Chapter 10 - THE BROTHER WITH BLOOD ON HIS HANDS
Dante stared at his brother's name until the letters blurred.
For twelve years, he had believed their father died from a heart attack.
For five years, he had believed his mother was buried beside him.
Now everything he knew about his family seemed designed to keep him obedient.
Elena touched his arm.
"Dante."
He looked at her.
"We need to ask Adrian."
"Yes," she said. "But we need to hear his answer before deciding what it means."
Dante nodded.
It was a small gesture.
But for a man who had spent his life giving commands, listening had become the hardest thing he could do.
Adrian arrived at the Moretti estate less than an hour later.
Two state investigators accompanied him.
They were preparing a warrant for Ravenswood.
Dante placed Isabella's letter on the desk.
Adrian read it.
Then slowly sat down.
"She remembers."
"Did you kill our father?" Dante asked.
There was no anger in his voice.
That frightened Elena more than shouting would have.
Adrian closed his eyes.
"Vincent discovered that Sophia had survived. He wanted her silenced before she could testify."
Dante said nothing.
"Father ordered me to increase her medication until her medical records showed permanent incapacity. When I refused, he threatened to have you killed."
Dante's eyes narrowed.
"Me?"
"He said the family needed a son who understood obedience."
Adrian swallowed.
"That night, I confronted him at his private residence. He became violent. I tried to leave, but he blocked the door and reached for a gun."
"What happened?" Elena whispered.
"I fought him for it. He collapsed. I called an ambulance immediately."
"Then why did the records say heart attack?"
"Because that was the cause listed by the attending physician. The struggle triggered a cardiac event. I didn't know how to tell Dante what happened without exposing Sophia."
Dante turned away.
His father hadn't been murdered in a calculated plot.
But Adrian had hidden the confrontation for twelve years.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Dante asked.
"Because you were becoming the family boss. I was afraid you would defend him."
Dante looked at his brother.
"You didn't trust me."
Adrian's eyes filled.
"No. I didn't."
The admission seemed to age both men.
Then Elena spoke.
"Enough people have spent nineteen years deciding what everyone else is allowed to know."
The brothers turned toward her.
"We have two women to rescue. We can sort out the past after they're safe."
Dante took a long breath.
"She's right."
The state investigators received the warrant shortly after sunset.
Ravenswood Recovery Center stood behind iron gates on a wooded property north of Boston.
Two patrol vehicles approached the front entrance.
Dante, Elena, Marco, and Adrian followed the investigators.
The front doors were locked.
Inside, the lights were still burning.
An officer forced entry under the warrant.
They found abandoned medical carts.
An operating room prepared for a procedure.
And two hospital beds.
Both empty.
Elena noticed a silver iris pendant resting on one pillow.
Her heart stopped.
"Mom?"
She rushed forward.
Beside the bed lay a torn piece of paper.
Three words had been written in red ink.
CHECK THE HARBOR.
Dante examined the transfer paperwork abandoned on the desk.
A departure time.
A vehicle identification number.
A private terminal.
He looked toward Marco.
"They're moving them tonight."
Then Elena spotted something beneath the medical records.
A signed order authorizing an emergency procedure on Sophia Marlo.
The doctor listed was Nathaniel Price.
The scheduled time was 11:30 p.m.
The procedure was intended to severely impair her ability to remember recent events.
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It wasn't simply a transfer.
Someone was preparing to destroy Sophia's testimony permanently.
