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Author: Editor Xlov
last update publish date: 2026-03-31 02:15:58

"Do you like the eggs, Raffy? I remembered you like them with the white pepper."

Ignatius stood by the mahogany breakfast table, his apron tied neatly over a crisp white shirt. The steam from the silver platter curled around his face. He wasn't flinching. He wasn't waiting for a blow. He just smiled, a soft, genuine warmth in his eyes that made the skin on Rafferty’s neck crawl.

"Eat them yourself." Rafferty didn't look up from his tablet. His fingers were shaking, blurring the stock tickers. "
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  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   108

    "Close the city."I didn't wait for a reply. I threw the phone onto the Ferrari’s dashboard. The satellite link was live, a jagged green line cutting through the encrypted noise of the Saint network."Raffy, you can't block Berlin." Ignatius slammed the wheel. We swerved around a stalled Opel. "The German authorities—""I don't care about the authorities. I pay the men who pay the authorities." I checked the clip on the submachine gun. The brass casing bit into my thumb. "I flagged every black Mercedes and SUV in the metro area as a terror threat. The GPS on their van just hit a dead zone near Teufelsberg.""The old listening station?""Further down. The bunkers." I leaned back. My heart pounded against my ribs like a trapped bird. "Vesper’s going to ground. She’s not trying to leave. She’s trying to wait for the Council to pick up the package.""He's not a package." Ignatius’s voice was thick. He wiped snot from his lip with the back of his hand. "He's three, Rafferty. He's probably

  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   107

    "He’s gone."Ignatius’s knees hit the frozen dirt. The van’s exhaust hung in the mountain air like a ghost. He didn't move. Didn't breathe. His fingers clawed into the frost, dragging through the mud until his nails bled. "Raffy... he’s gone. They took him. My boy.""Shut up, Ignatius." I stood over him. The cold was a knife in my lungs. My shadow stretched long and jagged across his shaking shoulders. "Get up.""I failed him." Snot mixed with the blood on his lip. He wiped his face with a trembling hand, smearing the mess across his cheek. "I failed you. I—I didn't mean for this. I thought I was protecting... please. Forgive me. Raffy, please.""Forgive you?" I grabbed his collar. I hauled him up. His weight was dead, a sack of regret. I slammed him back against the rough stone of the fountain. His head thudded. "You think I give a fuck about your tears?""I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.""You hid a son from me." I leaned in. My nose brushed his. I could smell the stale sweat and the metall

  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   106

    "Don't move, Leo."Ignatius’s voice cracked. The Beretta was a heavy weight in his hand, the barrel drifting toward the frost-covered grass. His knuckles were raw, bleeding from the earlier scramble, but his eyes were fixed on the boy."Is he going to hurt me, Mama?"The boy didn't look at Ignatius. He looked at Vesper. His small hand was tucked into her grey coat pocket. He stood perfectly still. No crying. No shaking. Just that cold, level gaze I’d seen in every mirror of the Volkov estate."He won't hurt you." Vesper’s fingers smoothed the boy's dark curls. She looked at Ignatius. A thin, sharp smile touched her lips. "He doesn't have the stomach for it. Do you, Ignatius? You spent three years in a cage dreaming of a life you’d never have. Did you ever dream of him?""I didn't know." Ignatius’s chest heaved. He looked at me, then back at the boy. "I never—""Of course you didn't." Vesper stepped forward, pulling Leo with her. "Cane wasn't a fool. He knew your 'devotion' to Rafferty

  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   105

    "Who gave you the right to come here?"I stood in the shadow of a crooked oak, the German wind biting through my thin jacket. Ignatius didn't turn. He remained a statue against the low stone wall of the village square. He was staring across the street, his knuckles white as he gripped a rusted iron railing."I told you to stay at the chalet, Raffy." His voice was a dead, hollow thing. "The sensors were for your protection. Not for you to bypass.""I don't need protection from you." I stepped closer. My boots crunched on the frozen gravel. "And I don't need you to kill ghosts. I want to see them for myself.""There." He pointed. His finger was trembling. Just a fraction. "Look at the gate."I followed his gaze. A small school sat at the end of the cobblestone path. It was an old building, ivy-choked and quiet. A bell rang—a sharp, tinny sound that cut through the mountain air. Doors swung open. A flood of children in thick coats spilled out, laughing, screaming, puffing clouds of steam

  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   104

    Get inside. Now."Ignatius shoved the heavy oak door. It groaned against the slate floor of the chalet. I stumbled into the dark, the smell of pine needles and stale cold hitting my face. Outside, the Swiss wind howled, a hungry beast clawing at the mountain."The perimeter is set." Ignatius didn't look at me. He was already at the window, his fingers twitching on the latch. "Don't touch the lights. Don't go near the glass. I'm going to check the thermal sensors.""We've been here four hours, Ignatius." I leaned against a stone pillar. My legs were shaking. Every muscle in my body was a tight wire. "You’ve checked the sensors ten times. There’s nothing out there but snow and dead trees.""That’s what they want you to think." He turned. His eyes were wide, the pupils blown. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the freezing air. "The Debtors don't use dogs, Raffy. They use drones. Silent ones. If one red dot hits this wall, we’re done. Do you understand?""You're acting like a caged ani

  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   103

    "Turn right! Now!"I slammed my back against the leather seat of the 250 GTO. The engine screamed, a raw, mechanical howl that bounced off the stone walls of the Rue de Rivoli. Ignatius didn't hesitate. He yanked the wheel. The tires shrieked, smoking as the car drifted sideways. We missed a parked Citroën by an inch."They're still on us!" Ignatius shifted. Hard. The gear stick clicked. "Black SUV. Two of them.""Lose them in the Marais." I leaned out the window. Wind whipped my hair into a frenzy. I raised the submachine gun. The world was a blur of yellow streetlights and grey stone. I squeezed the trigger. Rat-tat-tat. Sparks flew off the SUV’s grille. It didn't slow down."They have armored plates!" Ignatius floored it. The needle jumped. 150. 160. "Raffy, we can't outrun them on the straightaways. This isn't the island. There are people!""I didn't ask for a lecture!" I shouted. "I asked for a right turn! Take the alley behind the boulangerie!""It's too narrow—""Do it!"Ignati

  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   CHAPTER 25

    "Pass the salt, Ignatius. Your father’s steak looks a bit... pale."Rafferty didn't lift his eyes from his own plate. He sat at the head of the mahogany table, the chair far too large for his frame, his fingers tracing the silver filigree of the butter knife. The dining room was a tomb of white mar

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-21
  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   CHAPTER 24

    "Sign the line, Rafferty. Just the one about the cabin. Keep it simple."The lawyer’s voice was a dry rasp, competing with the hum of the air conditioner in the sterile deposition room. He pushed a stack of legal bond across the mahogany table. Cane sat three chairs down. His knuckles were bone whi

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-21
  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   CHAPTER 19

    Gemini said"Ignatius. Get him out of my sight."Cane didn’t look back. He stood in the center of the cabin, the heavy soles of his boots grinding splintered glass into the floorboards. Two men in black tactical gear stepped from the shadows of the doorway. They grabbed Ignatius by his broken arms.

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-20
  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   CHAPTER 21

    "Here. Your new cage. Try not to rattle the bars too loud."Cane tossed a heavy brass key onto the marble kitchen island. It skittered across the polished surface, coming to rest near a vase of white lilies that smelled like a funeral. The penthouse was a sprawling, glass-walled vacuum sixty floors

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-20
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