Chapter 4 - The Man Behind the Rain
Vincent wanted Clare and Ellie moved immediately.
Dominic refused.
“Moving them blindly makes them easier to intercept.”
He ordered the estate sealed instead.
Every gate locked.
Every credential suspended.
Nobody entered.
Nobody left.
At 1:16 a.m., a camera detected movement near the eastern wall.
A single man.
No vehicle.
No visible weapon.
Hands raised.
Dominic watched the monitor.
The man removed his hood.
Six years disappeared in a second.
Gabriel.
Older.
Thinner.
A scar crossed his cheek.
But alive.
Dominic forgot the pain in his leg.
“Open the gate.”
Vincent stared at him.
“Boss—”
“Open it.”
Gabriel entered alone.
The brothers faced each other beneath the chandelier.
Neither spoke.
Then Dominic struck him.
One punch.
Gabriel stumbled.
He didn't retaliate.
“You let me bury you.”
“I know.”
“You let Mom bury you.”
Gabriel’s face broke.
“I know.”
Dominic grabbed his coat.
“Six years.”
“If I came back, they would have killed you too.”
“Who?”
Gabriel looked toward Clare.
“Arthur.”
Clare held Ellie tightly.
Gabriel saw the child.
His expression softened.
“Ellie.”
Clare stepped backward.
“Stay away from her.”
“I’m not here to hurt her.”
“Samuel said you were.”
Gabriel frowned.
“Samuel?”
Dominic saw the reaction.
“Explain.”
Gabriel did.
Six years earlier, Ethan discovered that Arthur was using Vale Medical contracts to divert enormous sums through fake rehabilitation programs.
Gabriel joined Ethan’s investigation.
They collected evidence.
Arthur discovered them.
The plane crash was supposed to kill Gabriel.
Instead, Gabriel never boarded.
Ethan helped him disappear.
“Why not come to me?”
“Because Arthur had someone beside you.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“Samuel.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Samuel was feeding him information.”
Dominic remembered the warning.
Do not trust Samuel.
“Where’s Ethan?”
Gabriel looked at Clare.
“Alive.”
Clare nearly collapsed.
“Where?”
“I don't know anymore.”
She slapped Gabriel.
He accepted it.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“For three years?”
“He made me promise.”
Clare’s eyes filled with tears.
“You had no right.”
“No.”
Gabriel looked at Ellie.
“But Ethan believed distance was the only thing keeping her alive.”
Dominic held up the pressure sensor.
“This?”
Gabriel’s expression changed.
“Arthur.”
“You're sure?”
“He’s been measuring your recovery.”
“Why?”
“Because the council vote only works if everyone believes you're permanently weakened.”
Dominic understood.
Arthur hadn’t simply wanted control.
He needed Dominic publicly diminished.
The brace created exactly that appearance.
Gabriel turned toward Ellie.
“She noticed it because Ethan designed the mechanism.”
Clare frowned.
“What?”
“Her latch toy.”
Gabriel pointed.
“Ethan built it.”
Clare looked down.
She had always assumed it was an ordinary handmade toy Ethan had left Ellie.
Gabriel opened the back panel.
Inside was a tiny compartment.
And inside that—
A key.
Clare stared.
“What does it open?”
Gabriel smiled sadly.
“The evidence Ethan disappeared to protect.”
Before anyone could respond, the estate lights went out.
Darkness.
Vincent’s voice cut through it.
“Emergency power!”
Red security lights flickered on.
An alarm sounded.
Then Dominic’s phone illuminated.
One incoming message.
From Arthur.
A photograph appeared.
Samuel Greer was sitting in a chair.
Alive.
Terrified.
Underneath were seven words.
BRING ME THE KEY OR HE TALKS.
Gabriel looked at Dominic.
“He doesn’t want Samuel.”
“No.”
Dominic looked at the tiny key in Clare’s hand.
“He wants whatever Ethan hid.”
Ellie tugged Dominic’s sleeve.
Everyone looked down.
The child whispered:
May you like
“I know what the key opens.”
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