Chapter 4 - THE FATHER I WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO MEET
My body forgot how to move.
Gabriel Dinaro looked at me as if he'd waited thirty-one years for that moment.
Thomas looked ready to kill him.
“You took Marcus.”
Gabriel's gaze shifted toward his brother.
“I protected him.”
“Where is he?”
“Safe.”
“That's not an answer.”
Gabriel smiled faintly.
“You sound like Dad.”
Thomas's face changed.
“Don't.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
Now that I could see him clearly, the resemblance was impossible to ignore.
The same dark eyes.
The same shape around the mouth.
And when he looked at me, something inside me recognized him before my mind did.
I hated that.
“You're my father?”
His eyes softened.
“Yes.”
“You don't get to say that like it's simple.”
“No.”
“You disappeared.”
“I had to.”
“You left my mother alone.”
His face tightened.
“No.”
I stepped forward.
“She raised me by herself.”
“Elena made a choice.”
“What choice?”
Gabriel looked at Thomas.
Then back at me.
“She believed you would survive only if no one knew whose daughter you were.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandfather wanted you dead.”
Silence.
Thomas stared.
“What?”
Gabriel nodded.
“Dad knew Elena was pregnant. He believed the child would tie me permanently to her. He ordered me to leave Elena or lose everything.”
“And you chose her?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“We planned to run.”
His voice hardened.
“Then Damian Russo betrayed us.”
Thomas frowned.
“Russo wasn't even involved with the family then.”
Gabriel laughed.
“He was involved long before you knew his name.”
I swallowed.
“And my mother?”
“She found out your grandfather had ordered both of you killed.”
My stomach turned.
“So she stole the ledger.”
“Yes.”
“To bargain?”
“To survive.”
Thomas looked at his brother.
“Where have you been for thirty-one years?”
“Everywhere.”
“That's not an answer.”
“I worked overseas. Changed names. Built money. Watched you.”
Thomas's face went cold.
“You watched me?”
“Yes.”
“And never contacted me.”
“I couldn't trust you.”
The insult landed hard.
Thomas laughed without humor.
“Good to see you too.”
I stepped between them.
“Marcus.”
Gabriel looked at me.
“He's in a safe house.”
“Take me to him.”
“I will.”
“Now.”
“Not until you understand what you're carrying.”
I frowned.
“What am I carrying?”
He looked at my injured wrist.
Then at my left hand.
“The ring.”
I stared at my plain silver ring.
It had belonged to my mother.
I wore it every day.
“What about it?”
Gabriel held out his hand.
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
His expression almost softened.
“You really are Elena's daughter.”
Thomas stepped closer.
“Why do you want the ring?”
Gabriel looked at him.
“Because the ledger was never physical.”
Silence.
Thomas frowned.
“What?”
“Elena encoded everything.”
“Where?”
Gabriel pointed toward my hand.
“In the ring.”
My stomach dropped.
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
Gabriel continued.
“The stone isn't stone.”
I stared at the tiny dark setting I'd always assumed was cheap glass.
“It's a data crystal.”
Thomas's expression changed.
“Thirty years ago?”
“Prototype storage.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Elena hid the access key inside it.”
I took off the ring slowly.
My hands shook.
“What happens if you get it?”
“I finish what we started.”
“Meaning?”
“I destroy the men who destroyed us.”
Thomas's voice became cold.
“By kidnapping an eight-year-old?”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“I didn't kidnap him.”
Silence.
I stared.
“What?”
“I took him after someone else did.”
My blood froze.
“Who?”
Gabriel looked toward the warehouse entrance.
“Richard Hail.”
The man from the restaurant.
The man who attacked me.
My stomach twisted.
“Why?”
Gabriel's answer came quietly.
“Because Richard Hail isn't who you think he is.”
Thomas looked at him.
“Who is he?”
May you like
Gabriel stared at me.
“Marcus's father.”
