Chapter 2 - THE MAN WHO WALKED OUT OF HIS OWN GRAVE
Adrian rose slowly.
The footsteps were approaching from the direction of the ballroom.
Evelyn's entire body went rigid.
She pressed her injured wrist against her chest.
"Please," she whispered. "Don't let him see you."
Adrian looked at the woman he had loved since she was twenty-three years old.
He remembered the first time they met.
A bookstore in Chicago.
A rainy afternoon.
She had been standing on a ladder, trying to reach a book from the top shelf.
He had offered to help.
She had told him she was perfectly capable of reaching it herself.
He had fallen in love with her stubbornness before he knew her name.
Now that same woman was trembling because someone might discover she had spoken to him.
The footsteps stopped.
A man appeared at the far end of the corridor.
He wore a dark suit and carried a tablet.
"Mrs. Vale wants the east gallery cleaned before midnight."
Adrian recognized him as one of the mansion's senior staff.
The man looked at the spilled water.
His expression hardened.
"Evelyn. What have you done?"
She immediately lowered her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Hargrove."
Adrian stepped between them.
"She was speaking with me."
Hargrove looked up.
Recognition flashed across his face.
"Mr. Moretti."
Adrian smiled without warmth.
"Is there a problem?"
"No, sir."
"Then bring someone to clean this water."
Hargrove hesitated.
"Evelyn is responsible for—"
"I wasn't asking whose responsibility it was."
The man's face paled.
"Of course."
He hurried away.
Evelyn stared at Adrian.
"You shouldn't have done that."
"Why?"
"Because he'll tell Luca."
Adrian looked toward the staircase.
His brother.
Alive.
Somewhere inside this mansion.
For five years, Adrian had carried the guilt of Luca's death.
He had believed Luca was killed during a meeting with the Ferraro family.
The car exploded before Adrian reached the warehouse.
Investigators found burned remains.
A medical examiner confirmed the identity.
Adrian buried the body.
He attended the funeral.
He stood beside his mother while she wept.
Then he spent two years dismantling the organization he believed responsible.
Now Evelyn was telling him the dead man was upstairs.
Adrian crouched again.
"Evie, listen carefully. I'm going to get you out of here."
She shook her head.
"No."
"Why?"
"He'll hurt someone."
"Who?"
Her lips trembled.
Then she whispered:
"Your mother."
Adrian froze.
"My mother died last year."
Evelyn's expression changed.
Confusion.
Then horror.
"No."
"She had a stroke."
"No, Adrian."
Her voice became frantic.
"She isn't dead."
He stared.
"What?"
Evelyn leaned closer.
"I saw her last month."
Adrian's pulse thundered.
"Where?"
"At the house by the lake."
He stared at her.
His mother.
His brother.
His wife.
All supposedly dead or missing.
All connected to the same man.
He reached for his phone.
Then stopped.
If Luca had controlled Evelyn for three years, he might have people watching Adrian too.
Adrian turned toward the ballroom.
He had arrived at the Newport mansion for a private charity event hosted by billionaire financier Malcolm Vale.
He had been invited to discuss a shipping investment.
Now he understood that the invitation might not have been accidental.
"Who owns this house?" he asked.
Evelyn looked confused.
"Mr. Vale."
"Who does Luca work for?"
She swallowed.
"He doesn't work for anyone."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
Evelyn looked toward the staircase.
"Malcolm Vale is Luca."
The words struck harder than any bullet.
Adrian stared.
His brother had not simply survived.
He had built a new identity.
A new fortune.
A new life.
And he had hidden Adrian's wife inside it.
Before Adrian could speak, the corridor door opened again.
A familiar voice drifted through the air.
"Well."
Adrian turned.
A tall man stood beneath the chandelier.
Dark hair.
Sharp cheekbones.
A narrow scar beside his mouth.
The same eyes Adrian remembered from childhood.
Luca Moretti smiled.
"Hello, big brother."
Adrian felt the floor shift beneath him.
Luca looked past him toward Evelyn.
May you like
Then his smile disappeared.
"I see you've found something that belongs to me."
