Chapter 5: The Brother Who Carried the Secret
Nobody moved.
Not even me.
The man standing by the door looked like he had aged ten years in the last five seconds.
His name was Marcus.
I remembered seeing him earlier when I first arrived at the clubhouse.
He was one of the men who surrounded me.
One of the men who looked like he could scare anyone away with a single glance.
Now he looked scared himself.
Reaper stared at him.
“Say that again.””
Marcus swallowed.
“I said… he was talking about me.””
The room exploded with noise.
“What are you saying?””
“You knew?””
“You were the one?””
The bikers moved toward him, but Reaper lifted one hand.
Everyone stopped.
That was the thing about Reaper.
He didn’t need to shout.
He just raised his hand, and everyone listened.
Marcus looked at the floor.
“I never betrayed Michael.””
Nobody answered.
The words sounded too small.
Too late.
I looked at him.
“Then why did my dad say your name?””
Marcus looked at me.
And the sadness in his eyes made my anger hesitate.
“I don’t know.””
I hated that answer.
Everyone had been saying they didn’t know.
My whole life was built on people not knowing.
“My father recorded that video before he disappeared,” I said.
My voice shook.
“He knew someone betrayed him.””
Marcus nodded slowly.
“I know.””
The room went silent again.
I stared.
“You know?””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“I knew Michael was in danger.””
Reaper stepped forward.
“When?””
“Before he came here.””
The older man’s expression changed.
“You never told me that.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Because Michael made me promise.””
Reaper’s jaw tightened.
“Michael trusted you.””
“Yes.””
“Then why keep secrets?””
Marcus looked away.
“Because he thought someone was listening.””
Nobody spoke.
The words changed everything.
Someone was listening.
Someone inside.
Someone close.
The clubhouse suddenly felt different.
A place that had always represented loyalty now felt like a room full of locked doors.
Reaper walked toward Marcus slowly.
“Start from the beginning.””
Marcus nodded.
He sat down at the table.
The same table where we had watched my father’s final message.
I stayed standing.
I didn’t want to sit.
I felt like if I sat down, this would become another story adults told me.
Another secret.
Another thing I wasn’t supposed to understand.
Marcus looked at me.
“You deserve to hear this.””
I crossed my arms.
“Finally.””
The words came out sharper than I meant.
But nobody blamed me.
Marcus took a deep breath.
“Your father found out Kane was moving money through fake companies.””
Reaper nodded.
“We knew that.””
“No.””
Marcus looked at him.
“We knew part of it.””
The room became quiet.
“Michael found something bigger.””
“What?”” I asked.
Marcus looked at the flash drive.
“He found out Kane wasn’t working alone.””
Reaper’s face darkened.
“Who?””
Marcus shook his head.
“That’s what Michael was trying to discover.””
My heart sank.
“So he didn’t know?””
“No.””
“Then why did he think it was you?””
Marcus looked down.
“Because I was the last person with him before he disappeared.””
Nobody spoke.
The answer hung there.
I understood immediately.
Everyone suspected him.
Even my father.
Marcus continued.
“Michael came to me that night.””
“Why?””
“Because he thought I was the only person he could trust.””
I looked at Reaper.
That hurt him.
I could see it.
Because Michael had gone to Marcus instead of him.
“What happened?””
Marcus rubbed his hands together.
“He showed me the evidence.””
“The flash drive?””
“Yes.””
“But my mother had it.””
Marcus nodded.
“He gave it to Angela before he left.””
“Why?””
“Because he knew someone would come looking.””
I looked at my mother.
She was sitting quietly in the corner.
Listening.
Crying.
But not interrupting.
“He told me he was going to meet someone,” Marcus said.
“Who?””
Marcus looked at Reaper.
Then at me.
“Someone who claimed they could help him expose Kane.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who?””
Marcus hesitated.
And that hesitation terrified me.
“Marcus.””
He looked down.
“It was someone from the Dust Reapers.””
The room went still.
Again.
Another secret.
Another hidden piece.
“Who?”” Reaper asked.
Marcus shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
“You met him?””
“No.””
“Then how do you know?””
Marcus looked at the old photograph of my father.
“Because Michael left me a message.””
My eyes narrowed.
“What message?””
Marcus reached into his jacket.
For a moment, everyone tensed.
Then he pulled out an old phone.
The kind people stopped using years ago.
“I kept this because I couldn’t bring myself to destroy it.””
He placed it on the table.
“This was Michael’s.””
Reaper stared.
“You had his phone?””
Marcus nodded.
“After he disappeared, I found it near the highway.””
My mother gasped.
“You never told me.””
“I was afraid.””
“Afraid of what?””
Marcus looked at her.
“That the person who betrayed him would come after you.””
A cold silence filled the room.
Then the phone turned on.
Everyone stared.
The battery was nearly dead.
Marcus pressed a button.
A single audio file appeared.
Recorded the night Michael vanished.
He hit play.
Static filled the room.
Then my father’s voice came through.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakable.
“Marcus…”
Everyone leaned closer.
“If you’re hearing this, then I was right.””
A pause.
A shaky breath.
“Kane knows.””
My mother covered her mouth.
Michael continued.
“Someone inside the club gave him information.””
The room was silent.
“But I still don’t know who.””
My father’s voice lowered.
“Marcus, listen carefully.””
A sound in the background.
Like footsteps.
Then:
“Do not trust anyone until you find the second file.””
Reaper looked confused.
“Second file?””
The recording continued.
“The first file shows what Kane did.””
My father paused.
“The second file shows why he did it.””
The audio cracked.
Then his voice became urgent.
“Protect Angela. Protect Caleb.””
My heart stopped hearing my own name.
Then came the final words.
“If anything happens to me…”
A loud noise interrupted him.
A door opening.
My father whispered:
“They found me.””
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
The silence afterward was unbearable.
Then Reaper spoke.
“What second file?””
Marcus shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
I looked at the flash drive.
“But it’s not on there?””
Marcus stared.
“No.””
Everyone looked confused.
My mother suddenly stood.
Too quickly.
She grabbed the edge of the table.
Reaper moved to help her.
“Angela.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
Her eyes were wide.
“No, that can’t be.””
“What?”” I asked.
She looked at the flash drive.
Then at me.
Then she whispered:
“Your father never gave me the whole thing.””
Nobody spoke.
“What do you mean?””
She sat down slowly.
“He gave me the drive.””
Her hands trembled.
“But before he left…”
She looked terrified.
“He took something out.””
Reaper stared.
“What did he take?””
My mother’s eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t know.””
I felt anger rising again.
“You don’t know?””
She looked at me.
“I thought he removed a file.””
“Why?””
“Because he told me if Kane found the drive, he would think he won.””
Marcus stood.
“Michael hid something else.””
My mother nodded.
“He said the truth had to survive somewhere else.””
The room went quiet.
A missing file.
A hidden message.
A betrayal inside the club.
And now another mystery.
Reaper looked at the bikers.
“We need to find out who had access to Michael that night.””
Everyone nodded.
Then one biker spoke.
“Boss.””
Everyone turned.
He was staring at the computer screen.
The flash drive was still connected.
“What?””
The biker pointed.
“There’s a new file.””
Reaper walked closer.
“That wasn’t there before.””
I moved toward the screen.
A file had appeared.
No name.
No date.
Just three words.
*FOR CALEB ONLY*
My heart stopped.
Nobody touched the keyboard.
Nobody breathed.
Reaper looked at me.
“This wasn’t made for us.””
I stared at the screen.
“It was made for me.””
Slowly, I reached forward.
My finger hovered over the file.
Then the clubhouse lights suddenly went out.
Everything went black.
A second later—
The sound of breaking glass echoed from somewhere behind us.
May you like
Someone had entered.
And they weren’t there to talk.
