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last update Veröffentlichungsdatum: 31.03.2026 02:17:13

"Why is the music so loud, Raffy?"

Ignatius stood in the center of the ballroom. The crystal chandelier overhead shook with the bass of a waltz he hadn't played in twenty years. Rafferty sat in the velvet throne at the head of the room, a bottle of expensive bourbon dangling from his fingers. He didn't answer. He watched Ignatius’s feet. They were bare. They were dirty from the garden.

"It’s the gala, Ignatius. Don't you remember?" Rafferty took a long pull from the bottle. The burn in his thro
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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   71

    "Who the hell are you, and why are you touching my sand?"Rafferty gripped the porch railing. His knuckles turned a chalky white. Below, in the bay, a sleek silver yacht sat heavy in the water. It looked like a shark made of chrome. A woman stood on the shore, her designer boots sinking into the we

    last updateZuletzt aktualisiert : 2026-04-05

  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   70

    "The tide took him, Ignatius. He’s gone."Rafferty stood by the window, his hand gripping the frame so hard the old wood groaned. Outside, the Atlantic was a flat, deceptive blue. No debris. No body. The storm had swallowed Julian whole and wiped the slate clean.Ignatius didn't move from the woode

    last updateZuletzt aktualisiert : 2026-04-05

  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   CHAPTER 10

    "What the hell was that, Raffy?"Ignatius stood in the center of the bedroom, his shadow stretching long and jagged across the floorboards. The door was already locked. He had kicked it shut the second he followed me in. His tie was gone, his collar torn open, and the scent of expensive whiskey ble

    last updateZuletzt aktualisiert : 2026-03-17

  • MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN   Chapter 7: The Seat of Honor

    "Get up. Now."Ignatius’s voice cracked like a whip across the silent boardroom. His eyes were bloodshot, his chest heaving under a custom-tailored suit that suddenly looked too tight. He marched toward me, his hand outstretched to drag me from the chair—the Vice President’s chair.I didn't move. I

    last updateZuletzt aktualisiert : 2026-03-17
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