Chapter 16 — Which Brother Must Die?
“Now we finally know which brother has to die.”
The voice came from behind them.
Calm.
Cold.
Almost amused.
Chloe turned.
A man stood at the mouth of the tunnel.
Black suit.
Black gloves.
A pistol resting loosely in his hand.
His face was hidden beneath the shadow of the passage.
But there was something about his voice.
Something familiar.
Gabriel raised his weapon.
“Show your face.”
The man stepped forward.
Light touched his features.
Chloe's stomach tightened.
She knew him.
Everyone did.
Elias Grant.
But Elias wasn't looking at Gabriel.
He was staring at Leo.
Then Daniel.
Then Vincent.
Three brothers.
Three bloodlines.
Three possible keys to the original Costello succession.
Elias smiled.
“Twenty-three years.”
He looked at Gabriel.
“That's how long we've waited.”
Gabriel's gun remained steady.
“For what?”
“For the correct heir.”
Leo slowly stepped beside Chloe.
His hands moved.
HE'S LYING.
Chloe translated.
Elias laughed softly.
“Of course he says that.”
Leo stared at him.
Elias continued.
“Leo has always been very good at lying.”
Chloe shook her head.
“No.”
Elias looked at her.
“You're still protecting him.”
“He's my brother.”
“Is he?”
The question hung in the air.
Salvatore stood several feet away, blood staining his shirt.
His eyes remained fixed on Leo.
He looked genuinely disturbed.
Not angry.
Not triumphant.
Disturbed.
He pointed at Leo.
“That boy isn't Leo.”
Chloe stepped toward him.
“You've said that twice.”
“Because it's true.”
“Then who is he?”
Salvatore's eyes moved toward Daniel.
“That is my son.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“No.”
Salvatore smiled.
“You don't remember me.”
Daniel stared at him.
“I remember enough.”
Salvatore took another step.
“You were taken when you were six.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“They told me my father abandoned me.”
“I didn't.”
“You sold me.”
Salvatore's expression changed.
“I protected you.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Everyone in this family calls torture protection.”
Gabriel looked at Salvatore.
“You're saying Daniel is your biological son?”
“Yes.”
“And Leo?”
Salvatore looked at Leo.
“Not mine.”
Chloe turned toward Leo.
Leo remained perfectly still.
She watched his face.
There was no surprise.
No confusion.
Only sadness.
She signed to him.
YOU KNEW?
Leo nodded.
YES.
Her hands trembled.
WHY DID YOU LET ME BELIEVE YOU WERE SALVATORE'S SON?
Leo looked at her.
Then signed:
BECAUSE THEY NEEDED TO BELIEVE IT.
Chloe frowned.
“Who?”
Leo pointed toward Elias.
Then toward the old man.
Then toward Salvatore.
ALL OF THEM.
Elias applauded slowly.
“Excellent.”
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
“Stop playing games.”
Elias smiled.
“Your brother discovered the most important secret in the entire organization.”
“What secret?”
Elias pointed toward Leo.
“He isn't the heir.”
Everyone froze.
Chloe's heart stopped.
“What?”
Elias looked at Daniel.
“Neither is he.”
Then at Gabriel.
“Neither are you.”
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
“Then who is?”
Elias smiled.
“The heir isn't a person.”
Silence.
“The heir is a bloodline.”
He raised the Blood Compact.
“The Costello agreement never required one child. It required three living descendants.”
Gabriel stared.
“Three.”
“Yes.”
Elias looked at him.
“Three brothers.”
Gabriel understood.
“Me.”
“Correct.”
“Vincent.”
“Correct.”
“Daniel.”
Elias nodded.
“And Leo?”
Elias smiled.
“Leo is the witness.”
Chloe's face went pale.
“The witness to what?”
“The original succession.”
Leo suddenly stepped forward.
His hands moved rapidly.
Chloe translated.
“He says you're wrong.”
Elias smiled.
“Then let him explain.”
Leo pointed toward the Blood Compact.
Then made the sign for FAKE.
Elias laughed.
“You think that document is fake?”
Leo nodded.
He reached into his coat.
Pulled out a small folded paper.
And handed it to Chloe.
She opened it.
Her eyes widened.
It was a copy of another agreement.
Older.
Much older.
Written in handwriting so faded that several words were nearly impossible to read.
At the bottom were seven signatures.
But beneath them was a handwritten note.
NO SUCCESSOR SHALL EVER BE CHOSEN WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE FIRST WITNESS.
Chloe looked at Elias.
“Who is the first witness?”
Elias said nothing.
She turned toward Beatrice.
The old woman closed her eyes.
Chloe whispered:
“Grandmother.”
Beatrice nodded.
Elias's smile disappeared.
Gabriel looked at his mother.
“You were the first witness?”
Beatrice nodded.
“And you created The Seven.”
Another nod.
Gabriel stared at her.
“You could have ended this.”
Beatrice's hands moved.
Chloe translated.
“She says she tried.”
Elias laughed.
“You created the monster and then decided you wanted to kill it.”
Beatrice turned toward him.
Her hands moved furiously.
Chloe watched.
“She says you don't know why The Seven was created.”
Elias's expression hardened.
“I know exactly why.”
“No.”
Beatrice signed.
“She says you know why it was corrupted.”
Elias said nothing.
Beatrice pointed at the old man.
Then at Elias.
Then at Salvatore.
Finally, she made a sign Chloe had never seen.
A circle closing around itself.
Leo immediately reacted.
His face changed.
He signed:
THE LOOP.
Chloe looked at him.
“What loop?”
Leo pointed toward the old man.
Then Elias.
Then Salvatore.
Then Gabriel.
Then himself.
THE SAME FAMILY.
Chloe felt a chill.
“What does that mean?”
Leo signed:
THE SEVEN NEVER LEFT THE FAMILY.
Gabriel understood first.
“They infiltrated the Costellos.”
Leo nodded.
“For generations?”
Leo nodded again.
Elias interrupted.
“Enough.”
He raised his weapon.
“Give me the ledger.”
Gabriel laughed.
“You've already got armies.”
“I want the original.”
“You're afraid of what's inside.”
Elias's eyes hardened.
“Yes.”
The admission shocked everyone.
Gabriel took one step forward.
“What is in it?”
Elias stared at him.
“Names.”
“Whose?”
“The people who built The Seven.”
Gabriel looked at the old man.
Then Salvatore.
Then Beatrice.
Elias continued.
“And the people who betrayed it.”
Chloe's fingers tightened around the ledger.
“Why would you care?”
Elias looked directly at her.
“Because one name on that ledger belongs to someone who is still alive.”
The old man suddenly moved.
He shot Elias.
The bullet struck Elias in the shoulder.
Everyone screamed.
Elias stumbled backward.
The tunnel erupted.
Gunfire.
Shouting.
People diving behind stone columns.
Gabriel grabbed Chloe and dragged her down.
Vincent fired toward the entrance.
Clara crawled behind a wall.
Salvatore disappeared into the smoke.
Daniel tackled one of Elias's men.
Beatrice dropped to the floor.
And Leo vanished.
Chloe looked around wildly.
“Leo!”
Nothing.
“Leo!”
Gabriel grabbed her.
“Stay down!”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“He was right there!”
Another gunshot.
Chloe looked toward the far end of the tunnel.
A door slammed.
She knew that door.
“Gabriel.”
“What?”
“He went through there.”
Gabriel followed her gaze.
A narrow iron door.
Locked.
He kicked it once.
Nothing.
Again.
The hinge cracked.
Vincent shouted.
“More men coming!”
Gabriel kicked again.
The door flew open.
He and Chloe ran inside.
The room beyond was enormous.
Older than the tunnel.
Stone walls.
Rows of shelves.
Boxes.
Medical equipment.
Photographs.
And at the center—
a glass enclosure.
Chloe stopped.
Inside were dozens of files.
Each labeled with a number.
Gabriel stared.
“Children.”
Chloe walked toward the enclosure.
She saw photographs.
Young faces.
Some smiling.
Some crying.
Some asleep.
Some bruised.
All labeled with numbers.
She stopped at Number 07.
The photograph showed a little boy.
Dark hair.
Pale face.
A hearing device attached behind his ear.
Chloe's hands began shaking.
“Leo.”
Gabriel looked.
“That is him.”
But beneath the photograph was a different name.
SUBJECT 07 — LUCAS BENNETT.
Chloe stared.
“Lucas?”
A voice came from behind them.
“Yes.”
They turned.
Leo stood in the doorway.
He was holding a small metal key.
Chloe looked at him.
“Who is Lucas?”
Leo's eyes filled with pain.
He signed:
MY REAL NAME.
Chloe froze.
“What?”
He nodded.
LEO WAS THE NAME THEY GAVE ME.
She stepped closer.
“You're not Leo?”
He shook his head.
I AM LEO.
Then:
BUT THAT WASN'T THE NAME I WAS BORN WITH.
Chloe couldn't understand.
He continued.
MY MOTHER NAMED ME LUCAS.
“Your mother?”
Leo pointed toward the ceiling.
Toward the world above.
Toward the woman who had disappeared years ago.
Chloe's mother.
Chloe whispered:
“Mom.”
Leo nodded.
“She knew?”
He nodded.
“Why didn't she tell me?”
Leo signed:
SHE WAS AFRAID.
Chloe wiped her tears.
“Afraid of who?”
Leo looked behind her.
The old man stood in the doorway.
Blood covered his sleeve.
He smiled.
“Of me.”
Gabriel raised his weapon.
The old man held up both hands.
“Don't.”
Gabriel's voice was ice.
“Tell me your name.”
The man hesitated.
Then said:
“Richard Bennett.”
Chloe froze.
Bennett.
The surname she had carried her entire life.
The surname Leo had carried.
The surname Clara had carried.
The name of the family that supposedly had nothing to do with the Costello empire.
Richard looked at Chloe.
“I'm your mother's brother.”
Chloe stared.
“You're my uncle?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you work for The Seven?”
Richard shook his head.
“I didn't.”
Elias appeared behind him.
Blood poured from his shoulder.
“Don't listen to him.”
Richard turned.
“You always were a terrible liar.”
Elias raised his weapon.
Richard fired first.
The bullet struck Elias in the chest.
Elias fell.
Gabriel stared.
“You killed him.”
Richard looked at the body.
“No.”
Elias groaned.
The bullet had struck his armored vest.
He rolled behind the doorway.
Then disappeared.
Gabriel looked at Richard.
“You let him live.”
“I needed him alive.”
“Why?”
Richard walked toward the files.
“Because he knows where your father is.”
Gabriel went completely still.
“My father?”
Richard nodded.
“Your real father.”
Gabriel's face hardened.
“Who?”
Richard looked at Chloe.
Then Leo.
Then Daniel.
Finally, he said:
“The man you buried twenty-three years ago wasn't your father.”
Gabriel stared.
“Then who was?”
Richard opened one of the oldest files.
Inside was a photograph.
A younger man.
Dark hair.
Sharp eyes.
Standing beside Beatrice.
Beside him was Gabriel's mother.
And in Beatrice's arms—
a baby.
Richard placed the photograph in Gabriel's hands.
“Your father was named Adrian Costello.”
Gabriel stared.
“That is my father's name.”
“No.”
Richard shook his head.
“That was his brother.”
Gabriel's fingers tightened around the photograph.
“What?”
“Your father was the firstborn.”
“The firstborn?”
“Adrian was the second.”
Gabriel's face went blank.
Richard continued.
“The man you called Father was Adrian.”
He pointed toward the photograph.
“But your biological father was the firstborn son.”
Gabriel's breathing stopped.
“Where is he?”
Richard looked at Leo.
Leo looked back.
Then signed:
HE'S DEAD.
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
Leo's hands froze.
Richard turned to Chloe.
“He isn't dead.”
Chloe whispered:
“Then where is he?”
Richard pointed toward the deepest part of the underground complex.
“Behind the seventh door.”
Gabriel stared.
“How do we open it?”
Richard looked at Leo's wrist.
“The second sign.”
Leo raised his hand.
The seven circles.
The vertical line.
Richard nodded.
“Only he can open it.”
Leo approached the wall.
Seven stone circles were carved into it.
He placed his palm against the center.
Nothing happened.
He looked at Chloe.
Then signed:
I NEED YOU.
Chloe stepped beside him.
“What do I do?”
Leo took her hand.
Placed it beside his.
The wall shook.
A deep mechanical sound rolled through the chamber.
One circle illuminated.
Then another.
Then another.
Seven circles.
One after another.
Until all seven were glowing.
The wall began to open.
Cold air poured from the darkness.
A smell of medicine.
Metal.
And something older.
Something buried.
Gabriel raised his gun.
They stepped through.
At the end of the chamber stood a hospital bed.
Someone was lying on it.
A man.
Older.
Pale.
Connected to machines.
Gabriel stared.
The man's face was partially hidden beneath a breathing mask.
But the resemblance was undeniable.
Same eyes.
Same jaw.
Same hands.
Gabriel whispered:
“Dad?”
The man's eyes opened.
Everyone froze.
He looked directly at Gabriel.
Then at Leo.
Then at Chloe.
His lips moved beneath the mask.
A weak voice escaped.
“Beatrice…”
Beatrice stepped into the room.
The old woman began crying.
The man lifted one trembling hand.
Beatrice took it.
He whispered:
“You failed.”
Beatrice shook her head.
“I couldn't save them all.”
The man looked at Gabriel.
Then whispered:
“I know.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“Who are you?”
The man's eyes filled with tears.
“My name…”
He struggled for breath.
“My name is…”
The machines began beeping.
Rapidly.
Vincent shouted for help.
Gabriel leaned closer.
The man grabbed his wrist.
And whispered:
“Your mother is not Beatrice.”
Gabriel froze.
The man's eyes moved toward Chloe.
“And Chloe…”
Chloe stepped forward.
He looked at her with recognition.
Then whispered the words that shattered the last certainty she had left.
“Your mother never told you who your real father was.”
The heart monitor screamed.
The man's hand went limp.
The machine flatlined.
Chloe stood frozen.
Gabriel stared at the dead man's face.
Leo covered his mouth.
Beatrice collapsed into the chair.
Then—
from the hallway outside—
came the sound of slow applause.
One.
Two.
Three.
Everyone turned.
Salvatore stood in the doorway.
But he wasn't alone.
Beside him stood Chloe's mother.
And behind them—
Elias.
Alive.
Blood covering his chest.
Elias smiled.
May you like
“Now,” he said softly,
“we can finally introduce the real family.”
