then you can help find them.”
Vale laughed from the wall.
“You still don’t understand.”
Sebastian looked at him.
“Understand what?”
Vale’s smile returned.
“Gabriel isn’t the surviving twin.”
Silence.
Thomas went pale.
Gabriel turned.
“What?”
Vale looked delighted by the chaos.
“You tested negative as Thomas’s son because you aren’t Elena’s child at all.”
Gabriel stared.
“You raised me with photographs of her.”
“Photographs prove very little.”
Gabriel lunged.
Anthony stopped him.
“Who am I?”
Vale said nothing.
Gabriel shouted, “Who am I?”
Sebastian set Lucy behind Anthony.
Vale wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
“You were a useful orphan.”
The cruelty of it changed the room.
Even Sebastian felt it.
Gabriel looked as if the floor had vanished beneath him.
Vale continued.
“I needed a man close enough in age and appearance to Carlo to create pressure when the time came.”
“You fabricated the DNA?”
“Carlo’s sample was never tested.”
Gabriel stared at him.
Twenty-nine years of identity vanished in seconds.
Sebastian knew something about that kind of shock now.
He stepped between Gabriel and Vale.
“Don’t give him what he wants.”
Gabriel breathed hard.
“You don’t know what I want.”
“No. But I know he wants you angry enough to stop thinking.”
Gabriel looked at him.
The anger remained.
But he stepped back.
Thomas whispered, “Then where is the surviving twin?”
Vale smiled.
“Closer than you think.”
Sebastian grabbed his coat.
“Who?”
Vale said nothing.
Sebastian tightened his grip.
“Who survived?”
Vale looked toward Lucy.
“Ask her mother.”
Sebastian froze.
“Maria?”
Vale nodded.
“She has known more than she told you.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Is it?”
Vale’s smile widened.
“Why do you think Evelyn hired a fifteen-year-old girl and kept her beside the family for nineteen years?”
Thomas whispered, “Maria was protecting someone.”
Vale nodded.
“Exactly.”
Sebastian released him.
His phone rang.
Maria.
He answered immediately.
“Lucy is safe.”
Maria sobbed.
“Oh, thank God.”
“She’s coming home.”
“Sebastian…”
Her tone changed.
“What?”
“There’s someone here.”
His body stiffened.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Get inside and lock the door.”
“He says he knows my mother.”
Sebastian looked at Thomas.
“Name.”
Maria asked someone in the background.
Then came back.
“He says his name is Daniel.”
Thomas’s face went white.
Sebastian noticed.
“Thomas?”
Thomas whispered, “Daniel Moretti.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed.
“Who is Daniel Moretti?”
Thomas shook his head.
“My younger brother.”
Sebastian stared.
“My father had another brother?”
“Yes.”
“Where has he been?”
Thomas looked almost sick.
“Prison.”
“For what?”
Thomas swallowed.
“Murdering Elena Vargas.”
Maria screamed through the phone.
May you like
The line went dead.
Sebastian turned and ran.
