CHAPTER 10 THE BROTHER WHO NEVER BELONGED TO THE CROFT FAMILY
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Julian's gun remained pointed at Victor.
Maya stood beside him.
Michael was silent.
Daniel looked exhausted.
And Victor Croft smiled as though he had just delivered the punchline to a joke only he understood.
Julian's voice was low.
"Say that again."
Victor tilted his head.
"Daniel isn't my son."
Julian's jaw tightened.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I expect you to remember."
"I remember everything."
"No."
Victor took a step closer.
"You remember what I allowed you to remember."
Julian's eyes hardened.
"Then tell me."
Victor smiled.
"Daniel's mother was Isabella Moretti."
Maya froze.
Victor continued.
"His father was Rafael Mendoza."
Julian looked at Daniel.
Daniel didn't deny it.
Julian's voice became almost a whisper.
"And Michael?"
Victor looked toward the younger man.
"Michael was Rafael's son too."
Maya stared.
"Twins."
Victor nodded.
"Daniel and Michael."
Julian shook his head.
"Then why were they Crofts?"
"They weren't."
"Then why did we grow up together?"
"Because your father needed Daniel."
Julian's face tightened.
"For what?"
Victor's smile disappeared.
"To control Rafael."
Daniel finally spoke.
"He's telling you half the truth."
Victor looked at him.
"That's all you deserve."
Daniel ignored him.
He looked at Julian.
"Your father took me when I was seven."
Julian frowned.
"Why?"
"Because Rafael refused to work for him."
Maya's breathing slowed.
Daniel continued.
"Victor wanted leverage."
"Me?"
"No."
Daniel looked at Maya.
"Her."
Maya froze.
"My mother?"
"Yes."
Daniel's voice became quieter.
"Rafael loved Isabella. Victor knew that."
Julian understood.
"So he took her sons."
Daniel nodded.
"Michael was hidden."
"And you?"
"I was raised as a Croft."
Julian stared.
"You were forced into the family."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was told that if I did, Maya would die."
Maya's eyes filled.
"You knew about me."
Daniel looked at her.
"From the beginning."
"Why didn't you find me?"
"I did."
She froze.
"What?"
Daniel stepped closer.
"I watched you grow up."
Maya shook her head.
"No."
"From a distance."
"You were there?"
"Many times."
"Why didn't you speak to me?"
"Because your mother made me promise."
Maya's voice broke.
"Promise what?"
"That you would never know who I was until you were safe."
"Was I ever safe?"
Daniel looked away.
"No."
Victor laughed softly.
"This is touching."
Julian's eyes snapped toward him.
"Shut up."
Victor's expression hardened.
"You still don't understand what your mother did."
"My mother?"
"Your mother was not innocent."
Julian's eyes narrowed.
"What did she do?"
Victor walked toward an old desk.
He opened a drawer.
Inside was a folder.
He tossed it onto the table.
"Read."
Julian opened it.
Bank transfers.
Photographs.
Police reports.
Medical records.
And one document that made him stop.
BIRTH REGISTRATION.
He read the names.
Mother: Isabella Moretti.
Father: Rafael Mendoza.
Child: Daniel Moretti-Mendoza.
Julian stared.
Then another.
Child: Michael Moretti-Mendoza.
Twins.
Real.
Undeniable.
Maya stood beside him.
"Then Victor lied."
"About everything."
Julian turned toward his father.
"Why did you raise Daniel?"
Victor looked at him.
"Because I needed a son who would obey."
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"I never obeyed you."
"You tried."
"I survived you."
Victor's expression darkened.
"Same thing."
Julian turned another page.
A photograph fell out.
It showed Isabella.
Pregnant.
Beside her stood Rafael.
They were smiling.
Young.
Happy.
Maya touched the photograph.
"My mother."
Daniel nodded.
"Before everything."
Maya whispered:
"She loved him."
"Yes."
"Then why did she marry someone else?"
Victor answered.
"Because Rafael was already marked for death."
Maya looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
"Rafael discovered the ledger."
Julian frowned.
"What ledger?"
"The one your mother stole."
Daniel shook his head.
"That's not what happened."
Victor ignored him.
"Rafael discovered how deep the families were connected."
"Politicians."
"Judges."
"Police."
"Businesses."
"All of them."
Julian looked at the documents.
"How deep?"
Victor smiled.
"Deep enough that if the ledger became public, half of Chicago's elite would fall."
Maya whispered:
"So my mother stole it."
"She did."
"To protect Rafael?"
Victor's expression changed.
"To protect her children."
Daniel corrected him.
"To protect Maya."
Maya looked at him.
"Why me?"
"Because you were the only child who wasn't supposed to exist."
Silence.
Julian turned.
"What?"
Victor smiled.
"That's the part Isabella never told you."
Maya's face went pale.
"Why wasn't I supposed to exist?"
Victor answered:
"Because your father wasn't Rafael."
Maya stopped breathing.
Julian stared at Victor.
"You said Rafael was her father."
"Daniel and Michael."
Victor pointed at Maya.
"Not her."
Maya whispered:
"Then who?"
Victor looked at Julian.
And smiled.
"That's the question your mother died protecting."
The room became unbearably quiet.
Maya looked at Daniel.
"Do you know?"
Daniel's eyes filled with pain.
"Yes."
Julian stepped toward him.
"Tell her."
Daniel shook his head.
"Not like this."
"Then how?"
"She deserves the truth from someone who loved her."
Maya's voice broke.
"Please."
Daniel looked at her.
"Your father was..."
A gunshot exploded.
Victor staggered.
Blood appeared on his shoulder.
Everyone ducked.
Michael shouted:
"DOWN!"
The windows shattered.
Snipers.
Julian grabbed Maya.
Daniel pulled Michael behind the desk.
Derek returned fire from the hallway.
Victor collapsed.
"He's hit!"
Maya started toward him.
Julian stopped her.
"Stay down."
Another shot.
The lamp exploded.
The room plunged into darkness.
Then the fire alarm sounded.
Smoke filled the hallway.
Someone had set the house on fire.
Daniel shouted:
"Basement!"
Julian grabbed Maya's hand.
"Move!"
They ran.
Michael followed.
Derek covered them.
The mansion filled with smoke.
Victor remained behind.
Julian stopped.
"We can't leave him."
Daniel grabbed him.
"He's not the priority."
"He's my father."
"He stopped being your father a long time ago."
Julian looked back.
Victor was still alive.
His eyes met Julian's.
And Victor smiled.
That smile frightened Julian more than the gunfire.
Because Victor wasn't afraid.
He looked almost satisfied.
They reached the basement.
Daniel opened a hidden door.
A tunnel appeared.
Julian pushed Maya inside.
Michael followed.
Derek entered last.
The door closed.
For several seconds, all they could hear was their breathing.
Then—
BOOM.
The mansion shook.
Maya covered her ears.
"Did he..."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
Julian stared at him.
"How do you know?"
"Because Victor always has an escape."
Julian looked at Michael.
"Where are we going?"
Michael answered.
"The old river warehouse."
Julian frowned.
"Why?"
"Because that's where the ledger is."
Everyone stopped.
Daniel stared at him.
"You found it?"
Michael nodded.
"Years ago."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I wasn't sure who I could trust."
Julian looked at Maya.
"Apparently, nobody."
Michael gave him a tired smile.
"Now you're learning."
The warehouse stood near the Chicago River.
It was abandoned.
At least officially.
Michael led them through a side entrance.
Inside, old machinery covered the floor.
Rusty pipes hung from the ceiling.
The place smelled of oil and water.
Michael walked toward a metal staircase.
"Under here."
He lifted a steel plate.
A narrow compartment appeared.
Inside was a leather suitcase.
Maya recognized it immediately.
"My mother had one like that."
Daniel nodded.
"It belonged to her."
Michael pulled it out.
He opened it.
Inside was the original ledger.
Black leather.
Hundreds of pages.
Names.
Payments.
Dates.
Photographs.
Everything.
Maya touched it.
"She died for this."
Daniel nodded.
"Almost."
Julian looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Daniel pulled out a letter.
"She survived."
Maya's eyes widened.
"What?"
"She survived the shooting."
"Then why did everyone say she died?"
"Because she disappeared afterward."
"Where?"
Daniel handed Maya the letter.
The handwriting was hers.
My daughter,
If you ever read this, it means I failed to stay away.
I need you to understand something.
I did not leave you because I stopped loving you.
I left because someone inside the Croft family had already found you.
I trusted only one person.
Daniel.
He will protect you.
But there is another person you must never trust.
Someone who has been close to you for years.
Someone you believe is harmless.
Someone who knows everything about your life.
His name is...
The letter ended.
Maya stared at the blank space.
"The name was removed."
Julian examined it.
"Recently."
Derek frowned.
"How do you know?"
"The ink."
He held the page under a light.
"The paper is old."
"But the erased section isn't."
Someone had removed the name recently.
Someone who knew the letter existed.
Someone who had access to it.
Maya whispered:
"Who?"
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
It wasn't Julian's.
Not Derek's.
Not Daniel's.
Michael's.
He stared at the screen.
No caller ID.
Julian raised his gun.
"Don't answer."
Michael did.
"Hello?"
A voice came through.
Calm.
Male.
Familiar.
Maya's face changed.
She knew that voice.
Julian noticed.
"Who is it?"
Maya whispered:
"I've heard that voice before."
Michael's expression hardened.
The caller spoke again.
"Put Maya on."
Michael looked at her.
She took the phone.
"Who are you?"
The voice laughed softly.
"You really don't remember me."
Maya's heart pounded.
"Tell me."
"I was there the night your mother disappeared."
"Who are you?"
A pause.
Then:
"The man who carried you out of the church."
Maya froze.
Images exploded through her mind.
A man's arms.
Smoke.
Her mother screaming.
A gunshot.
A silver ring.
A snake.
She dropped the phone.
Julian caught her.
"Maya!"
She gasped.
"I remember."
"What?"
"The man."
"Who?"
She looked at Julian.
"He wasn't wearing the ring."
Julian frowned.
"What?"
"The ring was fake."
"What do you mean?"
Maya's breathing became rapid.
"The snake..."
She closed her eyes.
"The real man had no ring."
Daniel stared at her.
"Then who did?"
Maya opened her eyes.
"Victor."
Silence.
Julian understood.
"Then Reed was a decoy."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"And the man who took you..."
Maya whispered:
"Was someone else."
Michael's phone rang again.
This time, a video appeared.
Julian opened it.
The image showed a woman sitting in a dark room.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakable.
Maya stopped breathing.
"Mom."
Isabella looked directly into the camera.
And spoke:
"Maya, if you're watching this..."
She paused.
"...Julian is the only man you can trust."
Julian stared.
Maya cried.
Isabella continued:
"But he will never forgive himself when he learns who his father really was."
The screen went black.
Julian looked at Daniel.
"What did she mean?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Then the warehouse lights switched on.
Every light.
One after another.
Men emerged from the shadows.
Weapons raised.
Dozens.
Derek lifted his gun.
"We're surrounded."
Julian pulled Maya behind him.
Michael stepped forward.
"Don't shoot."
Everyone looked at him.
He slowly raised his hands.
The men lowered their weapons.
Julian stared.
"What are you doing?"
Michael turned.
"I'm sorry."
Maya's heart sank.
"Michael?"
He looked at her.
"I didn't bring you here to protect you."
Julian's gun rose.
"Then why?"
Michael's eyes filled with regret.
"Because the person who has been hunting you..."
He paused.
"...promised me he'd let my brother live."
Daniel's expression changed.
"Michael."
Michael looked at him.
"I'm sorry."
Then he stepped aside.
A man entered the warehouse.
Julian recognized him immediately.
Victor Croft.
Alive.
Bleeding.
Smiling.
But Victor wasn't alone.
Beside him stood Thomas Reed.
And behind Reed...
stood a woman.
Maya's mother.
Isabella.
Alive.
Maya couldn't breathe.
"Mom?"
Isabella looked at her daughter.
Tears filled her eyes.
Then she whispered:
"Run."
Victor raised his gun.
May you like
"No one is running tonight."
And the warehouse doors slammed shut.
