Chapter 6 - THE RETURN OF GABRIEL
The revelation tore through the family like an earthquake.
Julian sat in silence on the porch of the farmhouse, staring at his hands. For thirty years, he had believed he was the stolen child of Rose. He had fought an empire, risked his life, and dedicated every waking second to avenging the mother whose blood he thought he shared.
Rose walked out onto the porch, carrying two hot mugs of tea. She sat beside him, wrapping a warm blanket around his shoulders—just as she had done when he was a shivering boy in the alley.
"You are my son, Julian," Rose said softly, her voice firm and unwavering. "Do you hear me? Blood does not make a mother. Love does. I fed you. I held you when you had fever. I cried for you for thirty years. You are my boy."
Julian looked at her, tears spilling over his eyelashes. He buried his face in her shoulder, holding her tight. "I was so afraid... so afraid that if I wasn't your real son, I had no right to call you Mother."
"You will always be my son," Rose vowed. "All three of you are my sons."
Marcus and Ethan stepped onto the porch, their expressions heavy with urgency.
"We ran the security protocols Arthur left in the journal," Marcus said, holding up a encrypted comms drive. "Arthur wasn't lying. The seal on the identity of Rose's biological son was triggered three days ago when Eleanor Vance was sentenced to life in prison."
"Where is he?" Rose asked, her heart pounding against her ribs. "Where is my baby?"
"He's not a baby anymore, Rose," Ethan said quietly. "Gabriel was adopted by a high-ranking intelligence officer in Europe. He grew up in the shadows of international military operations. And when he learned the truth about who he was three days ago... he boarded a private jet."
"He's here?" Rose gasped.
"He's not just here," Marcus warned, his voice turning dark. "Rose... Gabriel didn't grow up like us. He didn't know your warmth. He was raised in a black-ops facility. He believes that you abandoned him. He believes Arthur Vance bought him from you, and that you used the money to raise us instead of him."
Rose stood up, horrified. "No! That's not true! I never took money! I never gave him away!"
"Eleanor Vance’s lawyers sent him a falsified file right before she was moved to maximum security," Ethan explained. "She planted one last poison pill. She made Gabriel believe that you sold him so you could keep Arthur Vance's money and raise Arthur's three sons in luxury."
"Where is he going?" Julian asked, standing up and drawing his weapon.
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"He isn't coming to talk, Julian," Ethan said grimly. "He's coming for revenge. He has hired an elite mercenary unit—the Black Vanguard—and they just crossed the perimeter of the county ten minutes ago."
Before anyone could react, a high-caliber sniper round shattered the wooden beam just inches above Rose's head.
