The Siblings
1578 Words
Cole woke to the sound of voices. Unfamiliar voices. For a moment, he panicked. Then he remembered. The cabin. His siblings. Sarah. David. Rachel.
He sat up on the couch. A blanket fell to the floor. He had stayed in the main room, watching the door, while they slept in the bedroom.
Sarah was in the kitchen. Making coffee. She looked like their mother. The same eyes. The same way of moving.
“You're up,” she said.
“Couldn't sleep.”
“Neither could I.”
She handed him a cup. The coffee was strong. Bitter. Just the way he liked it.
“How did you know how I take my coffee?”
“I asked your mother. She sent me a message. Before we came.”
Cole set down the cup. “You talked to my mother?”
“She knew about us. For years. Your father told her, before he faked his death. She's been watching us from a distance. Protecting us when she could.”
Cole felt a wave of emotion. His mother had kept another secret. Protected another family.
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“Because she was afraid. Of your father. Of what he would do to us if he found out we were in contact.”
David walked in. His hair was wet. He had showered.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
Rachel came out of the bedroom. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. She hadn't slept.
Cole looked at his siblings. Strangers. Family.
“We need to talk. About our father. About what he did.”
Sarah sat at the table. David leaned against the wall. Rachel stood by the window.
“What do you want to know?” Sarah asked.
“Everything. How you were born. How you survived. Who helped you.”
Sarah took a breath. “Our mothers were all employees of your father's company. Aegis. He targeted them. Manipulated them. When they got pregnant, he threatened them. Said he would kill them if they told anyone.”
“But they didn't kill you.”
“No. They hid us. Changed our names. Moved us around the country. Your mother helped. She sent money. Documents. Whatever we needed.”
Cole looked at David. “You're the oldest.”
“I'm thirty-five. Born a year before you. My mother was a secretary at Aegis. She died when I was ten. Car accident. I think your father arranged it.”
“Why would he kill her?”
“Because she threatened to expose him. He couldn't have that.”
Cole turned to Rachel. “You're the youngest.”
“I'm twenty-eight. My mother was a nurse at the sanatorium where your mother was held. She helped your mother escape. Twice. The first time, they caught her. Put her back. The second time, your mother refused to go. She said she would stay to protect us.”
Cole's eyes widened. “My mother knew about you. All of you.”
“She knew. And she stayed in that place to protect us. If she left, your father would have come after us. To silence us.”
Cole stood. Walked to the window. The woods were dark. The sky was gray.
“She sacrificed eight years of her life. For you.”
“For all of us,” Sarah said. “She's a hero.”
“She's my mother.”
“She's our mother too. In every way that matters.”
Cole turned. Looked at his siblings.
“What do you want from me?”
“We want to help you finish what you started. We have information. About your father's partner. The one who's still out there.”
“What information?”
David walked to his bag. Pulled out a folder. Thick. Stuffed with papers.
“Our mothers kept records. Everything. Names. Dates. Locations. They wanted us to have the truth, in case something happened to them.”
Cole took the folder. Opened it.
The first page was a photograph. A man. Mid-fifties. Gray hair. Cold eyes.
“Who is this?”
“His name is Arthur Vance. Julian and Helena's cousin. He was the money behind the Consortium. The one who kept everything running.”
“Where is he now?”
“Switzerland. Same as Helena. But he's not dying. He's healthy. Rich. Protected.”
“Why hasn't anyone gone after him?”
“Because no one knew about him. He stayed in the shadows. Let Helena and Julian take the risks. He just wrote checks.”
Cole closed the folder. “Not anymore.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I'm going to find him. And I'm going to bring him down.”
Sarah stood. “We're coming with you.”
“No. You're staying here. Safe.”
“We've been safe our whole lives. Hiding. Running. We're done with that.”
Cole looked at her. At David. At Rachel.
“If you come with me, you might die.”
“Then we die fighting. Better than hiding.”
Cole nodded. “Then we go together.”
---
Kane arrived at noon. He looked at the siblings. Then at Cole.
“You're bringing them?”
“They have information. And they want to help.”
“It's dangerous.”
“They know.”
Kane nodded. “Then let's go.”
They drove to the airport. Kane's plane was waiting.
The flight to Switzerland was long. Cole slept for part of it. Woke to the sun rising over the Alps.
They landed in Geneva at 3 PM. A car was waiting.
Arthur Vance lived in a chateau outside the city. Stone walls. Iron gates. A long driveway lined with trees.
Cole looked at the gates. The cameras. The guards.
“How do we get in?”
Kane pulled out a tablet. “I've been monitoring his security for weeks. There's a weakness. The north wall. No cameras. No motion sensors.”
“Why?”
“Because it's a cliff. A hundred-foot drop. He doesn't think anyone would be stupid enough to climb it.”
Cole looked at the cliff. The stone was sheer. The drop was deadly.
“I'll climb it.”
“I'll come with you,” David said.
“No. You stay with Kane. If I don't make it, you take over.”
David wanted to argue. But he nodded.
Cole waited for dark. The moon was hidden by clouds. Perfect.
He climbed the cliff. His fingers found cracks in the stone. His toes found ledges. The wind was cold. The drop was endless.
He reached the top. Pulled himself over.
The grounds were dark. The chateau was lit. He walked to the back door. Picked the lock.
Inside, the chateau was quiet. Art on the walls. Marble floors.
Arthur Vance was in the library. Reading by the fire.
Cole walked in. The man looked up. His eyes widened.
“You.”
“Me.”
“How did you get in?”
“The same way I get everywhere. Quietly.”
Arthur stood. His hands were shaking.
“If you kill me, you'll never find the others.”
“What others?”
“The ones who funded the Consortium. The ones who are still out there. I have names. Accounts. Locations.”
“Then give them to me.”
“And what do I get in return?”
“A quick death. Instead of a slow one.”
Arthur sat back down. His face was pale.
“You're just like your father.”
“I'm nothing like my father.”
“You're exactly like him. Cold. Calculating. Willing to do whatever it takes.”
Cole walked closer. Towered over the old man.
“The names. Now.”
Arthur reached into his jacket. Pulled out a flash drive.
“Everything is on here. Every name. Every account. Every crime.”
Cole took the drive. “Thank you.”
“Now kill me. Quick.”
Cole raised his pistol. Then he lowered it.
“No. You're going to prison. To face justice.”
Arthur laughed. It was bitter. “Justice. There's no such thing.”
“There is now.”
Cole pulled out his phone. Called Kane.
“I have him. Bring the car.”
---
The Swiss police arrived within minutes. Kane had called them before the climb.
Arthur Vance was arrested. Taken away.
Cole stood in the library. The fire was dying.
Kane walked in. “You did it.”
“We did it.”
“What's on the drive?”
“Everything. The rest of the Consortium. The people who funded it.”
“Then we're not done.”
“We're never done.”
They walked out of the chateau. The night was cold. The stars were bright.
Sarah was waiting by the car. “Is it over?”
“For now.”
“But not forever.”
Cole looked at his sister. “No. Not forever.”
They drove back to Geneva. The plane was waiting.
The flight home was quiet. Cole sat by the window. Watched the clouds.
His phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
“You took down Arthur. But there are others. Others who will come for you. Sleep well, Mr. Mathers. —A Friend”
Cole read the text. Then he deleted it.
He looked at his siblings. Asleep in their seats.
His family.
He would protect them.
No matter the cost.
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