CHAPTER 5 — THE BROTHER THEY BURIED
CHAPTER 5 — THE BROTHER THEY BURIED
“Vivian!”
The voice came from beyond the shattered windows.
My heart stopped.
Gabriel.
The man I had spent thirty-two years believing did not exist.
The man whose blood ran through my veins.
The man who was holding my daughter.
I looked at Richard.
He had gone completely still.
“You said he was dead.”
Richard didn't answer.
“You said Gabriel was dead.”
“I believed he was.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You knew.”
His expression hardened.
“Not tonight.”
“Then when?”
He looked toward the broken window.
“When I saw him standing there.”
Another burst of gunfire erupted outside.
My mother grabbed my arm.
“Vivian, we have to move.”
I pulled away.
“Where is Sophie?”
“Gabriel has her.”
“Then I'm going to him.”
Richard blocked the doorway.
“No.”
I stared at him.
“Move.”
“You don't understand what you're walking into.”
“I don't care.”
“He will use you.”
“He's my father.”
Richard's voice cracked.
“And I'm the man who raised you.”
I looked at him.
“You should have thought about that before you lied.”
His face fell.
I walked past him.
The hallway was filled with smoke.
Security officers moved through the house, shouting instructions.
The attackers had breached the east wing.
Someone had cut the power.
Emergency lights flashed red across the walls.
I followed the sound of gunfire.
Then I heard a child's voice.
“Mommy!”
“Sophie!”
I ran.
At the end of the corridor, a door burst open.
A man stepped through.
Tall.
Gray-haired.
Blood on his sleeve.
And in his arms...
my daughter.
Sophie saw me.
“Mommy!”
Gabriel lowered her.
She ran straight into me.
I dropped to my knees and held her so tightly she squealed.
“I've got you.”
“I knew you'd come.”
“I'll always come.”
She looked over my shoulder.
“Grandpa is here too.”
I turned.
Richard stood at the end of the corridor.
His eyes met Gabriel's.
Twenty years of hatred seemed to pass between them in one second.
Gabriel looked at him.
“You're still alive.”
Richard answered quietly:
“So are you.”
My mother stepped forward.
Neither man looked at her.
Then Gabriel said:
“You shouldn't have brought her here.”
Richard's jaw tightened.
“She deserved the truth.”
“She deserved a childhood.”
“You disappeared.”
“To keep her alive.”
“You abandoned her.”
“I protected her.”
Richard laughed bitterly.
“You always said that.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“And you always believed you could do better.”
The two men stared at each other.
I stood between them.
“Enough.”
They both looked at me.
I pointed toward Sophie.
“She is eight years old.”
Everyone went silent.
“She doesn't care which empire belongs to whom.”
I looked at Richard.
“She doesn't care who betrayed whom.”
Then Gabriel.
“She doesn't care about your council.”
I took Sophie's hand.
“She needs her mother.”
My voice shook.
“And I need answers.”
We moved into the library.
The security team barricaded the doors.
For the first time that night, nobody was attacking us.
We had a few minutes.
Maybe less.
I sat across from Gabriel.
He stared at me.
I studied his face.
There were similarities.
The eyes.
The shape of the jaw.
The way he held his hands.
But I couldn't see my father in him.
Not the father who had kissed my forehead before school.
Not the man who had taught me how to ride a bicycle.
Not the man who had sat beside my bed when I was sick.
Gabriel was a stranger.
A stranger with my blood.
I hated him for that.
“Tell me.”
He nodded.
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
He sighed.
“That's a dangerous request.”
“I've had enough secrets.”
He looked at Richard.
Then my mother.
Then me.
“Your name wasn't supposed to be Vivian Cross.”
“I know.”
“You were born Vivienne Vale.”
“I know.”
“Your mother and I loved each other.”
“I know.”
“Richard knew.”
“I know.”
“You were born into the middle of a war.”
I frowned.
“What war?”
“The war between the seven families.”
“The Council.”
“Yes.”
“What did they want?”
“You.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because you're the last legitimate heir of the original Meridian Trust.”
I shook my head.
“Richard said that.”
“He was right.”
“He also said the debt was fake.”
Gabriel nodded.
“It is.”
“Then why create it?”
“To force you into surrender.”
“Who?”
“The council.”
“Which family?”
“All of them.”
I stared.
“Even yours?”
Gabriel smiled sadly.
“Especially mine.”
Sophie climbed onto the chair beside me.
Gabriel watched her.
“She has your eyes.”
I looked at him.
“You've met her before.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The night she was born.”
I frowned.
“Richard said you disappeared before I was born.”
“I did.”
“Then how were you there?”
“Because I came back.”
“Why?”
“To see you.”
He looked at Sophie.
“And to make sure she survived.”
My heart tightened.
“You watched us?”
“For years.”
“From where?”
“Everywhere.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“I was moving constantly.”
“Why?”
“Because the council wanted me dead.”
“And they thought you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“Who helped you?”
He looked at Richard.
“Your father.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You two worked together?”
“For a while.”
“Then why did you become enemies?”
Gabriel's face hardened.
“Because Richard broke the agreement.”
“What agreement?”
“He promised to protect you.”
“He did.”
“No.”
Gabriel looked at me.
“He promised to let you know the truth when you turned twenty-one.”
I froze.
“He never told you.”
“No.”
“He was supposed to tell you who you were.”
“He didn't.”
“He was supposed to tell you about the trust.”
“He didn't.”
“He was supposed to tell you about me.”
I looked at him.
“He never mentioned you.”
Gabriel nodded.
“That was when I knew he had chosen the empire over you.”
Richard stood.
“That isn't fair.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“Isn't it?”
“You weren't there.”
“I was watching.”
“You weren't raising her.”
“No.”
“I was.”
“You were controlling her.”
“I was protecting her.”
“By lying?”
Richard's voice rose.
“By keeping her alive!”
Gabriel stepped forward.
“You don't get to call fear protection.”
Richard's face reddened.
“You don't understand what they would have done.”
“I understand exactly what they would have done.”
“Then why did you leave?”
“Because someone had to become the monster.”
Silence.
I looked at Gabriel.
“What does that mean?”
He didn't answer.
Richard did.
“Gabriel made himself look like the villain.”
“Why?”
“To draw the council away from you.”
I stared.
“He allowed everyone to believe he was dead.”
“Yes.”
“And you raised me as Vivian Cross.”
“Yes.”
“And my mother disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“So all of you lied.”
“Yes.”
I stood.
“I hate you.”
Richard flinched.
I looked at Gabriel.
“And you.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
“Both of you.”
My mother started crying.
I looked at her.
“You too.”
She whispered:
“I know.”
The library door suddenly opened.
One of the security officers entered.
“Ms. Cross.”
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
“The attackers are gone.”
I frowned.
“Gone?”
“They withdrew.”
“Why?”
He handed me a phone.
“There was a message.”
I read it.
WE HAVE WHAT WE CAME FOR.
My stomach tightened.
“What did they take?”
He looked at Gabriel.
“The archive.”
Gabriel's face changed.
“Which archive?”
“The original one.”
He went pale.
“No.”
Richard stepped forward.
“What?”
“The Council Ledger.”
“What is that?”
Gabriel looked at me.
“The ledger contains every secret transaction made by the seven families for over a century.”
I stared.
“And now they have it?”
“Yes.”
“Why does that matter?”
“Because whoever controls the ledger controls everyone.”
I looked at the broken window.
“So they don't need the trust.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“Not anymore.”
“Then what do they need?”
He looked at me.
“You.”
That night, we moved to a secure underground facility.
No windows.
No phones.
No outside communication.
Sophie slept in a protected room beside mine.
I couldn't sleep.
I sat at the table reading the documents Gabriel had brought.
Birth certificates.
Trust agreements.
Medical records.
Photographs.
Everything.
Then I found it.
A photograph of two children.
A little girl.
And a little boy.
The girl was me.
The boy...
I stared.
I knew him.
Not from memory.
From a photograph I had seen earlier.
The boy standing beside me was Ethan.
I looked at Gabriel.
“Who is he?”
Gabriel sat across from me.
“Your brother.”
I stared.
“But Richard said he wasn't.”
“He lied.”
“My mother said he died.”
“She believed it.”
“What happened?”
Gabriel looked down.
“Ethan was born three years before you.”
I looked at the photograph.
“He was supposed to inherit the trust.”
“Yes.”
“Then why was I chosen?”
“Because Ethan was taken.”
“By the council?”
“No.”
“By whom?”
Gabriel's face darkened.
“By Richard.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He believed Ethan was compromised.”
“What does that mean?”
“He discovered the council had placed someone inside the family.”
“Who?”
“We never found out.”
“So Richard took Ethan?”
“To protect you.”
I stared at him.
“Where did he go?”
Gabriel shook his head.
“We don't know.”
“But I saw him.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
Gabriel's eyes widened.
“Where?”
“Sophie said a man named Ethan gave her Grandpa's necklace.”
He stood.
“That's impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because Ethan died.”
I stared.
“You just said he was taken.”
“He was.”
“So why say he died?”
“Because the council announced it.”
“Was it true?”
Gabriel looked at me.
“I don't know.”
I suddenly remembered the photograph.
The boy.
The necklace.
The messages.
The man who looked like me.
I opened my phone.
There was one unread message.
Unknown number.
YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE WRONG BROTHER.
Then another.
THE ONE THEY BURIED WASN'T ETHAN.
I stared.
A third message appeared.
ASK RICHARD WHO HE BURIED TWENTY-NINE YEARS AGO.
I found Richard in the control room.
He was standing over a map.
I held up my phone.
“Who did you bury?”
He didn't answer.
“Dad.”
He looked at me.
“You shouldn't have seen that.”
“Answer me.”
He sighed.
“It's complicated.”
“No.”
I slammed the phone onto the table.
“Not anymore.”
He looked at the message.
His face changed.
“Where did you get this?”
“Someone sent it.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
He stared at the screen.
Then whispered:
“Ethan.”
I froze.
“You know he's alive.”
Richard looked away.
“Dad.”
“I don't know where he is.”
“You've known all these years.”
“I suspected.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Ethan wasn't your brother.”
I stared.
“Then who was he?”
Richard looked at me.
“A decoy.”
Gabriel entered the room.
“Don't.”
Richard turned.
“It's time.”
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“What are you doing?”
Richard looked at me.
“I'm telling her.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“Not here.”
“Where, then?”
“Somewhere safe.”
Richard laughed.
“There's nowhere safe anymore.”
He walked toward me.
“Ethan wasn't your brother.”
“Then who was he?”
Richard whispered:
“He was the son of the man who founded the council.”
I frowned.
“Who?”
He looked at Gabriel.
“His name was Nathan Vale.”
Gabriel went pale.
“Nathan died thirty years ago.”
Richard shook his head.
“That's what everyone believes.”
My heart started pounding.
“Where is he?”
Richard looked toward the underground door.
“He's been inside this facility the entire time.”
I froze.
“What?”
Richard pointed toward the wall.
A hidden panel opened.
A man stepped out.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Scar across his cheek.
His eyes looked exactly like mine.
He smiled.
“Hello, Vivienne.”
I couldn't move.
Gabriel whispered:
“Nathan.”
The man smiled.
“Brother.”
Gabriel stared at him.
“You were supposed to be dead.”
Nathan laughed.
“So was I.”
Then he looked at me.
“And so was your mother.”
My mother appeared behind us.
She stopped.
Nathan smiled.
“It's been a long time.”
She whispered:
“You.”
Nathan looked at me.
“Your father has been lying to you about one thing.”
I stared.
“What?”
He stepped closer.
“You weren't hidden from the council.”
“Then why?”
“Because the council wasn't hunting you.”
My blood went cold.
“They were protecting you.”
I frowned.
“From what?”
Nathan's smile disappeared.
“From your real father.”
I looked at Gabriel.
He was pale.
Nathan whispered:
“Because Gabriel Vale isn't the man who created you.”
Silence.
“Then who is?”
Nathan looked directly at me.
And said:
“Me.”
I couldn't breathe.
Behind me, Sophie woke up.
“Mommy?”
I turned.
Nathan smiled at her.
And for the first time that night...
Gabriel looked terrified.
Because the man standing before us wasn't simply another hidden heir.
He was the man who had started the war.
The man everyone had buried.
May you like
The man whose blood...
was apparently mine.
