PART 6 — A Brother's Ultimate Betrayal
PART 6 — A Brother's Ultimate Betrayal
The office fell into absolute silence.
The frozen image on the laptop showed Dominic's younger brother, Vincent Castellano, standing beneath the warehouse lights.
In his arms—
A baby.
Wrapped in a faded blue blanket.
Marcus.
Marco slowly shook his head.
"No..."
"That can't be."
Dominic stepped closer to the screen.
He knew every movement Vincent made.
The slight limp from an old football injury.
The expensive watch Vincent always wore on his right wrist instead of his left.
There was no mistake.
Marcus looked up innocently.
"Who's that?"
Dominic couldn't answer.
Arthur did.
"Your uncle."
The little boy smiled.
"I have an uncle?"
No one smiled back.
Marco pressed play.
The surveillance footage continued.
Vincent carefully handed the baby to a woman dressed as a hospital nurse.
The timestamp read:
October 20th.
Exactly two days after Marcus was born.
The nurse accepted the child.
Then another black SUV arrived.
A second man climbed out.
His face remained hidden beneath a cap.
But his voice...
The recording captured every word.
"Make sure Castellano never finds them."
Vincent nodded.
"It'll be done."
"And the woman?"
Vincent answered without hesitation.
"She'll disappear on her own."
The screen went black.
Marcus frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Arthur lowered his head.
"It means..."
"...your mother was betrayed."
Dominic's breathing became dangerously slow.
Marco had seen that expression only once before.
The night Dominic dismantled an entire criminal network after they murdered one of his drivers.
Except this was worse.
Infinitely worse.
Because this time...
The betrayal came from blood.
Dominic quietly asked,
"Where is Vincent?"
Marco checked his phone.
"He landed from Miami this morning."
"He'll be at tonight's family foundation gala."
Dominic nodded once.
"Good."
Marco immediately understood.
"Boss..."
"If you confront him now—"
"I'm not confronting him."
Dominic interrupted calmly.
"I'm inviting him to dinner."
Arthur stared.
"You already know he betrayed Clara."
"I know he appears in one video."
Dominic replied.
"I don't yet know why."
He looked toward Marcus.
"And I refuse to make another mistake because I acted before I understood everything."
Marcus tugged gently on Dominic's sleeve.
"Did Uncle Vincent hurt Mama?"
Dominic knelt before him.
"I don't know yet."
The boy nodded.
"My mama said..."
"...sometimes bad people smile first."
Dominic closed his eyes briefly.
Clara had raised an extraordinary child.
Hungry.
Homeless.
Alone.
Yet still kind enough to return a wallet full of money.
Still honest enough to believe strangers deserved the truth.
Still gentle enough to ask questions before judging.
Everything Dominic should have protected.
Everything he had unknowingly lost.
A quiet knock interrupted the room.
One of the security officers entered.
"Boss."
"What?"
"The medical team finished examining the boy."
Dominic looked up immediately.
"And?"
The doctor stepped inside carrying a folder.
"Mr. Castellano..."
"The child hasn't been eating properly for months."
Dominic wasn't surprised.
"There are signs of chronic malnutrition."
Arthur silently wiped away tears.
"But..."
The doctor hesitated.
"There is something else."
He opened the medical report.
"Marcus has untreated pneumonia."
The room became still again.
"It has progressed further than we'd like."
Marcus looked confused.
"I just cough sometimes."
The doctor forced a smile.
"I know, buddy."
"But you've been very sick."
"When was the last time you saw a doctor?"
Marcus thought carefully.
"When Mama was alive."
Arthur covered his face.
Dominic's hands slowly curled into fists.
Not from anger.
From guilt.
His son had spent months sleeping under bridges...
Searching for scraps of food...
Fighting pneumonia...
While he had lived in a forty-two-story tower surrounded by security, doctors, and more wealth than he could spend in ten lifetimes.
He looked directly at the physician.
"What does he need?"
"Hospitalization."
"Immediately."
"No delays."
Dominic answered without hesitation.
"Then every specialist in Boston is on standby within the hour."
The doctor nodded.
"I'll make the calls."
Marcus suddenly looked frightened.
"Will I have to stay alone?"
Dominic immediately answered.
"No."
Arthur spoke.
"I'll stay."
Marco added,
"So will I."
Dominic gently placed a hand on Marcus's shoulder.
"And I'll be there too."
The little boy searched his face.
"You promise?"
Dominic didn't hesitate.
"I've already broken seven years of promises without knowing."
"I won't break another."
Marcus smiled for the first time that day.
A real smile.
Small.
Hopeful.
Trusting.
But while doctors prepared a hospital room upstairs...
Across the city, Vincent Castellano stood in front of a mirror adjusting his tuxedo for the foundation gala, completely unaware that the starving little boy he had once helped erase...
May you like
Had just returned—
And with him came the evidence that could destroy the Castellano family forever.
