Chapter 4 - Blood Does Not Make a Family
Daniel had never told me he had a brother.
Not once.
When Elias brought the prisoner into a secure library two hours later, I understood why.
The man looked enough like Daniel to be unmistakable.
Same dark hair.
Same narrow eyes.
Same sharp jaw.
But fear had stripped away Daniel’s practiced arrogance.
This man looked exhausted.
His name was Caleb Miller.
He stared at me from a chair guarded by two of Elias’s men.
“You shouldn’t be alive.”
Elias stood behind him.
“That sentence has become very unpopular tonight.”
Caleb swallowed.
I held one twin while a nurse stayed nearby with the other.
“Why did Daniel never mention you?”
Caleb laughed bitterly.
“Because I stopped obeying Mercer.”
“Daniel obeyed him?”
“All his life.”
Caleb looked at the baby in my arms.
“When we were kids, our father gambled away everything.”
“Mercer paid the debts.”
“In exchange, Daniel became useful.”
My chest tightened.
“And you?”
“I ran.”
Elias leaned against the desk.
“Yet you helped attack my building.”
Caleb looked ashamed.
“They grabbed my daughter yesterday.”
Everyone went still.
“You have a daughter?” I asked.
“She’s nine.”
His voice cracked.
“They told me I had to help their team get upstairs or I would never see her again.”
The hatred in Elias’s face shifted into calculation.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
Caleb’s eyes filled.
“I swear.”
I believed him.
Maybe because I knew what terror for a child looked like.
Maybe because I had lived it.
“What’s her name?”
“Lucy.”
I looked at Elias.
“We have to find her.”
His eyes flicked toward me.
“We will.”
Caleb stared at him.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand kidnapping.”
“No.”
Caleb shook his head.
“You don’t understand Mercer.”
“He isn’t after only Ava’s property anymore.”
Elias’s expression sharpened.
“Explain.”
Caleb leaned forward.
“Mercer has been preparing a waterfront redevelopment project for years.”
“He already has investors.”
“He already has government approvals.”
“He already promised foreign partners control of the terminals.”
“But he doesn’t legally own the final parcel.”
I looked down at my daughter.
“My land.”
Caleb nodded.
“If the trust transfers to the twins, he loses the clean path.”
Elias crossed his arms.
“So Daniel was ordered to make Ava’s death appear natural.”
Caleb’s face went pale.
“Yes.”
“And the babies?”
Caleb looked at me.
“Daniel was told there could be no surviving heirs.”
My stomach turned.
I kissed my daughter’s forehead.
“How could he do that?”
Caleb’s answer was almost a whisper.
“Because Daniel thought Mercer would make him rich.”
Elias turned toward one of his guards.
“Find Lucy.”
The guard nodded and left.
Caleb suddenly grabbed Elias’s wrist.
The room erupted.
Two men pushed him back.
“Wait!”
Caleb looked terrified.
“There is a timetable.”
Elias stared at him.
“For what?”
“Mercer is hosting a private dinner tomorrow night.”
“So?”
Caleb’s breathing quickened.
“Daniel will be there.”
“And?”
May you like
Caleb looked at me.
“They’re going to announce Ava Bennett died during childbirth.”
