All Chapters of One Heart, Which Brother?: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

It had been three days since Ruben last saw Lia up close, though he’d been watching her every single hour. His presence was invisible, the kind only old predators knew how to maintain.He told himself this distance was necessary that she needed space so her walls would lower on their own. But in reality, every time he stayed away, it felt like swallowing glass.The Eastern Bloc enforcer hadn’t returned since that night. Instead, Ruben noticed new cars parked along her street each day, always different, always subtle. Ken was rotating his eyes on her, making them harder to pin down.But Ruben’s men were harder to shake.Still, Ruben wanted something else something that couldn’t be done from the shadows. He wanted Lia to look at him again, and not just with suspicion.So he planned an “accident.”That Thursday afternoon, Lia had an errand a grocery run, something she hated doing during rush hours. The city’s open-air market was bustling, vendors shouting prices over each other, children

The city was still asleep when Ruben’s men began their quiet work. Two were stationed outside Julian’s school, dressed like average passersby. Another pair rotated shifts at Lia’s apartment building, their presence invisible to the untrained eye. Surveillance vans, unmarked sedans, foot patrols that looked like evening joggers every movement had a purpose. It was a familiar choreography. The kind of protection Ruben once commanded for high-value targets. Now, Lia was the target. At the same time, Ken was moving his own pieces into place. In a smoke-filled backroom of an upscale club, Ken sat across from one of his lieutenants. “You’ve confirmed it?” The man nodded. “Ruben’s calling in favors. Old crew. Some from overseas.” Ken’s jaw tightened. “He’s desperate. That makes him predictable.” “Should we move now?” the lieutenant asked. Ken shook his head. “No. We bleed him slowly. He wants to play the hero for her? Fine. Let’s see how far he’ll go before he breaks.” There was s

The hallway beyond the penthouse was silent, save for the faint hum of the emergency lights. Ruben’s steps were calculated, every muscle on edge. He kept the gun low but ready, his finger resting lightly near the trigger.Halfway down the narrow service corridor, the faint scent of burnt metal hit him. He crouched near the sensor panel a tiny device no bigger than his palm. The casing had been pried open.But there was no obvious break-in. No forced door. Just… a message.Scratched into the metal of the panel with something sharp was a single word:“SOON.”His jaw clenched. Ken wasn’t just watching they were taunting him. Testing him. Reminding him that his past wasn’t something he could walk away from.Ruben pulled out his phone, snapping a quick picture before replacing the casing and backing out of the hall. He didn’t want Lia to know about this not yet. Not until he had a plan that didn’t involve her panicking.Back inside, Lia was standing near the bedroom door, a baseball bat in

The house felt different in the days that followed quieter, yet heavier. The sharpness of Ruben’s gaze when he scanned the driveway before leaving, in the sound of his phone buzzing at ungodly hours of the night.Julian, ever perceptive, had started asking more questions.“Mama, why does Daddy always leave when it’s dark? Where does he go?”Lia brushed his hair with trembling fingers, forcing her lips into a reassuring smile. “He’s making sure we’re safe, sweetheart. That’s all.”But even she didn’t fully believe her own words.One night, the sound of hushed voices lured her from her sleep. She sat up, realizing Ruben wasn’t beside her. The faint hum of conversation drifted through the slightly ajar door of his study.Her bare feet padded quietly against the hardwood floor as she moved closer.“…I told you, Darius, I’m not asking I’m demanding,” Ruben’s voice was low, sharp, and dangerous. “If Ken’s reaching this far, I want every ally we have watching the ports, the borders, and the

The night after the attack, the Delwunco mansion felt less like a home and more like a war camp. Men patrolled the perimeter, radios crackling with low voices. The scent of gunpowder lingered faintly in the air, even after the drive had been scrubbed clean.Lia lay awake beside Julian, who refused to sleep in his own room after the gunfire. She stroked his hair gently, her eyes drifting toward the door. She knew Ruben wasn’t upstairs. He hadn’t closed his eyes once since the strike.He was downstairs, back in his office, in the chair he hadn’t used in years the chair of a mafia king.Ruben leaned forward over the desk, the glow of a single lamp illuminating files, maps, and phones spread out in organized chaos. He wasn’t the man who had walked away five years ago. That man had died the moment Ken lit his safehouse ablaze.Now, he was what the underworld remembered him as. The Serpent. Silent, patient, but deadly when cornered.A knock came at the door.“Enter,” Ruben said flatly.It w