Chapter 15 - The Woman Using a Dead Mother’s Name
Roman searched the hospital personally.
No Sofia.
No woman matching Adrian’s description.
No useful security footage.
Whoever had approached Adrian understood surveillance.
“She was around sixty,” Adrian said later in the hospital’s locked conference room. “Dark hair with gray at the temples. Expensive coat. Italian accent.”
“What did she want?” Clara asked.
Adrian pushed the envelope across the table.
Roman opened it.
Inside was a copy of the Duca trust.
And a handwritten note.
Your brother owns the throne built from your stolen childhood.
Ask him why he never looked for you.
Roman’s mouth tightened.
Adrian folded his arms.
“Well?”
“I didn’t know you existed.”
“That is convenient.”
“It is the truth.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“You expect me to believe a man with informants in every police department from Boston to Miami couldn’t find his own brother?”
“I cannot search for someone whose existence was erased.”
Adrian looked away.
Clara could see the resemblance between them even in anger.
Both withdrew when hurt.
Both turned pain into control.
Roman took the deed from the table.
“Half of everything legitimate is yours.”
Adrian looked at him.
“I don’t want blood money.”
“Neither do I.”
That surprised everyone.
Roman continued.
“The legal companies employ fourteen thousand people. Dockworkers. Drivers. Accountants. Hotel staff. They are not responsible for what my father did.”
Adrian stared at him.
“So what? You want me to sign my half back?”
“No.”
Roman pushed the deed toward him.
“I want you alive long enough to decide what you want.”
A knock interrupted them.
Marcus entered.
His expression warned Clara before he spoke.
“We identified the shooter who targeted Catherine.”
Roman stood.
“Name.”
“Daniel Kessler.”
Adrian frowned.
“I know that name.”
Everyone turned.
“He’s a hospital donor.”
Marcus looked sharply at him.
“Kessler Medical Foundation?”
“Yes.”
Marcus cursed.
Roman’s face hardened.
“What?”
“Kessler’s foundation bought Saint Gabriel House after the fire.”
Clara’s stomach dropped.
The web connected instantly.
“Who is he?”
Marcus opened a file.
“Officially? Billionaire philanthropist. Hospitals. Foster programs. Private security contracts.”
“And unofficially?”
“His mother was Lucia Vane.”
Roman went still.
“Elias Vane’s daughter.”
Marcus nodded.
Adrian stared at them.
“Why would Elias Vane’s grandson want Catherine dead?”
Roman answered quietly.
“Because my father destroyed his family.”
Marcus continued.
“Kessler’s father died when Daniel was six. His mother raised him alone. She spent twenty years claiming Antonio Duca murdered Elias.”
Adrian looked at Roman.
“So this is revenge.”
“Maybe.”
Clara shook her head.
“No.”
Roman turned.
“What?”
“This is too elaborate.”
She stood and paced.
“If Daniel only wanted revenge, he could shoot Roman. He had opportunities. Instead, he sent photographs. Led us to Adrian. Exposed the deed.”
Marcus understood.
“He wants the brothers together.”
“Exactly.”
Adrian’s face tightened.
“Why?”
The answer arrived three minutes later.
Every television in the conference room suddenly turned on.
A video appeared.
Catherine Bell sat tied to a chair.
Clara gasped.
Roman’s men had moved Catherine to a secure clinic.
Someone had taken her.
Daniel Kessler stepped into frame.
Handsome.
Silver-haired.
Perfectly tailored.
He looked less like a gangster than a senator.
“Roman,” he said pleasantly.
Roman stepped toward the screen.
“You have something I want.”
Kessler smiled.
“Actually, I have someone you want.”
He placed a hand on Catherine’s shoulder.
“And now you have someone I need.”
Adrian’s face went pale.
Kessler looked directly into the camera.
“Bring your brother to the Duca shipping terminal tomorrow at midnight.”
Roman’s voice became deadly.
“No.”
Kessler smiled wider.
“Then Catherine dies.”
Adrian stepped toward Roman.
“I’ll go.”
Roman turned on him.
“No.”
“She raised me.”
“I said no.”
“You don’t get to decide for me.”
Roman grabbed Adrian’s arm.
“And you do not get to walk into a trap because some bastard threatens family.”
Adrian ripped free.
“She is my family!”
Roman’s voice exploded through the room.
“So are you!”
Silence.
Adrian froze.
Roman looked almost shocked by his own words.
Clara’s eyes filled.
Kessler’s recorded voice continued from the screen.
“One brother raised in power. One raised in shadows.”
May you like
His smile disappeared.
“Tomorrow night, we discover which son Sofia Duca should have saved.”
