Chapter 28: “The Brother He Lost”

Luca's POV

Eight Years Ago

Damian drove away.

And for the first time in years...

I felt afraid.

The rain poured relentlessly over the empty road.

My suit was soaked.

Water dripped from my hair.

But I barely noticed.

Because all I could think about was the look on Damian's face.

The disgust.

The disappointment.

The betrayal.

I'd seen anger before.

I'd seen hatred before.

But never from him.

Never from my brother.

And somehow...

That hurt more than Victor's death ever could.

Luca slowly looked back toward the warehouse.

Toward the body lying inside.

Victor Salazar.

The man who thought he controlled everyone.

The man who believed money could buy loyalty.

The man who had spent years treating people like tools.

Now he was dead.

And the world kept turning.

Funny how that worked.

One moment a man thought he was untouchable.

The next he was a corpse.

A second car pulled into the warehouse lot.

Black.

Unmarked.

Expensive.

The driver's door opened.

A tall man stepped out.

Marcus Bell.

The same name Victor had whispered before dying.

Marcus adjusted his coat and glanced toward the warehouse entrance.

"Is it done?"

Luca nodded.

Marcus sighed.

"Finally."

No sadness.

No concern.

Nothing.

As if they were discussing a business meeting instead of murder.

Inside the warehouse, Marcus examined Victor's body.

Then looked toward Luca.

"You have a bigger problem."

Luca already knew.

"Damian."

Marcus nodded.

"He saw everything."

The words settled heavily between them.

Because both men understood exactly what that meant.

Damian Russo wasn't weak.

He wasn't corrupt.

And he wasn't the type to stay silent.

For several minutes neither spoke.

Rain battered the warehouse roof.

Water dripped through cracks above.

Finally Marcus broke the silence.

"We eliminate him."

The suggestion came so casually it was horrifying.

Luca's head snapped up.

"No."

Marcus frowned.

"He'll destroy everything."

"No."

The answer came harder this time.

More dangerous.

More final.

Marcus stared at him.

"You're choosing your brother over survival?"

Luca's jaw tightened.

"He's not dying."

The room fell silent.

Because Marcus suddenly understood something.

Luca loved Damian.

Despite everything.

Despite the lies.

Despite the secrets.

Despite the fact that Damian would probably never forgive him.

He still loved him.

And that weakness could destroy them all.

"Then what's your plan?"

Luca didn't answer immediately.

Because the truth was...

He didn't have one.

Not yet.

Three days later, Damian still hadn't gone to the police.

That surprised everyone.

Including Luca.

He expected arrests.

Search warrants.

Investigations.

Instead...

Nothing.

The silence felt wrong.

Damian was planning something.

Waiting.

Gathering evidence.

Luca knew his brother too well.

And that made him dangerous.

Very dangerous.

The following week confirmed Luca's fears.

Several hidden accounts suddenly disappeared.

Money started moving.

Contacts began vanishing.

Someone was investigating.

Someone close.

Someone intelligent.

Someone determined.

Damian.

One evening Luca entered his penthouse and found Marcus waiting.

That alone irritated him.

Marcus never visited without a reason.

"You look worried."

Luca poured himself a drink.

"I'm thinking."

Marcus smirked.

"Same thing."

Luca ignored him.

Marcus walked toward the window overlooking the city.

"The board members are nervous."

"I don't care."

"You should."

Marcus turned.

"Because if Damian talks, we're all finished."

The statement wasn't an exaggeration.

It was fact.

And both men knew it.

Luca finally looked at him.

"What are you suggesting?"

Marcus smiled.

The expression sent an unpleasant feeling through the room.

Because Marcus only smiled when bad things were about to happen.

"We don't kill him."

Luca relaxed slightly.

Then Marcus continued.

"We destroy his credibility."

The relief vanished immediately.

Several folders landed on the table.

Luca stared at them.

Financial reports.

Company records.

Fake transfers.

Forged signatures.

His stomach tightened.

Because he instantly understood.

Marcus wasn't creating evidence.

He was creating a story.

A believable story.

One capable of surviving scrutiny.

One capable of surviving court.

"No."

Marcus laughed.

"Still protecting him?"

"He's innocent."

The answer came instantly.

Marcus shrugged.

"Truth doesn't matter."

The words hung heavily in the air.

Because everyone knew they were true.

Sometimes truth lost.

Sometimes lies won.

And money often decided which was which.

Over the next several months, the trap slowly took shape.

Patiently.

Carefully.

Documents disappeared.

New records appeared.

Transactions were redirected.

Accounts were altered.

Every change was small.

Insignificant on its own.

But together?

Together they created a monster.

A version of Damian that didn't exist.

A version capable of carrying all the blame.

And Luca watched it happen.

Every day.

Every week.

Every month.

The guilt grew heavier.

Yet he never stopped it.

Because by then he believed there was no other choice.

If Damian exposed everything...

Everyone would fall.

The company.

The employees.

The families depending on them.

The empire their father built.

Everything.

That was the lie Luca told himself.

The lie that helped him sleep.

One night he found himself outside Damian's house.

Uninvited.

Unannounced.

Just watching.

The lights glowed warmly through the windows.

Inside, Elena sat beside Damian on the couch.

Laughing.

Happy.

Safe.

Damian wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

She leaned into him naturally.

Comfortably.

Like home.

Luca stared through the window longer than he should have.

Because that life looked peaceful.

Honest.

Real.

Everything his own life had stopped being.

And for a brief moment...

He almost confessed.

Almost walked to the front door.

Almost told Damian everything.

Victor.

Marcus.

The money.

The lies.

The murder.

Everything.

The urge was so strong it physically hurt.

But then his phone rang.

Marcus.

Reality returned immediately.

The moment disappeared.

And with it...

His chance to save his brother.

Months later, when federal agents finally arrested Damian Russo...

Luca stood among the crowd watching it happen.

The cameras.

The accusations.

The handcuffs.

The humiliation.

Every second felt like torture.

Because Damian wasn't looking at the officers.

Wasn't looking at reporters.

Wasn't looking at the cameras.

He was looking at Luca.

And in that moment...

Damian understood.

Not everything.

But enough.

Enough to know who betrayed him.

Enough to know the truth.

Enough to hate him forever.

Back in the present...

Luca sat alone in his car outside Tayla's apartment.

Rain slid down the windshield.

The same kind of rain that had fallen eight years ago.

Inside the building, Tayla and Noah slept peacefully.

Unaware of the war closing around them.

Luca tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

Because Michael Bennett was getting closer.

Tayla was asking questions.

And old secrets were starting to surface.

The problem was no longer Damian.

The problem was what would happen when Tayla finally learned the truth.

Because if she discovered everything...

She would never look at Luca the same way again.

And for the first time in years...

That possibility terrified him more than prison.

More than exposure.

More than losing everything.

Because despite all his sins...

There was one thing Luca had never lied about.

He loved Tayla.

And that love was about to become his greatest weakness.