Chapter 300 THE MAN BEHIND THE NAME

Chapter 300 THE MAN BEHIND THE NAME
The photograph shakes in my hand.

I stare at the man standing beside my mother.

The face is familiar.

Too familiar.

I've seen him at Antonio's meetings.

I've seen him standing behind powerful men.

I've seen him walking through rooms where everyone lowered their voices when he entered.

I've probably passed him more times than I can count.

And I never once asked why he was always there.

My eyes lift slowly.

I look at Marco.

"You knew him."

He says nothing.

That is enough.

My stomach twists.

"What is his name?"

Marco's jaw tightens.

"Zuri—"

"No."

I hold up the photograph.

"You don't get to do this again."

He looks at me.

"You don't get to decide what I can handle."

"I'm trying to keep you alive."

"You've been trying to do that my entire life."

My voice cracks.

"And look where it got me."

Silence.

Amani stands a few feet away, watching us.

He doesn't interfere.

He knows I need this.

I step toward Marco.

"His name."

Marco looks down.

Then finally says it.

"Gabriel Kane."

The name means nothing for half a second.

Then everything changes.

Gabriel Kane.

I know that name.

I remember hearing it around Antonio's organization.

Business strategist.

Adviser.

One of the men my father trusted with sensitive matters.

He was always calm.

Always polite.

Never raised his voice.

The kind of man people forgot was dangerous because he never needed to prove it.

"He worked for Antonio."

Marco nods.

"He still does."

My blood runs cold.

"Still?"

"Publicly, he's an adviser."

Marco looks at the photograph.

"Privately, he knows more about the Moretti organization than most of Antonio's men ever will."

I stare at him.

"Accounts?"

"Yes."

"Security?"

"Yes."

"Movements?"

"Yes."

"Family affairs?"

Marco's expression hardens.

"Especially family affairs."

I feel sick.

"Then he could have known about my mother's plan."

"He did."

The room goes silent.

I stare at Marco.

"How?"

"Because Gabriel wasn't just part of Antonio's organization."

He takes a breath.

"He was once part of Silver Wolf."

My heart stops.

"What?"

"He knew the safehouses. The routes. The codes. The people involved."

Marco's voice lowers.

"He knew your mother."

I look down at the photograph again.

My mother standing beside him.

She isn't smiling.

She looks angry.

Afraid.

Like she already knows something I don't.

"You're saying he betrayed her."

"I'm saying I believe he did."

"You believe?"

Marco shakes his head.

"I never found proof."

"Then why are you so sure?"

His eyes meet mine.

"Because everyone else who knew about the plan disappeared."

The words hit me.

My mother's face.

Samuel.

The Silver Wolf contacts.

People I never knew existed.

People whose names appeared in files.

People who vanished from records.

One by one.

I whisper, "All of them?"

Marco nods.

"Almost all."

"And Gabriel?"

"Still alive."

"Inside Antonio's empire."

"Yes."

A cold feeling settles over me.

Someone who knew the escape route.

Someone who knew my mother's plans.

Someone who knew exactly where I was supposed to go.

Someone who could have handed me back to Antonio.

"Why didn't you kill him?"

Marco's eyes harden.

"Because I needed answers."

"And did you get them?"

"No."

I laugh without humor.

"Of course."

Marco looks away.

I turn toward Amani.

"How many people could have known about my mother's escape?"

"Not many," Marco answers before Amani can.

"Your mother trusted very few people."

"Samuel?"

"Yes."

"Voss?"

"Yes."

"Gabriel?"

Marco hesitates.

"At one point."

I frown.

"Why would she trust him?"

"I don't know."

A memory flashes.

My mother's voice.

"Gabriel, you promised me."

I blink.

Gone.

I press my fingers against my temple.

Amani notices.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine."

I'm not.

But another thought is forming.

My mother.

Samuel.

Voss.

Gabriel.

Then Antonio.

Five people connected to the night my life disappeared.

And somehow, only one of them remained close to Antonio afterward.

Gabriel.

"Who protected him?" I ask.

Marco looks at me.

"Antonio."

My stomach drops.

"You're sure?"

"No."

"Then why say it?"

"Because someone did."

He steps closer.

"Gabriel survived every purge. Every internal war. Every betrayal. Every time Antonio cleaned house."

Marco's voice becomes colder.

"That doesn't happen by accident."

"Maybe Antonio trusted him."

"Maybe."

"Or?"

Marco looks at the photograph.

"Gabriel knew something Antonio couldn't afford to lose."

The room falls silent.

Before I can ask what, Ghost's voice cuts through the tension.

"We've got something."

Everyone turns.

Ghost holds the Silver Wolf device.

The screen is glowing.

A signal is coming through.

Amani walks toward him.

"What is it?"

"Transmission."

"From where?"

Ghost looks at the screen.

"Same channel."

My pulse quickens.

The message appears.

No words.

Only coordinates.

Amani's expression changes.

"Trace it."

Ghost works quickly.

Numbers flash across the screen.

Then he looks up.

"Abandoned Moretti warehouse."

My stomach tightens.

I know that place.

"Which one?"

Ghost gives the address.

I stare at him.

"I know it."

Amani looks at me.

"How?"

I don't answer immediately.

Because something is moving inside my head.

A warehouse.

Dust.

Crates.

My mother's hand holding mine.

Gabriel standing across from her.

His voice.

"You can't hide her forever."

My breath catches.

I close my eyes.

The memory disappears.

I open them again.

"Gabriel was there."

Marco stiffens.

"When?"

"When I was young."

I look at the photograph.

"My mother was arguing with him."

"About what?"

"I don't know."

I shake my head.

"The memory broke."

Amani steps closer.

"Don't force it."

But I already know something.

My mother knew Gabriel was dangerous.

Yet she still worked with him.

That means there was something else.

Something neither Marco nor I understand.

I turn toward my brother.

"You knew Gabriel was involved before tonight."

Marco says nothing.

My anger returns.

"You knew."

"I found his name years ago."

"When?"

"After I found you."

My heart sinks.

"You searched for him."

"Yes."

"And you never told me."

"I couldn't."

"Why?"

"Because he was watching me."

I stare at him.

"What did he do?"

Marco looks toward the window.

"I tried to confront him once."

"And?"

"He knew."

"How?"

"I don't know."

Marco's expression darkens.

"He found me before I found him."

Amani's hand tightens.

"What did he say?"

Marco looks at me.

"He said..."

He pauses.

Then quietly repeats the words.

"If you find your sister, don't bring her home."

My skin prickles.

"You listened."

Marco's eyes remain on mine.

"I let him think I was scared."

I frown.

"What does that mean?"

"I didn't stop looking."

He reaches inside his jacket.

Pulls out a small folded piece of paper.

Dates.

Locations.

Names.

My eyes widen.

"You've been tracking him."

"For years."

"Without telling me."

"I didn't know who I could trust."

My anger falters.

Not because I forgive him.

Because I understand the fear.

And that might be worse.

"You should have trusted me."

Marco looks at me.

"I was afraid I'd lose you again."

I swallow.

"You already lost me once."

His face breaks.

"But I'm here now."

I look away.

I don't forgive him.

Not yet.

But I don't walk away either.

Ghost clears his throat.

"The coordinates."

We all turn.

"The signal just moved."

Amani looks at him.

"Moved where?"

"Nowhere."

Ghost points to the device.

"The channel activated from the warehouse..."

He pauses.

"...but the signal is still transmitting."

Amani understands first.

"It's a beacon."

Ghost nods.

"Someone wants us there."

I look at the photograph.

Then at the coordinates.

Then at Marco.

"This is a trap."

"Obviously," Amani says.

I look at him.

"But it's also an invitation."

His eyes narrow.

"You're not going."

"I'm going."

"Zuri."

"I'm not walking into his trap because I'm reckless."

I hold up the photograph.

"I'm walking into it because he thinks I'm still the girl he erased."

Amani stares at me.

Then his jaw tightens.

"I'm coming."

"I know."

"And you're not leaving my sight."

I almost smile.

"Deal."

The warehouse is exactly as I remember it.

Except older.

Darker.

Dead.

We approach slowly.

Ghost checks the surrounding area.

Rex watches the rear.

Amani stays beside me.

Marco walks behind us.

The enormous metal doors are already open.

I stop.

"No vehicles."

Ghost shakes his head.

"No guards."

Amani scans the darkness.

"Too quiet."

We enter.

Dust covers the floor.

Old crates line the walls.

Nothing moves.

No voices.

No footsteps.

No weapons pointed at us.

Nothing.

Then I see it.

A table.

Standing alone in the center of the warehouse.

A single envelope rests on top.

My name is written across it.

ZURI.

My heart pounds.

Amani reaches for it.

I stop him.

"No."

He looks at me.

"I'll open it."

"You don't have to."

I step forward.

I take the envelope.

My fingers tremble.

I open it.

Inside is a photograph.

I pull it out.

My breath disappears.

It's me.

As a child.

Young.

Smiling.

Alive before everything went wrong.

I turn the photograph over.

A handwritten message waits on the back.

My heart pounds harder.

I read it.

You want to know why your mother trusted the wrong man?

My fingers go numb.

I turn the photograph over again.

There's another line beneath the first.

Ask Marco what happened the night Samuel disappeared.

I stop breathing.

Slowly...

very slowly...

I turn toward my brother.

Marco has gone completely still.

His face has lost all color.

He knows.

Not suspects.

Not guesses.

Knows.

I stare at him.

"Marco?"

He doesn't answer.

Amani looks between us.

"What's the message talking about?"

Marco says nothing.

I take one step toward him.

"What happened to Samuel?"

His eyes meet mine.

And for the first time since I found him again...

my brother looks more afraid of my question than he ever looked of Gabriel Kane.