Chapter 16 - The Brother
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I stared at the document. Victor's name. His signature. His initiation date.
Ten years before Dad died. He'd been part of The Circle for a decade.
He'd been the one who recruited Dad. The one who brought him in.
And then, when Dad tried to leave... Victor was the one who killed him.
Not because he was following orders.
Because he was protecting himself.
I called Sarah. Told her everything.
"Victor's part of The Circle. He's been part of it all along."
"I know."
"You know?"
"I suspected. But I couldn't prove it. Now you have proof."
"What do I do?"
"Nothing. You come home. You give me the documents. I'll handle it."
"It's not that simple."
"Maya—"
"He's in prison. He's already convicted. What more can we do?"
"We can expose him. Publicly. Show the world what he really is."
"And then what? He's still in prison. He's still alive."
"Then we make sure he never gets out. We make sure he dies there."
I hung up. Looked at Elena.
"What do we do?"
"We go home. We expose them. All of them."
"And Victor?"
"He's just one name on a long list. We'll get to him."
She was right. There were more important things. More dangerous people.
But Victor was personal.
Victor was mine.
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That night, I called Leo.
"Mommy?"
"Hey, baby. How are you?"
"Good. Mrs. Patterson made cookies."
"That's nice."
"Are you coming home soon?"
"Soon. I promise."
"I miss you."
"I miss you too. More than anything."
"Mommy?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, baby. I love you too."
I hung up. Crying.
Elena put a hand on my shoulder.
"We'll finish this. And then you'll go home. To your son."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
I wanted to believe her.
But I'd learned the hard way that promises meant nothing.
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