Chapter 15: The Night Everything Changed

Zane didn't answer.

For several seconds, he simply stared at the screen.

I had never seen him look that afraid.

"Zane."

My voice came out quieter than I intended.

"What happened to my brother?"

He finally looked at me.

"I didn't know Sofia had found out about him."

"That's not an answer."

Connor pulled the car into an empty parking lot and stopped.

"Maybe we should hear the whole story before we decide what to do next."

Zane nodded slowly.

"Your brother, Marco, wasn't killed in an ordinary accident."

My fingers went numb.

"I was told he lost control of his car."

"That's what the official report said."

Zane swallowed.

"But Marco had discovered something."

"He had been investigating a private contractor that supplied equipment to military units."

I stared at him.

"Why would my brother be investigating them?"

"Because some of the equipment was being illegally diverted."

Connor continued.

"Marco found records connecting the company to several senior officials."

My heart pounded harder.

"And Sofia's father?"

Zane nodded.

"He was one of the people involved."

The world seemed to tilt around me.

All those years, I had believed my brother's death was a terrible accident.

I had mourned him.

I had accepted the report because there was nothing else to hold on to.

Now I was being told that someone might have killed him.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Zane looked down.

"Because by the time I found out, you were already grieving."

"And Sofia threatened you?"

"She threatened everyone."

Connor pulled a folder from beneath his seat.

"Marco left copies of his investigation with someone before he died."

He handed the folder to me.

My hands shook as I opened it.

The first page contained my brother's handwriting.

I recognized it immediately.

My throat tightened.

At the bottom of the page was a sentence underlined twice.

"If anything happens to me, don't trust anyone connected to the Vale family or the Bellini family."

I looked at Zane.

"He suspected your family too."

Zane nodded.

"That's why I started investigating after his death."

"And that's when Sofia found out."

I turned another page.

There were photographs, account numbers, dates, and names.

One name appeared again and again.

Sofia Bellini.

I stopped breathing.

"She wasn't just involved after the wedding."

Connor shook his head.

"She had been involved long before that."

Zane's voice was barely audible.

"She knew exactly who Marco was investigating."

A terrible realization settled over me.

"She knew my brother was going to expose them."

"Yes," Zane said.

"And she knew you were his sister."

I closed the folder.

For the first time, the years of silence made sense.

Sofia hadn't simply stolen my boyfriend.

She had been trying to control the one person who could connect her family to my brother's death.

My phone buzzed again.

Another message from Sofia appeared.

"Now you understand why I had to separate you from Zane."

A second message followed.

"But there's one thing you still don't know."

Then a photograph appeared.

It showed my brother standing beside a younger Zane.

Behind them was the same military facility we had just escaped.

I stared at the image.

Zane went completely still.

"That's the night Marco disappeared," he whispered.

I looked at him.

"You were there."

He didn't deny it.

"Yes."

My heart shattered all over again.

"Then tell me the truth, Zane."

"What happened that night?"

He opened his mouth.

Before he could answer, Connor's phone rang.

Connor listened for three seconds.

Then his face went pale.

"We have to move."

"Why?" I asked.

Connor looked directly at me.

"Because Sofia just reported that you were kidnapped."

Zane immediately started the car.

And somewhere behind us, sirens began to rise.