Chapter 14 - Blood Is Not Loyalty
Adrian listened to the recording twice.
Then he shut off the speaker.
Julian Vale was thirty-one, charming, reckless, and permanently angry that Adrian inherited control of the family companies. He lived in Miami, appeared in Chicago whenever he needed money, and had skipped the wedding after claiming food poisoning.
Dante checked flight records.
Julian had landed in Chicago forty-eight hours earlier.
“He never went to Miami,” Elena said.
“No.”
Adrian called his brother.
Straight to voicemail.
Then another phone rang.
Evelyn’s.
She looked at the screen and went pale.
JULIAN.
Adrian answered on speaker.
His brother laughed softly. “There he is.”
“Where are you?”
“Still giving orders. Dad would be proud.”
“You were part of the wedding plot.”
“I was part of a correction.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you took everything. Company. House. Name. I got allowance checks and Christmas speeches.”
Adrian’s voice stayed flat. “You were twenty-three when Dad died. You were given seven million dollars, two properties, and shares you sold in eighteen months.”
“Always the accountant.”
Elena heard traffic behind Julian’s voice.
Adrian did too.
“Why Elena?” he asked.
Julian paused.
“Ask her father.”
“I’m asking you.”
“She was supposed to give us clean access. Victor said she’d cooperate once he reminded her what happens to Nico.”
Elena closed her eyes.
Adrian looked at her and his face changed.
Julian continued, “But then the little bride grew a conscience.”
“Where are you?”
“Come on, brother. You know how this works.”
The line ended.
Mara traced the call to a tower near the south branch of the river.
Then Dante discovered something else.
One of Adrian’s armored SUVs was missing.
Its GPS had been disabled.
“Who signed it out?” Adrian asked.
Dante stared at the record.
“Nico.”
Elena turned so fast her chair fell backward.
“He’s upstairs.”
They ran.
Nico’s room was empty.
His sling lay on the bed.
On the pillow was a handwritten note.
ELENA—DON’T FOLLOW ME. I CAN END THIS.
Her phone rang before she finished reading.
Nico’s voice shook on the other end.
“I found Dad.”
May you like
Then there was a crash.
And Julian said, “Now I have both Morettis.”
