Chapter 11 - THE BROTHER HE NEVER KNEW
“Put the gun down.”
Nathan didn't move.
Lucas's weapon remained steady.
“You heard my father.”
“I did.”
“He said you're not who I think you are.”
Nathan shook his head.
“I don't know what he meant.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes.”
Lucas laughed bitterly.
“You've been lying to me since the moment we met.”
“No.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Nathan stared at him.
“I don't remember everything.”
Lucas frowned.
“What?”
“I was five when they separated us.”
Nathan's voice broke.
“I spent years being moved from place to place.”
“By whom?”
“Vincent.”
Lucas lowered the gun slightly.
“Why?”
“Because he wanted me loyal.”
“And were you?”
Nathan looked at him.
“For a while.”
Lucas's eyes narrowed.
“Then?”
“Then I found Emily.”
Silence.
Nathan continued.
“She told me the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That our family had destroyed hers.”
Lucas's jaw tightened.
“Your mother?”
“Yes.”
“Vincent?”
“Yes.”
“My father?”
Nathan hesitated.
“He tried to stop them.”
Lucas looked away.
“So why did Dad say you're not who I think you are?”
Nathan swallowed.
“Because he knew I was working for Vincent.”
Lucas raised the gun again.
“You were?”
“Yes.”
“But I turned against him.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“Why?”
Nathan looked toward Sarah.
“Because I found out Emma existed.”
Lucas stared.
Nathan's eyes filled with tears.
“She was the first thing in my life that wasn't part of a war.”
Lucas lowered the weapon.
“What happened to Emily?”
Nathan looked down.
“Vincent killed her.”
Sarah covered her mouth.
“And Emma?”
“I tried to save her.”
Lucas stared.
“Then why did you disappear?”
“Because Eleanor found out.”
Nathan's voice became bitter.
“She ordered me killed.”
Lucas looked at Sarah.
“Then why is Nathan alive?”
Sarah answered:
“Because your father had already prepared an escape.”
Lucas finally lowered his gun.
He looked at Nathan.
“My brother.”
Nathan nodded.
Lucas didn't know what to say.
Seven years of grief.
Seven years of believing he had no family left.
Now he had a brother.
A niece.
A mother who had betrayed him.
An uncle who had manipulated him.
And a father who had left a trail of secrets.
Then the basement door slammed.
Everyone turned.
Vincent walked in.
Emma was beside him.
Lucas's heart stopped.
“Emma!”
She ran toward him.
Lucas caught her.
He hugged her tightly.
Vincent didn't resist.
He simply smiled.
“Now you understand.”
Lucas looked at him.
“Understand what?”
Vincent pulled a gun from his coat.
“Your father wasn't the victim.”
Lucas froze.
“What?”
Vincent looked at Nathan.
“He was the architect.”
Nathan shook his head.
“That's impossible.”
Vincent smiled.
“Ask him.”
He pointed at a hidden projector.
A recording appeared.
Richard Blackwood sat at a desk.
He looked calm.
Powerful.
And completely different from the man Lucas remembered.
Richard spoke:
“The Blackbird network will belong to my sons.”
Lucas stared.
“No…”
Richard continued:
“Lucas will control Boston.”
Nathan's face went pale.
“And Nathan will control the political side.”
Lucas looked at Nathan.
“This is a lie.”
Vincent smiled.
“No.”
He pressed another button.
The screen showed Richard handing a baby to Sarah.
Emma.
Then he said:
“If anything happens to me, protect my granddaughter.”
The video ended.
Lucas stared at Emma.
She was holding his coat.
Vincent lowered his gun.
“Your father wasn't trying to destroy Blackbird.”
He whispered:
“He was building it.”
Lucas's entire understanding of his father collapsed.
But then Emma reached into her pocket.
“Mr. Blackwood?”
“Yes?”
“I found this.”
She handed him a tiny silver key.
Lucas stared.
He recognized it.
It belonged to his father's private safe.
Vincent's face changed.
“No.”
Lucas looked at him.
“What does this open?”
Vincent whispered:
“The vault.”
May you like
Lucas smiled for the first time.
“Then we're going.”
