Chapter 12 - The Brother Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
The man standing in the doorway was impossible.
My mind rejected what my eyes were seeing.
Because I knew death.
I had seen it too many times.
I had buried too many people.
I knew what a person looked like when they were gone forever.
And Ewan Moretti had been gone for six years.
“Gabriel.”
My name came from his mouth.
The same voice.
The same calm tone.
The same way he used to say my name when I was angry.
When I was younger.
When I was about to make a mistake.
My hand moved before my thoughts did.
Not toward a weapon.
Toward him.
I touched his shoulder.
Real.
Warm.
Alive.
My entire world shifted.
“No.”
The word came out broken.
Ewan looked at me.
“I know.”
“No.”
I stepped back.
“You died.”
His eyes lowered.
“I know.”
“You died at Pier 44.”
“Yes.”
“You were burned.”
His expression changed.
Pain.
Regret.
“I almost was.”
The room became silent.
My mother began crying.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just tears rolling down her face.
Because she had known.
She had known all this time.
I turned toward her.
“You knew?”
Her fingers shook.
She grabbed the notebook.
Then wrote one sentence.
I thought I lost both of my sons.
I stared at the words.
Both.
Not one.
Both.
My chest tightened.
“Why?”
My voice was barely above a whisper.
“Why did you let me believe he was dead?”
Ewan looked away.
Because even after six years…
He still looked guilty.
“I had no choice.”
I laughed quietly.
“No choice?”
I stepped toward him.
“Do you know what I became?”
His eyes met mine.
“Do you know how many people I destroyed trying to find the person who killed you?”
“I know.”
“No.”
My voice became harder.
“You don’t.”
He looked down.
And for the first time, my brother looked older than his years.
“I watched you from a distance.”
The words stopped me.
“What?”
“After Pier 44.”
“Where?”
“Everywhere.”
Anger replaced shock.
“You watched?”
“Yes.”
“You watched me believe you were dead?”
“Yes.”
“You watched Mom disappear?”
His face changed.
“I know.”
“You watched me become exactly what you never wanted me to become.”
Silence.
Because that was the truth.
Ewan always hated violence.
He always believed there was another way.
And I had spent six years becoming the man he feared.
“I wanted to come back.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“Because every time I tried…”
He stopped.
“Someone stopped me.”
“Who?”
Ewan looked at the door.
Then at my mother.
Then back at me.
“The same person who killed our father.”
The room went still.
Again.
Always another secret.
Always another name.
“You said Dad didn’t do it.”
“He didn’t.”
“Then who?”
Ewan took a breath.
“Someone who has been inside this family longer than any of us.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Vincent.”
Ewan did not answer.
He did not need to.
But then he surprised me.
“No.”
I froze.
“No?”
“Vincent made mistakes.”
“Then who?”
Ewan looked at my mother.
And she closed her eyes.
Because she already knew.
“The person who controlled Vincent.”
My anger rose.
“Who controls Vincent?”
Ewan stepped closer.
“Gabriel.”
His voice became quiet.
“You need to understand something.”
“What?”
“This was never about money.”
I waited.
“This was never about the organization.”
“Then what?”
“It was about power.”
“Whose power?”
Ewan looked at me.
“Yours.”
I frowned.
“Mine?”
“Yes.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does.”
He pointed toward the family portrait hanging on the wall.
Our father.
Our mother.
Me.
Ewan.
“The Moretti name was never the empire.”
I stared.
“Then what was?”
Ewan answered:
“The person who inherits it.”
---
We moved to the private study.
Nobody else was allowed inside.
Not Matteo.
Not security.
Not even Celeste.
Only family.
The irony almost made me laugh.
Because I no longer knew what family meant.
Ewan sat across from me.
Six years of questions.
Six years of anger.
Six years of grief.
And now my brother was alive.
But instead of happiness…
I felt betrayal.
“Tell me everything.”
Ewan nodded.
“I will.”
“Start with Pier 44.”
He looked at the floor.
“That night was supposed to be a meeting.”
“With who?”
“Our father.”
“Why?”
“To transfer control.”
I frowned.
“Control of what?”
“The organization.”
I waited.
“And?”
“Father knew he was dying.”
That surprised me.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“He was sick?”
“Not physically.”
Ewan looked at me.
“He knew someone wanted him removed.”
“Who?”
“He never found out.”
“Then why the meeting?”
“Because he discovered the person was close.”
I felt cold.
“Close how?”
“Inside the family.”
Again.
The same phrase.
Inside the family.
Ewan continued.
“He wanted to give me evidence.”
“Against who?”
“Everyone involved.”
I stared.
“Everyone?”
“Yes.”
“Vincent?”
“Yes.”
“Celeste’s family?”
“Yes.”
“Adrian?”
“Yes.”
My hands tightened.
“Then why are they still alive?”
Ewan looked at me.
“Because the person behind them was smarter.”
“Who?”
Ewan became silent.
Too silent.
“Ewan.”
He looked at me.
“I need you to understand something.”
“What?”
“The person who destroyed our family did not enter our lives as an enemy.”
A pause.
“They entered as someone we loved.”
I waited.
Then he said the words I never expected.
“The person behind everything…”
He swallowed.
“Is Margaret Moretti.”
My blood froze.
“Mom?”
“No.”
I stared.
“You said Margaret.”
Ewan looked at me.
“Not our mother.”
Silence.
“Who then?”
His answer came quietly.
“Your grandmother.”
The room went completely silent.
My grandmother had been dead for fifteen years.
But apparently…
Death had never stopped anyone in my family from controlling the future.
My phone vibrated.
A message.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
I looked at it.
And my blood turned cold.
WELCOME BACK, EWAN.
WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU.
I looked at my brother.
He had seen the message.
May you like
And for the first time since he returned…
Ewan Moretti looked afraid.
