Chapter 9 - THE LAWYER WHO OWNED THE LIES
Chaos exploded.
Gabriel reached Norah before the second shot.
He dragged her behind a steel column.
Elias’s men moved in.
Samuel Pierce disappeared through a service corridor.
Matteo survived.
Barely.
Leo was unharmed.
Norah dropped beside his wheelchair.
“Leo.”
His eyes filled.
His fingers moved.
S.
I.
S.
She started crying.
For three years, she had cared for a brother everyone said could not speak.
One word from his hand shattered her.
“Yeah.”
She pressed her forehead to his.
“I’m here.”
Gabriel watched from a few feet away.
Something inside him changed.
Not because Leo was his brother.
Because Norah had been carrying this alone while Gabriel spent years complaining about meetings, rivals, and ports.
At the hospital, Matteo regained consciousness long enough to talk.
“Pierce planned everything.”
Gabriel stood beside the bed.
“Everything?”
“The accounts. Leo. The fake ledger.”
“Why?”
Matteo coughed.
“Because your father trusted him with the estate.”
Gabriel frowned.
Pierce had been the family lawyer.
If Gabriel died without children, and Leo remained legally unrecognized, certain dormant assets reverted to a charitable foundation.
A foundation controlled by Samuel Pierce.
Billions could eventually pass through his hands.
“So he wanted me suspicious of everyone.”
“Yes.”
“Why keep Leo alive?”
“Because Pierce didn’t know where Leo hid the evidence.”
“And Norah?”
“Pressure.”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened.
Matteo looked toward the window.
“I hit Leo.”
Norah froze.
Gabriel slowly turned.
Matteo swallowed.
“Pierce told me Leo was blackmailing us. I believed him.”
“You ordered the car?”
“Yes.”
Norah crossed the room.
Gabriel expected her to strike Matteo.
She didn’t.
She simply said:
“You took three years from him.”
Matteo lowered his eyes.
“I know.”
“You took his voice away and let me believe it was bad luck.”
“I know.”
“You don’t get forgiveness because you finally feel guilty.”
“No.”
That answer stopped her.
Matteo looked at Gabriel.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Pierce killed your father.”
Gabriel went completely still.
“Heart attack.”
“Poison.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I helped him hide it.”
Norah closed her eyes.
Another betrayal.
Another family secret.
Then Matteo whispered:
“But Pierce didn’t kill Vincent because of money.”
Gabriel leaned closer.
May you like
“Why?”
“Because Vincent found out Pierce was your real father.”
