Chapter 6 - THE PHOTOGRAPH OF BETRAYAL
Victoria stood frozen in the headlights of her town car.
The wind whipped her fur coat around her. She looked at Daniel, who was safely buckling his son into the backseat of our SUV. She looked at Elena, who was standing tall beside him.
Then, her eyes met Gabriel’s.
“Gabriel,” Victoria said, her voice attempting a desperate, soothing tone. “Thank God you found them. Marcus has lost his mind.”
Gabriel slowly walked toward her. His footsteps were the only sound in the empty parking lot.
“Don't,” Gabriel warned, his voice cutting through the cold like a blade. “Do not insult my intelligence by playing the victim.”
Victoria backed away, her heels clicking nervously on the asphalt.
“I was trying to stop him, Gabriel! I came here to pay him off so he wouldn't hurt the boy!”
Gabriel reached into his coat pocket.
He pulled out the pink wire transfer receipt we had found in her purse.
He let it fall from his fingers. The wind caught it, blowing it across the pavement to Victoria’s feet.
“You paid him to keep them hidden,” Gabriel said. “You’ve been paying him for three years. Since the day my father died.”
“No!” Victoria pleaded, tears springing to her eyes. “Your father made the arrangement! I only took over the payments to protect your family's reputation!”
Daniel stepped forward from the SUV. He closed the door, making sure Leo couldn't hear.
“My father didn't make the arrangement, Victoria,” Daniel said quietly.
Victoria spun toward him, her face twisting with venom.
“Oh, please! You were a pathetic, sloppy drunk! Your father was embarrassed by you! He wanted that child far away from your toxic influence!”
Daniel didn't flinch. He didn't raise his voice. The old Daniel would have screamed. The old Daniel would have shattered.
The sober Daniel simply reached into his own jacket pocket.
He pulled out a crumbled photograph.
“When Marcus dropped his gun,” Daniel said, his voice steady, “I emptied his pockets while Gabriel had him pinned. I found this.”
Daniel walked over and handed the photograph to Gabriel.
I leaned in to see.
It was a picture taken outside a seedy bar four years ago.
It showed Daniel, completely intoxicated, being loaded into a taxi.
But Daniel wasn't the focus of the photo.
Standing in the background, handing a thick envelope of cash to the bartender, was Victoria.
Gabriel stared at the photograph. The muscle in his jaw feathered.
“Four years ago,” Daniel said, his voice breaking slightly. “I was a year sober. I had a job. I was married to Elena. Then, one night, my boss fired me. He said a major client had threatened to pull their accounts if he kept a recovering addict on staff.”
Daniel looked directly at Victoria.
“I was devastated. I went to a bar. But I didn't order a drink.”
Daniel pointed at the photograph in Gabriel’s hand.
“The bartender gave me a drink on the house. He said it was ginger ale. But it was spiked with vodka.”
Elena gasped, covering her mouth.
Daniel’s eyes filled with tears.
“That one drink triggered the relapse that cost me my marriage, my dignity, and almost my life. I always thought it was my fault. I thought I was just weak.”
Gabriel looked up from the photograph. The rage radiating from him was palpable.
“You spiked my brother's drink,” Gabriel whispered, his voice trembling with a dark, terrifying anger. “You intentionally broke his sobriety.”
Victoria backed up until she hit the side of her town car.
“I did it for you, Gabriel!” she screamed, her polished facade completely shattering. “He was weak! He was always going to be a liability! I wanted to ensure that when your father died, you inherited the entire legitimate empire, not just the syndicate! With Daniel out of the picture, you got everything! And I would have shared it with you!”
Gabriel stared at the woman he had almost married.
He didn't yell. He didn't threaten her.
He simply looked at her with utter, absolute disgust.
“You destroyed a man’s life for a seat at my table.”
Gabriel turned to the driver of Victoria’s town car, who was watching in wide-eyed terror.
“Take her back to Chicago,” Gabriel ordered the driver. “Drop her at the city limits. If I ever see her on my property, or anywhere near my family again, she won't leave breathing.”
Victoria began to sob hysterically. “Gabriel! Please! I love you!”
Gabriel turned his back on her.
He walked over to Daniel.
He placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.
“Let’s go home, Danny.”
As Victoria’s car sped away into the night, Daniel opened the back door of the SUV.
He slid in next to Leo, who was yawning sleepily.
Elena sat on the other side, her head resting on Daniel’s shoulder.
Gabriel took the driver's seat this time.
I sat in the passenger seat, watching the road ahead.
The nightmare was over. The truth was out.
But as we drove back toward Chicago, Gabriel reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, sealed envelope.
He handed it across the console to me.
“What is this?” I asked, confused.
“I found it in Victoria’s purse earlier,” Gabriel said quietly. “I didn't want to mention it in front of Daniel. Not tonight.”
I looked down at the envelope.
It was sealed with a wax stamp.
May you like
The handwriting on the front belonged to Gabriel and Daniel’s father.
And it was addressed to Claire Bennett.
