Chapter 10 - The Brother Everyone Trusted
The dead man wasn’t dead.
That was what Dorian discovered fourteen hours later.
Victor Shaw’s prison death certificate was real.
His body, however, had never been positively identified by family.
There was no family.
No wife.
No children.
No surviving siblings.
The prison cremated the body after an administrative waiting period.
Dental records used for identification had been submitted by a private dentist.
That dentist disappeared three weeks later.
“Victor arranged his own death,” Audrey said.
Dorian stood beside the fireplace.
“Or somebody arranged it for him.”
“Why?”
“So he could move without being watched.”
“Was he loyal to your father?”
“Fanatically.”
“Enough to kill Elena?”
“Yes.”
“Enough to kill Caleb?”
Dorian hesitated.
“My father would never order Caleb harmed.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
Audrey accepted that.
Family loyalty was complicated, but Dorian had spent his entire life understanding his father’s violence.
If he believed there had been lines the old man would not cross, she had no evidence to contradict him.
“Then Victor was working for somebody else.”
“Yes.”
“Who had enough money to fake a death?”
“Too many people.”
Adrian entered carrying coffee.
He handed one to Audrey.
“Cream, one sugar.”
She blinked.
“How do you know?”
“You’ve been living here for a week.”
Dorian took the second cup.
Adrian moved it away.
“That one’s mine.”
“You brought me nothing?”
“You own the house.”
Audrey laughed.
Dorian looked offended.
For several seconds they resembled normal brothers.
That made the suspicion worse.
Adrian sat.
“What do we know?”
Dorian explained Victor.
Adrian’s face hardened.
“If Victor is alive, I know where he might go.”
“Where?”
“Our father had a hunting property near Bayou Sauvage.”
“Sold.”
“Officially.”
Dorian looked at him.
Adrian continued.
“Dad transferred it through a shell company before he died.”
“How do you know?”
“I handled estate cleanup.”
“Why didn’t I?”
“You were with Caleb.”
Dorian nodded.
“Who owns it now?”
“Bellway Holdings.”
Audrey froze.
“Elena mentioned Bellway.”
The brothers looked at her.
She retrieved Elena’s letter.
Bellway Holdings.
Mercer Maritime.
Ashford Logistics.
The shell companies moving stolen money.
Adrian stared.
“I didn’t notice.”
“Notice what?” Dorian asked.
“Bellway was one of the companies Elena investigated.”
Dorian called Nolan.
Within an hour they were driving toward the bayou.
Audrey stayed behind with Caleb.
That had been Dorian’s condition.
She didn’t object.
Caleb needed someone familiar.
Around noon he asked, “Where’s Dad?”
“Working.”
“Looking for him?”
Audrey didn’t pretend not to understand.
“Yes.”
Caleb stopped drawing.
“He won’t find him.”
“Why?”
“He doesn’t live there.”
Audrey’s heart started beating faster.
“Where does he live?”
Caleb’s eyes filled with panic.
“I don’t know.”
“You just said—”
“I don’t know.”
Audrey stopped.
“Okay.”
Caleb resumed drawing.
A house.
Three windows.
A tree.
Then a stick figure.
On the figure’s wrist he drew a rectangle.
A watch.
“What kind of watch?”
Caleb covered it with his hand.
Audrey said nothing.
He slowly moved his hand.
The watch face contained a strange mark.
Two crossed lines.
Audrey had seen it.
But where?
That evening Dorian returned furious.
The bayou property was empty.
Someone had cleaned it recently.
They found old cigarette butts, food packaging, and blood traces that might belong to Victor.
But no Victor.
“He knew we were coming,” Dorian said.
“Then there’s a leak.”
“Yes.”
“Who knew?”
“Nolan. Adrian. Me. Four guards.”
“Me.”
Dorian looked at her.
“You didn’t contact anyone.”
“How do you know?”
“Your phone traffic is monitored.”
Audrey stared.
“Excuse me?”
“For threats.”
“You’re monitoring my calls?”
“Metadata. Not conversations.”
“Dorian.”
“I’ll disable it.”
“You will absolutely disable it.”
He nodded.
Again, Audrey noticed something strange.
Two weeks earlier he would have argued.
Now he was learning to respect boundaries.
Slowly.
Badly.
But learning.
“Adrian knew,” she said.
“Yes.”
“So did Nolan.”
“Yes.”
“Do you suspect them?”
“I suspect everyone.”
“Even me?”
Dorian met her eyes.
“No.”
The answer came without hesitation.
Audrey felt something shift inside her.
She looked away.
“Maybe you should.”
“I watched you jump off a bridge for a child you didn’t know.”
“That doesn’t make me trustworthy.”
“It makes you something.”
“What?”
Dorian’s voice softened.
“Rare.”
Audrey hated the warmth she felt.
She changed the subject.
“Caleb drew something.”
She showed him the watch.
Dorian stared.
His face changed.
“What?”
“That symbol.”
“You know it?”
“Yes.”
“Whose?”
Dorian did not answer.
Audrey waited.
Finally he pulled out his phone and found a photograph.
A charity event.
Dorian stood beside Adrian.
On Adrian’s wrist was a limited-edition watch.
Across the face—
two crossed silver lines.
Audrey’s stomach dropped.
“Lots of people can own that watch.”
“Twenty-five were made.”
“Still not proof.”
“No.”
“Where is Adrian?”
Dorian called.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
They searched the house.
His room was empty.
Closet open.
One suitcase gone.
His passport missing.
Dorian stood in the center of the bedroom.
For several seconds he looked less like a feared businessman and more like a man realizing his brother might have fled.
Then Nolan appeared.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“We checked airport manifests.”
Dorian turned.
“Adrian boarded a private flight forty minutes ago.”
“To where?”
“Cayman Islands.”
Audrey closed her eyes.
The evidence was becoming difficult to ignore.
Dorian looked toward Caleb’s room.
“My brother knew we were looking for Victor.”
“Yes.”
“He knew about Elena.”
“Yes.”
“And now he runs.”
Audrey touched his arm.
Dorian didn’t move.
“I trusted him with my son.”
His voice cracked slightly.
Audrey had never heard that sound from him.
Then Caleb appeared behind them.
He saw Adrian’s empty room.
Saw Dorian’s face.
And began to cry.
“No.”
Audrey turned.
“Caleb?”
“No, Dad.”
Dorian crouched.
“What?”
Caleb shook his head wildly.
“You’re wrong.”
Dorian froze.
“About Uncle Adrian?”
Caleb nodded.
“He didn’t do it.”
Audrey’s heart raced.
“How do you know?”
Caleb covered his mouth.
The words were almost there.
Dorian reached for him.
Caleb backed away.
“I can’t.”
“Caleb—”
“I can’t!”
He ran.
Audrey stared after him.
Then at Adrian’s empty closet.
May you like
If Caleb knew Adrian was innocent, he also knew who was guilty.
And whoever that person was had just succeeded in making Dorian’s most trusted ally disappear.
