Chapter 7 - THE BROTHER I NEVER KNEW EXISTED
“Hello, sister.”
The word hit harder than the gunshots.
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
The stranger standing in the doorway looked nothing like me.
He was older.
Colder.
His face carried years of anger that had never found a place to disappear.
But there was something familiar.
The eyes.
The same eyes I saw every morning in the mirror.
Adrian raised his gun.
“Step away from her.”
The man smiled.
Still holding his weapon.
“Always protecting people who don’t belong to you, Adrian.”
My heart pounded.
“Who are you?”
The stranger looked at me.
And for the first time, his expression softened.
“My name is Gabriel.”
The room went silent.
“Gabriel what?”
He looked at Adrian.
“Tell her.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“No.”
Gabriel laughed quietly.
“You still think you can protect her with lies?”
I looked between them.
“What is happening?”
Nobody answered.
My patience broke.
“No. Stop.”
My voice echoed through the room.
“I have spent my entire life being lied to.”
I looked at Adrian.
“You knew something.”
Then I looked at Gabriel.
“And you clearly know more.”
I stepped forward.
“So someone is going to tell me the truth.”
Gabriel lowered his weapon slightly.
“Good.”
He looked at me.
“You deserve to know.”
Adrian moved closer.
“Mara, don’t listen to him.”
“Why?”
I turned.
“Because he’s dangerous?”
Adrian said nothing.
“Because he’s a killer?”
Still nothing.
“Or because he’s telling the truth?”
That silence was my answer.
Gabriel watched Adrian carefully.
“You never told her about Elena and Marco.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Marco?”
Gabriel smiled.
“Our father.”
The room tilted.
“Our?”
He nodded.
“Elena Viscari was our mother.”
I stared at him.
“No.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“You were born first.”
My heart stopped.
“You’re saying…”
“You’re my sister.”
The words felt impossible.
I looked at Adrian.
He looked away.
And that hurt more than anything.
Because Adrian Viscari was many things.
Dangerous.
Powerful.
Terrifying.
But he was not a man who looked away from the truth.
Unless the truth was painful.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
Gabriel answered.
“Because our family destroyed itself.”
He walked toward the old photos.
“Our father was obsessed with power. Our enemies wanted revenge. Elena tried to escape.”
He touched one picture.
“She knew if they found you, they would use you against us.”
My voice became small.
“So she gave me away.”
Gabriel nodded.
“She trusted her closest friend.”
“My mother.”
“Yes.”
I looked down.
All those years.
All those unanswered questions.
My mother’s fear.
Her warnings.
Her silence.
Suddenly they all had meaning.
Then Adrian spoke.
“There’s something else.”
Everyone turned.
His face was serious.
“Elena didn’t die in an accident.”
My stomach dropped.
Gabriel’s expression darkened.
“No.”
Adrian looked at me.
“She was murdered.”
The room became silent.
The baby monitor on Adrian’s phone suddenly made a sound.
Luca.
Crying.
I immediately moved.
But Adrian stopped me.
“Wait.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
His eyes moved toward the hallway.
“Someone is inside the house.”
The guards immediately spread out.
Then the lights flickered.
A shadow moved.
A man ran toward the nursery.
My blood went cold.
“Luca!”
I ran.
Adrian was faster.
He reached the hallway just as the attacker grabbed the baby’s door.
A gunshot exploded.
The attacker fell.
But before he lost consciousness…
He smiled.
And whispered:
“Too late.”
Adrian froze.
Because he recognized the voice.
“It can’t be…”
I looked at him.
“Who is it?”
May you like
His face lost all color.
“The man who was supposed to be dead.”
