KAEL

My rifle was trained on Andrew’s head, but the shot was impossible.

He’d positioned himself perfectly, Aria’s body blocking any lethal angle, the bomb vest making even a grazing shot potentially catastrophic. One wrong bullet and the explosives could detonate on impact.

"Let her go, Andrew." My voice was steady. Calm. The voice I’d used to command men in combat zones. "This is between us."

"Oh, now it’s between us?" Andrew laughed, the sound sharp and brittle. "Funny how it’s always between us when you want something. But when I needed a brother? When I was just a kid trying to understand why you hated me? Where were you then?"

I kept my breathing controlled, my finger off the trigger. "You got what you wanted. The papers are signed. Everything’s yours. Roman Holdings. The properties. All of it."

"You think I’m stupid?" His grip tightened on the detonator. "The second I let her go, you’ll kill me."

"You’re right." No point in lying now. "I will."

Aria made a small sound, fear or protest, I couldn’t tell.

"But not if you let her go first," I continued, the lie smooth on my tongue. "You won, Andrew. You proved you were smarter than me. Than Ewan. You outmaneuvered everyone." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

I saw it, the flicker of pride in his eyes. The ego that had always been his weakness.

"You outsmarted an entire empire," I pressed. "Built an alliance with Los Fantasmas. Orchestrated a hostile takeover. That takes genius. Vision. Everything Ewan never gave you credit for."

Andrew’s expression shifted, something almost vulnerable crossing his face. "Don’t patronize me."

"I’m not." I lowered the rifle slightly, non-threatening, conciliatory. "I’m stating facts. You won."

"You don’t believe that." His voice hardened again. "You still think you’re better than me. You always have."

Time to switch tactics.

"Of course I don’t believe it." I let contempt seep into my voice. "Because deep down, you know the truth. You’re not Ewan’s son. You never were. Just Sabrina’s bastard who got lucky for years."

His face went white. Then red.

"SHUT UP!"

"Hit a nerve?" I took a step forward. "The DNA test proved it. You spent your entire life fighting for a legacy that was never yours. Ewan’s real son was standing right in front of you the whole time, and you couldn’t stand it."

"I’M MORE HIS SON THAN YOU EVER WERE!" Andrew’s voice cracked, the composure finally shattering. "I worked for him! I learned the business! I did everything he asked while you ran off to play soldier!"

"And it still wasn’t enough." Another step. "Because blood matters. And yours was never good enough."

"Kael—" Aria’s voice, small and terrified.

But I couldn’t stop now. Couldn’t let Andrew regain control.

"You’re a coward," I said flatly. "Always have been. Always needed Father’s approval. Mine. Everyone’s. Even now, you hide behind a woman and a bomb."

"I said SHUT UP!"

"You’re not a CEO. You’re a hostage-taker. A failure." One more step. "You couldn’t earn respect, so you took it by force. That’s not power, Andrew. That’s desperation."

He was shaking now, the gun trembling against Aria’s temple. "You always talk too much, Kael."

But his voice had changed. Softened.

And I saw something I never expected to see in Andrew’s eyes.

Pain.

Real, genuine pain.

"Since you’re going to die anyway," he said quietly, "let me be honest with you."

I waited.

"I’ve always been so jealous of you." The words came out halting, like each one cost him something. "I looked up to you, Kael. You’re right, I wanted to be like you. I wanted you to look at me like the little brother I was."

Something twisted in my chest.

"I wanted a big brother’s love," Andrew continued, and his voice cracked. "But you never saw me. No matter how hard I tried to get your attention... I was always invisible to you."

The twist became a stab.

Because he was right.

"And when I wasn’t invisible," Andrew said, tears starting to track down his face, "when you finally acknowledged my existence, do you know what I saw in your eyes?"

I couldn’t speak.

"Hatred," he whispered. "Disgust. Every single moment of our lives, Kael. All I ever saw from you was hatred. Even a roach didn’t get that kind of look. You never saw the boy trying to get you to like him. All you saw was Father’s betrayal of your mother."

The guilt hit like a physical blow.

He was right.

God help me, he was right.

I’d never given him a chance. Had never looked past my own pain and rage to see the child caught between his mother’s lies and my hatred. Had never once asked myself what it must have been like for him, growing up with a brother who could barely stand to be in the same room.

"Andrew, I—" The apology stuck in my throat. "I’m sorry. I should have—"

"No." He cut me off, and when he looked up, the vulnerability was gone. Replaced by cold determination. "It’s too late for sorry."

He glanced at his watch. Then at the sky.

And smiled.

WHUMP-WHUMP-WHUMP

The sound hit me like ice water.

A helicopter.

Rising over the edge of the building, black and unmarked except for subtle markings I recognized from Ewan’s intelligence files.

Los Fantasmas.

His escape plan.

"My ride is here," Andrew said, his voice steady now. All business.

The helicopter hovered above the rooftop, wind from the rotors whipping across the space. A rope ladder dropped, swaying in the turbulence.

Andrew started backing toward it, keeping Aria in front of him, gun and detonator both visible.

"The game is over, brother." His smile widened. "You lose."

And then, he shoved.

Aria stumbled forward, the bomb vest’s weight throwing her off balance. She was falling.

I dropped my rifle and ran, catching her before she hit the concrete. We went down together, my arms around her, pulling her against my chest.

"I’ve got you," I gasped. "I’ve got you, I’ve got you, "

She was sobbing, shaking so hard I could feel it through the vest. "Kael—"

"Shh, it’s okay, you’re okay, " I kissed her forehead, her cheeks, anywhere I could reach, trying to ground her, trying to ground myself.

We collapsed to our knees together, and I held her as tightly as I dared with the bomb between us.

Twenty feet away, Andrew grabbed the ladder and started climbing, one-handed, the detonator still visible in his grip.

I reached for my rifle,

"Stay right there!" Andrew shouted over the rotor wash. "Any move and you’re both confetti!"

I froze, my hand inches from the weapon.

He climbed higher. Almost to the helicopter door.

Almost safe.

"When I’m a mile away," he called down, "I’ll press this button! Think of it as my wedding gift to you both!"