Chapter 2 — The Brother Who Wanted My Family Gone

The heart monitor continued screaming.

For three seconds, nobody moved.

Then the ICU exploded into motion.

“Her blood pressure is crashing!”

“Get the emergency cart!”

“Prepare for possible fetal distress!”

Doctors surrounded Hannah’s bed.

I was pushed back against the wall.

The same wall where I had watched my wife fight for her life.

My ex-wife.

That word suddenly felt like a knife.

Because standing there, looking at her unconscious body, I realized something terrifying.

I had spent ninety-three days convincing myself that leaving Hannah was an act of love.

But maybe it had only made her easier to hurt.

Ryan grabbed my shoulder.

“Jack.”

I didn’t answer.

My eyes stayed on Hannah.

On the woman who had carried my child alone.

On the woman who never called me.

Never begged me to come back.

Never told me she was suffering.

Because someone had made sure she stayed silent.

The doctor finally stepped away from the monitors.

“She’s stable for now.”

The entire room breathed again.

“For now.”

Those two words stayed in my mind.

Because powerful men like me knew something ordinary people didn’t.

The most dangerous threats weren’t always the ones that attacked you.

Sometimes they were the ones that waited.

I looked at Ryan.

“Tell me everything.”

He hesitated.

That worried me more than anything.

Ryan had worked beside me for twelve years.

He had seen me negotiate billion-dollar deals.

He had seen me walk away from men who wanted me dead.

But I had never seen him afraid to speak.

“What?”

He slowly removed the phone from the evidence bag.

“I recovered this from Hannah’s apartment.”

My eyes narrowed.

“Why were you there?”

“Because three days ago, I started investigating why she disappeared from her old place.”

My jaw tightened.

“You investigated without telling me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Ryan looked directly at me.

“Because I thought someone was watching her.”

The room became silent.

“Who?”

Ryan unlocked the phone.

“There were dozens of deleted messages.”

He handed it to me.

Most were meaningless.

Unknown numbers.

Blocked calls.

Threats.

But one message appeared again and again.

Leave Jack Callahan alone.

Forget the baby.

You don’t belong in his world anymore.

My fingers tightened around the phone.

“Who sent this?”

Ryan didn’t answer.

He didn’t have to.

Because I already knew.

My brother.

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Ethan Callahan.

My own blood.