CHAPTER 11 The Brother in the Shadows
Dante had spent most of his life believing he understood what it meant to have a brother.
Marco had been loud where Dante was quiet.
Impulsive where Dante calculated.
Warm in ways Dante never learned to be.
Marco laughed easily, loved openly, and argued with their father without fear.
When Marco died, Dante had lost more than a brother.
He had inherited a life he never wanted.
The title.
The responsibility.
The empire.
The expectations.
And now, standing inside a hidden vault beneath the safe house, Dante learned that somewhere in the shadows existed another brother.
Older.
Alive.
And responsible for destroying almost everything Dante had ever loved.
He stared at Mercer.
“Where is Adrian?”
Mercer smiled.
“Closer than you think.”
Dante stepped toward him.
Sofia caught his arm.
“Don’t.”
“He knows.”
“I know.”
“He’s enjoying this.”
“I know that too.”
Dante looked at her.
Sofia held his gaze.
“Then don’t give him what he wants.”
His jaw tightened.
Mercer laughed softly.
“She always did understand you.”
Dante’s eyes snapped back toward him.
“Speak again and I remove your ability.”
Mercer smiled wider.
Sofia sighed.
“You’re making progress.”
“Slowly.”
Elena sat against the wall while Carlo remained beside her, both wounded, both pale.
Luca’s voice crackled over the emergency radio.
“Boss.”
Dante answered immediately.
“Matteo?”
“Safe.”
Sofia exhaled.
“Where are you?”
Dante asked.
“Upper floor. Hostiles withdrew.”
Dante frowned.
“Withdrew?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Unknown.”
Sofia understood first.
“They’re waiting.”
Dante looked at her.
“For what?”
“Adrian.”
The vault fell silent.
Mercer’s smile confirmed it.
Dante crouched in front of him.
“You planned this.”
Mercer said nothing.
“You pushed us here.”
Silence.
“You let us delete succession.”
Still nothing.
Dante’s eyes narrowed.
“You wanted Sofia to become Custodian.”
Mercer’s smile disappeared.
That was enough.
Sofia stepped closer.
“Why?”
Elena looked at Mercer.
“You knew she was eligible.”
“Yes.”
“Before tonight?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Years.”
Sofia felt cold.
“So the old faction wanted me as Custodian too.”
Mercer laughed.
“Not exactly.”
Dante stood.
“Explain.”
Mercer looked at Sofia.
“Adrian wanted you.”
The sentence made Dante’s body change.
Sofia felt it immediately.
Not jealousy.
Something more primitive.
More dangerous.
She touched his arm.
He did not move.
Mercer noticed.
“See?”
he said.
“That was always the problem.”
Sofia stared at him.
“What?”
“You were supposed to belong to Adrian.”
Dante’s voice became ice.
“She belongs to herself.”
Mercer looked amused.
“Such enlightened language from a Moretti.”
Dante stepped closer.
“And yet I mean it.”
Sofia’s chest tightened.
Mercer continued.
“The original plan paired S-17 with M-01.”
“Adrian.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Highest combined score.”
Sofia felt sick.
“Stop talking about people like numbers.”
Mercer shrugged.
“You wanted answers.”
“I want names and motives, not breeding charts.”
Dante’s mouth almost curved.
Mercer noticed.
“You two really did become inconveniently genuine.”
Sofia’s eyes narrowed.
“That was unexpected?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Adrian was supposed to remain the strongest attachment candidate.”
Dante’s expression hardened.
“He had never met her.”
Mercer smiled.
“Oh, he had.”
Sofia froze.
“What?”
Dante turned toward her.
“You met him?”
“I don’t know.”
Mercer looked delighted.
“Of course you don’t.”
Dante crouched again.
“Where?”
Mercer said nothing.
Dante grabbed him by the collar.
“Where?”
“A university gala.”
Sofia’s stomach tightened.
“When?”
“You were twenty.”
She tried to remember.
Hundreds of faces.
Donors.
Professors.
Politicians.
Businessmen.
Nothing.
“What did he look like?”
Mercer smiled.
“Like Dante.”
Silence.
Sofia looked at Dante.
Older brother.
Same blood.
Perhaps similar face.
“You spoke to him.”
Mercer continued.
“What did he say?”
“I don’t remember.”
“He remembered everything.”
Dante released Mercer.
The disgust on his face was unmistakable.
Mercer continued.
“Adrian watched you for years.”
Sofia felt her skin crawl.
“Why?”
“Because you were promised to him.”
“No one promised me.”
“That distinction never mattered to him.”
Dante’s eyes became black.
Sofia felt anger rising.
Good.
Fear had controlled too much already.
“What happened when the Circle replaced him with Dante?”
she asked.
Mercer’s expression changed.
“He resisted.”
“How?”
“He threatened the Council.”
“And?”
“He threatened Dante.”
Sofia’s heart stopped.
“The threat before the wedding.”
“Yes.”
Dante looked at Elena.
“You knew.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Not at first.”
“When?”
“After Sofia disappeared.”
Dante laughed bitterly.
“Convenient.”
“I was trying to identify who had broken protocol.”
“Your daughter vanished and you were worried about protocol?”
Elena flinched.
Sofia looked at Dante.
“Later.”
His jaw tightened.
But he nodded.
Mercer leaned against the wall.
“Adrian believed Sofia would eventually come to him.”
Sofia stared.
“Why?”
“Because he believed Dante would fail.”
Dante almost smiled.
“That appears to be a family trait.”
“He believed you were weak.”
“No.”
Mercer corrected.
“He believed love would make you weak.”
Dante’s eyes shifted toward Sofia.
“And?”
Mercer smiled.
“He was right.”
Silence.
Dante said nothing.
Sofia stepped closer to him.
“No.”
Mercer raised an eyebrow.
Sofia continued.
“Love didn’t make him weak.”
She looked at Dante.
“It made him come for me.”
Something changed in his face.
Mercer rolled his eyes.
“How touching.”
Sofia turned.
“And it made me stop running.”
That erased his smile.
Good.
Then a slow clap echoed from the entrance.
Everyone froze.
One clap.
Then another.
Then another.
Dante raised his gun.
A man stood in the doorway.
Tall.
Black suit.
No weapon visible.
Dark hair streaked slightly with silver.
Same eyes.
Same jaw.
Same stillness.
Older.
Colder.
Sofia stopped breathing.
Adrian Moretti.
He looked like Dante seen through a darker mirror.
Not identical.
But close enough to make her stomach turn.
Adrian smiled.
“Beautiful.”
Dante moved in front of Sofia.
Adrian’s smile widened.
“There he is.”
Dante’s gun remained fixed on his chest.
“You’re Adrian.”
“I was beginning to think no one would introduce us.”
“Stay where you are.”
Adrian looked around the vault.
Mercer.
Elena.
Carlo.
Then Sofia.
His gaze stopped.
For too long.
Dante noticed.
“Look at me.”
Adrian did.
“You’re possessive.”
Dante’s voice was calm.
“You’re breathing because she asked me to stop killing people before they answer questions.”
Sofia looked at him.
“That is not exactly what I said.”
“Close enough.”
Adrian laughed.
Even the laugh sounded familiar.
That disturbed Sofia more than she wanted to admit.
Adrian stepped forward.
Dante fired.
The bullet struck the floor inches from his shoe.
Adrian stopped.
“You always were dramatic.”
Dante’s face emptied.
“You don’t know me.”
“I know everything about you.”
“No.”
“I know your childhood.”
“Files.”
“Your first kill.”
“Reports.”
“Your fears.”
Dante smiled coldly.
“Guess.”
Adrian looked toward Sofia.
Dante fired again.
Closer.
Sofia touched his arm.
“Dante.”
Adrian laughed softly.
“Yes.”
His eyes remained on Sofia.
“That.”
Dante stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“Do you really need to ask?”
“Yes.”
“Her.”
Sofia felt Dante’s body go still.
She moved before he could.
She stepped around him.
“No.”
Dante immediately reached for her.
She lifted one hand.
“I’m fine.”
Adrian looked fascinated.
“You always were brave.”
Sofia stared.
“You don’t know me.”
“I know more than he does.”
“No.”
“I watched you grow.”
“That makes you a stalker, not a soulmate.”
For the first time, Adrian’s smile faltered.
Dante almost laughed.
Sofia continued.
“You terrified me before my wedding.”
“I saved you.”
“No.”
“You would have married the wrong brother.”
“There is no correct brother assigned to me.”
Adrian’s eyes darkened.
“You were chosen for me.”
“I don’t care.”
“You should.”
“I don’t.”
His expression sharpened.
Dante moved closer behind her.
Not in front.
Behind.
Letting her speak.
Sofia noticed.
Adrian did too.
“You’ve trained him.”
Sofia almost laughed.
“I assure you, no one trains Dante.”
“True.”
Dante said.
“Annoying.”
Sofia replied.
Adrian’s face hardened.
“You think this is amusing?”
“No.”
Sofia’s voice became quiet.
“I think you ruined three years of my life because you believed a woman you barely knew belonged to you.”
“I knew you.”
“No.”
“You loved music.”
“Many people do.”
“You hated lilies.”
“Also not rare.”
“You slept with the window open during storms.”
Sofia froze.
Dante’s expression changed.
Adrian smiled.
“There.”
Sofia felt violated.
“How do you know that?”
“I watched.”
Dante raised the gun.
Sofia did not stop him this time.
Adrian’s expression remained calm.
“Do you understand now?”
he asked her.
“No.”
“You were never random to me.”
“That does not make this romantic.”
His smile faded.
“I never said romantic.”
“Good.”
Sofia stepped closer.
“It’s obsession.”
Silence.
Adrian’s eyes hardened.
“You sound like him.”
“No.”
Her voice sharpened.
“I sound like me.”
That landed.
Adrian stared.
Sofia continued.
“You spent years watching me and learned nothing.”
“I know everything.”
“You know preferences.”
She pointed toward Dante.
“He knows when I’m lying.”
Dante’s eyes softened.
“You know what music I like.”
She continued.
“He knows when I’m scared even if I smile.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“You know where I went to school.”
She swallowed.
“He knows how I take my coffee because he actually sat across from me while I drank it.”
Silence.
Sofia looked at Adrian.
“You studied me.”
Then at Dante.
“He lived with me.”
Not literally.
Not for long.
But emotionally.
In the spaces between fights.
In conversations.
In memories.
Enough.
Adrian’s expression turned cold.
“You chose him.”
“Yes.”
The answer came immediately.
Dante looked at her.
Sofia did not look away from Adrian.
“I chose him before I understood it.”
Adrian laughed once.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You ran from him.”
“I ran because of you.”
His smile vanished.
“You threatened him.”
“Yes.”
“You threatened my family.”
“Yes.”