Chapter 6 - The Brother Who Wasn’t a Brother
Roman did not believe Elias.
Not immediately.
Gabriel Bellamy had been beside him since childhood.
They had eaten at the same table.
Been educated by the same tutors.
Bled in the same fights.
When Roman’s wife died, Gabriel had spent seventy-two hours searching for the people responsible without sleeping.
When Eliza stopped speaking, Gabriel became the uncle who never stopped trying to make her smile.
Roman would have trusted him with his life.
More importantly, Roman had trusted Gabriel with Eliza’s.
Elias was rushed into surgery at a private hospital owned by a Bellamy associate.
Clara refused to leave.
Roman stood outside the operating room.
His phone contained seventeen missed calls from Gabriel.
He didn't answer.
Finally Clara looked at him.
“You have to talk to him.”
Roman stared at the floor.
“If Elias is wrong, I accuse my brother of being a traitor.”
“And if he’s right?”
Roman’s face became colder.
“Then Gabriel isn't my brother.”
Clara studied him.
“Do you know anything about his childhood?”
“My father brought him home when I was eight.”
“From where?”
“He said Gabriel’s parents had been killed.”
“Did you ever meet relatives?”
“No.”
“Birth certificate?”
Roman looked at her.
“We were children.”
“Roman.”
His jaw tightened.
“My father handled everything.”
Clara sat beside him.
“Why would Sebastian Rourke pretend to be a child?”
“He wouldn't.”
“What?”
“Sebastian was an adult when I was eight.”
Clara frowned.
“Then Elias can’t mean Gabriel is Sebastian.”
Roman looked up.
“He could mean Gabriel belongs to him.”
A DNA test took two hours.
Roman supplied a sample.
Gabriel’s DNA existed in Bellamy medical records from a surgery years earlier.
The result arrived at 4:16 a.m.
No biological relation.
Roman stared at the report.
Clara whispered:
“Did you think you were blood brothers?”
“Yes.”
Roman’s voice was empty.
Another result appeared.
Gabriel’s DNA had a familial match in a private criminal database.
Sebastian Rourke.
Probability of parent-child relationship: 99.7 percent.
Clara closed her eyes.
Roman didn't move.
Then his phone rang.
Gabriel.
This time he answered.
“Where are you?”
Gabriel sounded frantic.
“At the estate. Where are you? Nobody will tell me anything.”
“How is Eliza?”
“Asleep. Roman, what happened?”
Roman listened to the voice he had known most of his life.
“Who was your father?”
Silence.
Then Gabriel laughed nervously.
“What?”
“Your biological father.”
“Why are you asking?”
“Answer.”
Another pause.
“I don’t know.”
“Try again.”
Gabriel’s breathing changed.
“Roman.”
“Elias Hayes says Sebastian Rourke infiltrated my family.”
No response.
“Your DNA says Sebastian Rourke was your father.”
Gabriel whispered:
“Oh, God.”
Clara looked toward Roman.
That wasn’t the reaction of a man being falsely accused.
“You knew,” Roman said.
“I found out three years ago.”
Roman’s expression changed.
“Three years.”
“Yes.”
“The year Celeste died.”
Silence.
Roman’s voice became deadly quiet.
“Did you know before the bombing?”
“No.”
“Did Sebastian kill my wife?”
“I don’t know.”
“Gabriel.”
“I SWEAR TO GOD, ROMAN!”
The outburst echoed through the phone.
“I found documents after Celeste died. Dad—Angelo—had kept them hidden.”
Roman’s throat tightened.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because you would look at me exactly the way you’re looking at me now.”
“You cannot see me.”
“I can imagine.”
Roman hung up.
Clara asked:
“Do you believe him?”
“I believe he’s hiding something.”
Elias survived surgery.
The bullet had missed his heart by less than two centimeters.
When he regained consciousness, Roman entered first.
“Gabriel is Sebastian’s son.”
Elias nodded.
“Did Gabriel know?”
“I don’t know.”
“Was Sebastian responsible for Celeste’s death?”
Elias looked away.
Roman stepped closer.
“Answer carefully.”
“The car bomb wasn't intended for Celeste.”
“I know. It was intended for me.”
“No.”
Roman stopped.
Elias looked at him.
“It was intended for Gabriel.”
Silence.
Roman felt the room tilt.
“Why?”
“Sebastian wanted his son back.”
Clara entered.
Elias continued.
“Gabriel refused.”
Roman stared.
“Gabriel knew Sebastian before Celeste died?”
“Yes.”
Rage moved through Roman.
“He lied.”
“He also tried to stop him.”
“What happened?”
“Sebastian threatened to destroy everything Angelo built unless Gabriel joined him.”
Roman’s jaw tightened.
“And Gabriel refused.”
“Yes.”
“So Sebastian planted the bomb.”
“Probably.”
“Probably?”
“Daniel Mercer built it.”
Roman remembered the dead man in the sedan.
“The same Daniel who burned the stable.”
“Yes.”
Clara sat beside her father.
“Why kill Daniel now?”
“Cleaning loose ends.”
“Who is controlling everything?”
Elias looked from Clara to Roman.
“Sebastian.”
Roman stood.
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
Roman laughed bitterly.
“Apparently ignorance is contagious in this story.”
Despite everything, Clara almost smiled.
Then Roman’s phone rang.
Estate security.
He answered.
“Sir…”
“What?”
“Mr. Gabriel is gone.”
Roman closed his eyes.
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“And Eliza?”
A pause.
Roman’s heart stopped.
“WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?”
“Her room is empty.”
Clara stood.
No.
Not again.
Roman’s voice became something she had never heard before.
“Seal every road.”
“Sir, we found footage.”
“Show me.”
Video appeared on Roman’s phone.
Gabriel walked through the garage carrying a sleeping Eliza.
No struggle.
He placed her carefully into the back seat of an SUV.
Then drove away.
Roman stared at the screen.
Clara whispered:
“He took her.”
Roman didn’t answer.
A message arrived from Gabriel.
I’M SORRY.
Then another.
IF I DON’T DO THIS, SEBASTIAN WILL KILL HER.
A location appeared.
Followed by:
DO NOT COME AFTER US.
Roman loaded his gun.
Clara grabbed her coat.
Elias struggled upright.
“Where are you going?”
Roman looked at him.
“To bring my daughter home.”
Clara stepped beside him.
“And I’m coming.”
Roman didn’t argue this time.
Because sixty seconds later another video arrived.
Eliza sat inside an unfamiliar room.
Terrified.
Behind her stood a gray-haired man.
Sebastian Rourke smiled into the camera.
“Roman.”
He placed one hand on Eliza’s shoulder.
“I’ve waited thirty years to collect what your father stole from me.”
Then he looked off-camera.
“Bring in the horse girl.”
Someone shoved Gabriel into view.
Blood covered his face.
Roman’s anger disappeared.
Gabriel hadn't kidnapped Eliza.
He had walked directly into a trap trying to save her.
Sebastian smiled.
“Bring me Clara Hayes and the ledger by sunrise.”
May you like
He leaned closer to the camera.
“Or Roman loses his daughter the same way he lost his wife.”
