Chapter 8 - A BROTHER IN THE DARK|
For several seconds, Dante could not speak.
The young man standing in the archive looked nothing like the photographs of Michael Ferrara displayed in the family office. He had lighter hair, a narrow face, and a scar near his chin. But when he turned his head, the resemblance became unmistakable in the line of his jaw and the shape of his eyes.
Dante took one step closer.
“Who told you that?”
“My mother.”
“Where is she?”
Adrian's face crumpled.
“She died two months ago.”
Sofia moved between them before Dante could ask another question.
“Adrian, sit down. You're bleeding.”
“I'm fine.”
“You're shaking.”
“I said I'm fine.”
His voice broke on the last word.
Sofia pulled a clean handkerchief from her bag and offered it to him. He stared at it suspiciously, then accepted it.
“Did someone hurt you?” she asked.
Adrian glanced toward the corridor.
“They told me to stop looking.”
“Who?”
“I don't know their names. One man had a ring with a black stone. The other said Mr. Ferrara didn't want me alive.”
Dante's face hardened.
“I never sent anyone.”
Adrian laughed bitterly.
“That's what they all say.”
Sofia crouched beside him.
“You don't have to trust us immediately. But if you want to explain what happened, we'll listen.”
Adrian looked at her for a long time.
Then he opened the folder.
Inside were copies of birth records, bank transfers, and several letters written by a woman named Laura Bennett. One letter described a promise Michael Ferrara had made to protect her and their unborn son. Another mentioned a private agreement with Eleanor, who had helped Laura leave New York after Michael's death.
The final letter was dated three weeks before Laura died.
If you have found this, then someone has finally discovered what they took from us. Your father wanted you to have a choice. He did not want the Ferrara name to become your prison.
Adrian's hands trembled.
“My mother said Michael was kind. She said he wanted to tell everyone about me, but his family would never allow it.”
Dante looked at the papers.
“Why did you come here?”
“After she died, I found the letters in a locked suitcase. I searched the names online. I found the hospital records and discovered that most of them had disappeared.” Adrian wiped his forehead. “I thought if I found the original archive, I could prove who I was.”
“And someone followed you.”
“They took my phone. They said the records belonged to the family and I had no right to them.”
Dante crouched so they were eye to eye.
“You have every right to know the truth about your father.”
Adrian stared at him.
“Why should I believe you?”
“You shouldn't. Not yet.”
The answer seemed to surprise him.
Dante continued, “I'm going to have the documents independently examined. You'll have your own attorney. You won't be asked to sign anything, and no one will make you join this family.”
Adrian's eyes filled.
“My mother said he would say something like that.”
“Who?”
“Michael. She said he always wanted me to be free.”
Dante looked away, swallowing the emotion that threatened to rise in his throat.
Sofia recognized the expression. It was the face of someone discovering that a lifetime of certainty had been built on a lie.
Then Marcus returned from the corridor.
“We need to leave. Someone cut the power to the building, and there's a vehicle blocking the main entrance.”
Dante stood.
“Call the police.”
Marcus hesitated.
Dante's gaze sharpened.
“Now.”
It was the first time Sofia had heard him give an order that placed official help ahead of the family's private methods.
Minutes later, the building's emergency lights flickered on. Police officers arrived, and the group was escorted through a side exit. Adrian remained close to Sofia, clutching the folder against his chest.
Outside, a dark SUV sped away from the far end of the street.
Dante watched it disappear.
“Someone knew we were coming.”
“Someone has known for eighteen years,” Sofia replied.
Adrian looked between them.
“Are you going to find out who killed my father?”
Dante's face turned cold.
“If he was killed, yes.”
“And if it was someone in your family?”
Dante took a long breath.
“Then the truth will matter more than the name.”
Sofia saw the cost of the promise in his eyes.
The man who had built his life around loyalty was preparing to investigate the people he had trusted most.
May you like
But as they drove away, Adrian's phone—recovered from a police evidence bag—lit up with a message from an unknown number.
Your mother lied about one thing. Michael Ferrara wasn't the only father you had.
