Chapter 5: The Brother’s Dangerous Truth
For eleven years, I believed I knew the worst night of my life.
I believed I knew the villain.
I believed I knew the betrayal.
Daniel Cross.
The fake documents.
The scandal.
The end of everything I had built.
But standing inside Gabriel Moretti’s mansion, holding a phone that had just carried Adrian Moretti’s voice from somewhere in the dark, I realized something terrifying.
The truth wasn’t hidden from me.
It had been replaced.
Someone had given me a version of my own life.
And I had lived with it.
I lowered the phone slowly.
Nobody spoke.
Not Gabriel.
Not my mother.
Not even the security guards standing outside the room.
Everyone was waiting for me to say something.
I didn’t know what to say.
Because Adrian Moretti’s final words kept repeating in my head.
*The person you think betrayed you is not the person you should fear.*
I looked at Gabriel.
“Did you know he was alive?””
Gabriel didn’t answer immediately.
That hesitation told me enough.
“You suspected.””
His jaw tightened.
“Yes.””
My mother looked at him.
“You knew?””
Gabriel looked at her.
“I knew Adrian had survived.””
“Survived?””
She frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Gabriel walked toward the window.
The mansion lights reflected against the glass.
“Eleven years ago, Adrian disappeared after the scandal.””
I crossed my arms.
“And everyone assumed he ran.””
“Yes.””
“But you didn’t.””
“No.””
The answer bothered me.
“Why?””
Gabriel turned.
“Because my brother didn’t run from problems.””
A cold silence filled the room.
“He created them.””
That was the first time Gabriel sounded less like a businessman and more like a brother who had spent years fighting someone he loved.
I looked at the photograph again.
Adrian standing behind me.
Watching.
“Why would he call me?””
Gabriel looked at the flash drive.
“Because he wants something.””
“From me?””
“Probably.””
I laughed once.
“Great. After eleven years of losing everything, I finally become valuable again.””
My mother touched my shoulder.
“Elias.””
I looked at her.
She gave me the same look she had given me when I was a child.
The look that said she knew when I was pretending not to hurt.
But before she could say anything, the door opened.
A woman in a black suit entered.
“Mr. Moretti.””
Gabriel looked up.
“Yes?””
She handed him a tablet.
“Security found movement near the north gate.””
“Who?””
“We don’t know.””
Gabriel looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“Show me.””
The woman pressed a button.
A security camera image appeared.
A black vehicle parked outside the gate.
My eyes narrowed.
Because I recognized the car.
Not the model.
The person standing beside it.
Victoria.
She was outside.
Talking to someone.
Gabriel stared.
“What is she doing?””
Nobody answered.
Then Victoria’s phone appeared in the camera frame.
She was showing someone something.
A document.
Gabriel’s face became unreadable.
“Bring her here.””
The woman nodded.
I watched him.
“You think she’s involved?””
Gabriel didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
Five minutes later, Victoria walked into the room.
But she wasn’t the same woman who had stood over me earlier.
The confidence was gone.
Her silver dress was still perfect.
Her makeup was still flawless.
But her eyes were different.
Fearful.
“Gabriel.””
He didn’t move.
“Who were you talking to?””
Victoria stopped.
“What?””
“Outside.””
Her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I noticed.
“You were watching me?””
Gabriel’s voice remained calm.
“You were speaking with someone after a break-in happened in my home.””
“I was calling a friend.””
“Who?””
She looked away.
That was enough.
Gabriel stepped closer.
“Victoria.””
She sighed.
“You’re making this dramatic.””
“No.””
His voice became colder.
“You’re making it suspicious.””
Her eyes moved to me.
And for the first time, I saw something unexpected.
Guilt.
Not enough to forgive.
Not enough to forget.
But guilt.
“I didn’t know,” she whispered.
Nobody moved.
Gabriel stared at her.
“Didn’t know what?””
Victoria looked at the floor.
“I didn’t know what Adrian was planning.””
The room went silent.
My chest tightened.
“You know Adrian?””
Victoria closed her eyes.
She realized too late what she had admitted.
Gabriel’s voice dropped.
“How long?””
She didn’t answer.
“How long have you known my brother?””
Victoria looked at him.
“Six months.””
“Six months?””
“Yes.””
“While you were engaged to me?””
Her face changed.
“I was trying to understand what he wanted.””
I stepped forward.
“Why?””
Victoria looked at me.
And for a moment, she seemed less like a villain and more like someone trapped in something she couldn’t control.
“Because Adrian approached me.””
Gabriel’s expression hardened.
“Why?””
“He said he knew things about you.””
The room went still.
Victoria continued.
“He said you weren’t who everyone thought you were.””
Gabriel laughed quietly.
Not with humor.
“With my brother, everyone is a weapon.””
“I didn’t know.””
“You met him.””
“I thought he was just trying to expose secrets.””
I stared at her.
“And what did you think he wanted from me?””
Victoria looked away.
“I didn’t know who you were.””
That sentence hurt more than I expected.
Because it was true.
To her, I was nobody.
A delivery driver.
Someone beneath her.
Until I became useful.
I said nothing.
Victoria looked at me.
“Elias…”
I interrupted.
“No.””
My voice was quiet.
“Don’t.””
She swallowed.
“I’m sorry.””
I almost believed she meant it.
Almost.
But apologies were easy when consequences arrived.
Gabriel picked up the tablet.
“Show me the document.””
Victoria hesitated.
Then slowly reached into her purse.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Gabriel took it.
His eyes scanned the page.
Then his face changed.
“What is it?”” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
I walked closer.
“Gabriel.””
He handed it to me.
The paper was old.
A contract.
At the bottom were signatures.
One belonged to Adrian Moretti.
The other belonged to…
My father.
I froze.
My father died when I was sixteen.
He was the man who taught me how to fight.
The man who told me never to give up.
The man who believed I could become champion before anyone else did.
I looked at Gabriel.
“What is this?””
His voice was quiet.
“Your father’s signature.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“It’s real.””
“No.””
My hands trembled.
“My father had nothing to do with this.””
Gabriel looked at the contract.
“That’s what Adrian wanted you to believe.””
I read the document again.
The words blurred.
A partnership agreement.
Between my father and Adrian Moretti.
Years before my career began.
“What was my father involved in?””
Nobody answered.
Then Victoria spoke.
“Adrian told me your father knew the truth.””
I looked at her.
“What truth?””
She hesitated.
“The reason Adrian targeted you.””
My heartbeat increased.
“Tell me.””
Victoria looked at Gabriel.
Then at me.
“Your championship fight wasn’t fixed because Adrian wanted money.””
I waited.
“Then why?””
Her voice became barely audible.
“Because your father found out what the Moretti family was really doing.””
The room became silent.
My father.
The man who taught me honesty.
The man who raised me to believe winning meant nothing if you cheated.
He had been connected to them.
I felt like the floor beneath me disappeared.
“No.””
Victoria stepped closer.
“Elias…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You don’t get to stand there and tell me my father was part of this.””
Gabriel watched me carefully.
“I know this is difficult.””
“You don’t know anything about my father.””
“No.””
His voice softened.
“But I know what Adrian does.””
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
Gabriel looked toward the dark window.
“It means Adrian doesn’t destroy people randomly.””
A pause.
“He destroys people who threaten him.””
The lights in the hallway suddenly flickered.
Everyone turned.
Then every screen in the room went black.
The security tablet.
The computer.
The cameras.
All of them.
A second later, one message appeared on the main screen.
White letters.
Black background.
No name.
No signature.
Just four words.
*ASK YOUR MOTHER, ELIAS.*
My blood ran cold.
Slowly, everyone turned.
Toward my mother.
She was standing by the door.
Pale.
Terrified.
Because she knew exactly what those words meant.
May you like
And she whispered the sentence that changed everything.
“I was hoping you would never find out.””
