Chapter 4 - THE BLOODLINE RECORD
The line went completely dead.
The radio hissed with empty white noise.
Olivia collapsed onto the edge of the leather sofa.
Her knees simply refused to hold her.
"No," she whispered into her hands.
"No, no, no."
Gabriel stood motionless before the dark fireplace.
His broad shoulders were rigid.
His face was carved out of cold stone.
"Matteo."
"Sir."
"Ping Enzo’s transponder."
Matteo tapped his screen frantically.
"Signal is stationary. Behind the garage at Maple Avenue."
"Send the medical unit."
"Already dispatched."
Gabriel walked over to Olivia.
He crouched down on one knee in front of her.
His eyes were level with hers.
"Look at me, Olivia."
She couldn't.
She shook her head, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
"They have my baby, Gabriel."
She used his first name without realizing it.
"They have my baby."
"They have not harmed her," Gabriel said firmly.
His hand reached out, gently lifting her chin until her hazel eyes met his.
"Hostages only have value while they are alive."
"Why her?" Olivia cried, her voice tearing.
"I clean your floors! I dust your books! I have nothing!"
Gabriel took a slow, deep breath.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small iron key.
"Guest Room 7 wasn't empty for four years by accident," Gabriel confessed.
His voice was thick with old, buried grief.
"That room belonged to my younger brother, Julian."
Olivia blinked through her tears.
"Julian died in a car bombing in 2022," she said softly.
"Everyone knows that."
"Julian didn't die alone," Gabriel said.
He looked away, his jaw tightening.
"He was in that car with his financial director."
Gabriel paused.
"A man named Daniel Carter."
The room seemed to tilt.
Olivia’s breath seized in her throat.
"Daniel?"
"Your late husband."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Olivia stared at the man she had worked for during the past six months.
"You knew Daniel?" she breathed.
"Daniel was Julian’s best friend," Gabriel said.
"And he was the only man who knew where Julian hid the family's secret ledger."
Gabriel stood up, towering over her once more.
"Four years ago, someone wanted that ledger destroyed."
"They put a bomb under that car."
"Daniel died instantly."
"Julian lived long enough to whisper one sentence to me in the emergency room."
Gabriel looked down at Olivia with an intensity that burned.
"He told me: Protect Daniel’s daughter."
Olivia stood up, her grief transforming into sudden, blinding rage.
She shoved Gabriel’s chest with both hands.
"You knew!" she screamed.
"You knew who I was when you hired me!"
Gabriel didn't move an inch.
He took the blow without flinching.
"I brought you here to keep you safe, Olivia."
"Safe?!" she shouted, gesturing wildly at the room.
"My daughter is gone because of your family!"
"She is gone because the man who killed my brother just surfaced," Gabriel growled.
His eyes flashed with a dangerous, ancient fury.
"And he made the fatal mistake of taking what belongs under my protection."
Nero suddenly trotted to the library window, whining loudly.
Outside, high-powered headlights cut through the torrential rain.
May you like
A black town car had breached the outer gates.
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