Chapter 3 - THE BROTHER WHO KNEW TOO MUCH“NICK, YOU'VE KNOWN ME FOR TWENTY YEARS. ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO BELIEVE SOME DIVORCE PAPERS AND A CONFUSED WOMAN OVER YOUR OWN BROTHER?”
Sebastian Rourke said those words while standing beside Emily's hospital room.
And something about the way he said confused woman made me want to put my fist through the wall.
He arrived at 8:35 that morning.
Forty-one years old, tall, perfectly groomed, with dark blond hair beginning to gray at the temples and a silver watch that cost more than most Americans earned in a year.
His expensive black coat hung open over a navy suit.
His face carried an expression of practiced concern.
“Nick.”
He approached quickly.
“I just heard about Emily. Jesus Christ, is she okay?”
I studied him.
For twenty years, this man had stood beside me through betrayals, funerals, and wars.
When my father died, Sebastian had helped carry the coffin.
When my first business partner tried to have me murdered, Sebastian had been the one who found the evidence.
And when I married Emily, Sebastian stood beside me as my best man.
I remembered his wedding toast.
“Nick has finally found someone who makes him human.”
Everyone had laughed.
Now I wondered whether Sebastian had been laughing at something the rest of us couldn't see.
“She's alive,” I answered.
Sebastian exhaled dramatically.
“Thank God.”
“Someone attacked her.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Do they know who?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Whoever did this deserves whatever comes to him.”
I watched his hands.
They were steady.
Mine hadn't stopped trembling since the phone call.
“She's pregnant,” I said.
Sebastian's expression changed.
Only slightly.
A brief tightening around his eyes.
Then he looked down.
“Nick, I heard.”
“From whom?”
He hesitated.
“One of the guys called me.”
“Which one?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
He studied me for a moment.
“Anthony, I think. Maybe it was Marcus. Everyone's talking about what happened.”
I said nothing.
Sebastian had always been good at choosing answers that sounded reasonable without actually answering the question.
“Listen,” he continued. “The most important thing right now is keeping Emily safe.”
“Funny you should say that.”
His smile faded.
“What's that supposed to mean?”
I moved closer.
“Three months ago, somebody threatened her. Someone knew where she worked, where she shopped, and when she came home.”
Sebastian nodded.
“I remember.”
“You helped me investigate.”
“Of course.”
“You told me whoever was watching her wanted to hurt me through her.”
“That was the most likely explanation.”
“And you told me leaving her might make the threats stop.”
His eyes remained on mine.
“I told you that if she wasn't connected to you anymore, she might become less attractive as a target.”
I swallowed.
“And I believed you.”
Something uncomfortable flickered across his face.
“Nick, don't do this.”
“Do what?”
“Blame yourself for something some psychopath did.”
I stared at him.
“What if I blamed someone else?”
The silence stretched.
Finally, Sebastian smiled.
“You're exhausted. You haven't slept. I understand.”
He reached toward my shoulder.
I stepped away.
His hand stopped in midair.
For the first time that morning, the concern disappeared from his expression.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
“What's going on?” he asked.
Before I could answer, Ava appeared at the end of the corridor.
“Nick, we need to talk.”
She glanced at Sebastian.
Her expression tightened.
Sebastian noticed.
“Ava. You look terrible.”
She ignored him.
“Nick. Now.”
I followed her into an empty consultation room.
She shut the door.
“Why is Sebastian here?”
“He heard about Emily.”
“From whom?”
“That's what I'd like to know.”
Ava began pacing.
Then she stopped and looked directly at me.
“Do you remember when I asked you to audit Blue Lantern's accounts last month?”
I frowned.
“You said there were irregularities.”
“Yes. And Sebastian told you it was a bookkeeping error.”
“He showed me corrected statements.”
“Statements his own department prepared.”
I looked at her.
“Ava.”
“Listen to me. I found payments going to companies that didn't appear to exist. When I asked for supporting invoices, the records disappeared.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I tried!”
Her voice cracked.
“You told me Sebastian had everything under control.”
I remembered.
I'd been distracted by a territory dispute and a missing shipment.
I'd barely listened.
Ava stared at me with tears shining in her eyes.
“You trusted him so completely that everyone around you stopped questioning him.”
I felt a slow, sickening realization.
“What else did you find?”
She hesitated.
“Emily contacted me two weeks ago.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“She said she was worried about some of the women at Blue Lantern House. A few had been transferred to other programs, but nobody could tell her where they'd gone.”
“Why didn't she contact me?”
Ava's expression softened.
“Nick, you told her you never loved her. Why would she think you'd help?”
The words struck harder than an accusation.
I leaned against the wall.
“What did Emily want?”
“She asked me for copies of the foundation's financial reports.”
“Did you give them to her?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“She said something was terribly wrong. She believed somebody was using the shelter to hide criminal payments.”
I looked toward the closed door.
Sebastian controlled the foundation's finances.
He also controlled the security division responsible for investigating the threats against Emily.
For months, he'd had access to both sides of my life.
“Does Ortiz know?” I asked.
“I told her this morning.”
“Good.”
Ava studied me.
“You're not going to handle this the old way, are you?”
I knew what she meant.
Six months earlier, discovering a possible betrayal might have ended with armed men surrounding someone's house before sunrise.
For years, violence had been the simplest language in my world.
But Emily was lying in a hospital bed because of that world.
“No,” I said.
Ava looked surprised.
“Then what are you going to do?”
“Find out the truth.”
“And afterward?”
I took a long breath.
“For once, I'm going to make sure the truth can stand up in court.”
When I returned to the corridor, Sebastian was speaking with a hospital administrator.
He turned as soon as he saw me.
“Everything okay?”
I forced myself to remain calm.
“Not really.”
“Nick—”
“Emily had been looking into Blue Lantern's accounts.”
He went very still.
“Had she?”
“Yes.”
“That's unfortunate.”
I watched him.
“Why?”
“Because she doesn't understand our business. She could misinterpret things.”
“She's smarter than most of the people who work for me.”
“I'm not questioning her intelligence.”
“Then what are you questioning?”
Sebastian's expression hardened.
“Her judgment.”
I took one slow step closer.
“Be careful.”
He glanced toward the nurses' station.
“Lower your voice.”
“Answer my question.”
“What question?”
“How did somebody use an executive security credential from my company to enter Emily's building?”
For the first time, his composure cracked.
Only briefly.
Then he shrugged.
“Ask security.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“The authorization came from your office.”
Sebastian stared at me.
The silence between us felt like an old friendship dying.
Finally, he said, “Nick, I can explain.”
I waited.
He rubbed his jaw.
“Emily contacted someone in my department about a security concern. I authorized a routine check. That's all.”
“At nine o'clock at night?”
“Emergencies don't operate on business hours.”
“Neither do attempted murders.”
His face tightened.
“Watch what you're accusing me of.”
I moved closer until we were almost face-to-face.
“Then give me one reason I shouldn't suspect you.”
Sebastian looked toward Emily's room.
And there it was.
Not fear.
Not grief.
Calculation.
He lowered his voice.
“Because you and I both know Emily should never have started digging into those accounts.”
I froze.
Sebastian realized what he'd said.
But it was too late.
I had never told him Emily was investigating the accounts herself.
And then he made the mistake that changed everything.
May you like
He leaned closer and whispered:
“Nick, you're about to become a father. Don't make the mistake of thinking you can protect that baby from everything.”
Related Stories
