Chapter 9 - The Brother’s Bargain
The storage unit stood behind a shopping center outside Cleveland, wedged between a tire shop and a building with boarded windows. Maria had expected boxes. Instead, unit forty-four contained a rusted drafting table, three sealed trunks, and a wall covered with photographs of Noor’s royal family.
Elena Ruiz had never spoken about Noor. She had told Maria that Daniel traveled because engineering projects required it, not because he spent months advising a palace. Yet there she was in the photographs beside Hassan Khalid, Kareem Khalid, and a young Adam whose serious expression made Maria almost smile.
“Your mother was not just a project administrator,” Adam said.
“What was she?”
“She negotiated land agreements for Blue Gate. She was the reason local councils accepted the first stations.”
Maria opened one of the trunks. Inside were maps, legal contracts, and a navy scarf embroidered with a falcon. Beneath it rested a letter addressed to Elena from Kareem.
I know Hassan suspects me. I know Rashad has convinced him that the project is a threat. But I did not give Grant the codes. I gave Daniel a warning. The person inside our house is not me.
“The wrong brother,” Maria murmured.
Adam took the letter. “Kareem suspected someone in the palace.”
“Did your father ever investigate?”
“He ordered Kareem detained.”
“Because Rashad told him to.”
“Yes.”
“And you let it happen?”
The question struck him. Adam set down the letter. “I was twenty-four. I believed my father was protecting the kingdom. I thought Kareem was proud and reckless, but not dangerous. When he protested, I told him he was making everything worse.”
“You were a son trying to defend his father.”
“I was also a brother who chose silence.”
Maria found a hidden compartment inside the drafting table. A brass plate covered it, etched with the same seven notches as the keys. She tried her key. The compartment opened to reveal a small digital drive and a note.
The ledger is divided because no single person should own justice.
“This is not the third record,” Samira said.
“No,” Maria replied. “It is a map to it.”
Footsteps sounded outside the unit.
Adam reached for his weapon, but Maria raised a hand. Through the gap beneath the door, she saw two pairs of boots. One person wore polished black shoes. The other wore sneakers with a white stripe.
“There are two,” she whispered.
The lock began to turn.
Maria remembered her father’s voice: Never stand where the door wants you to stand. She climbed onto the drafting table and opened the ceiling panel. Adam boosted her up, then followed. Samira stayed below and kicked one of the trunks against the door.
The door burst open. A man in a gray coat entered first, followed by a woman with a red scarf. The woman carried a compact rifle.
“Search the unit,” the man said.
From the ceiling, Maria watched him remove a photograph of Hassan Khalid from the wall and kiss two fingers before placing them on the glass.
“Who is he?” she whispered.
Adam’s voice was close to her ear. “Rashad’s chief of intelligence.”
Samira dropped a metal tool onto the floor. The woman turned. Maria pulled the ceiling panel free and let it fall. Adam jumped down behind the man, while Maria kicked the rifle from the woman’s hands.
The fight lasted less than a minute. Samira restrained the woman. Adam pinned the intelligence officer against the wall.
“Where is Leon?” Adam asked.
The man smiled. “You still think Leon works for Rashad.”
Maria froze.
The man looked at her. “He was hired to protect you from the beginning. The assassination was never supposed to succeed.”
Adam tightened his grip. “Who hired him?”
“Your father.”
Before anyone could answer, the digital drive in Maria’s hand began to beep.
May you like
The screen lit with an incoming video call. A man with silver hair appeared against a dark background.
Grant Bell said, “Maria, you have something that belongs to me.”
