Its screen displayed a single incoming call.
UNKNOWN CALLER.
Victoria answered.
"Hello?"
A man's voice emerged.
"Victoria."
She froze.
Nobody moved.
The voice continued.
"I see you've found the files."
Victoria tightened her grip on the phone.
"Who is this?"
The man laughed softly.
"Don't pretend you don't recognize my voice."
Her face turned pale.
Then the caller said:
"Tell Ethan that his brother is waiting for him."
The call ended.
Ethan stared at Victoria.
"Who was that?"
She slowly lowered the phone.
Then she whispered:
"Adrian.
The name echoed through the underground room.
Adrian.
Ethan looked at the photograph again.
His brother.
A person he had never known existed.
"He's alive?" Ethan asked.
Victoria nodded slowly.
"Apparently."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
"Then how did he know we were here?"
Nobody answered.
Robert walked toward the filing cabinet and began searching through the documents.
"There's something missing."
Victoria turned.
"What?"
"The original witness list."
He pulled out several folders.
"They were supposed to be here."
Ethan approached him.
"What witness list?"
Robert looked at him.
"The list of everyone who helped create the Black Circle."
"Why is it important?"
"Because it contains the names of people who were officially declared dead but are still alive."
Ethan looked toward the empty cabinet.
"And my brother?"
Robert nodded.
"He was one of them."
Victoria suddenly raised her hand.
"Quiet."
Everyone stopped.
From somewhere above them came the sound of footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Approaching.
Victoria switched off the lights.
"Someone's inside the building."
Robert pulled Ethan behind a filing cabinet.
His mother covered her mouth.
The footsteps stopped directly above them.
Then came three knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
A man's voice echoed through the building.
"Robert? I know you're down there."
Robert closed his eyes.
Ethan whispered:
"Who is it?"
His father answered:
"Sergeant Reeves."
Victoria looked toward the ceiling.
"That doesn't make sense. He was supposed to be at the station."
The voice came again.
"Robert, I don't want to hurt anyone. Just open the door."
Robert reached for his weapon.
Victoria grabbed his wrist.
"Don't."
"He's working with Miller."
"No," she whispered. "He's trying to warn us."
Suddenly, the steel door opened.
A man stepped into the room.
Sergeant Daniel Reeves.
He looked exhausted.
His uniform was dirty, and blood covered his left sleeve.
He raised both hands.
"Don't shoot."
Robert pointed his weapon.
"Why should I trust you?"
Reeves looked at Ethan.
"Because if you don't, that boy will never learn the truth."
Victoria stepped forward.
"Where is Miller?"
Reeves shook his head.
"He's already found the archives."
A loud explosion shook the building.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The lights flickered.
Reeves shouted:
"We have less than five minutes!"
Robert grabbed the witness files.
Victoria pulled Ethan toward the exit.
But Ethan refused to move.
"Tell me what's happening!"
Reeves looked at him.
"Your brother is not the person you think he is."
Ethan stared.
"What does that mean?"
Reeves took a small flash drive from his pocket.
"Twenty-three years ago, Adrian was selected to lead the Black Circle's next generation. He was trained, protected, and given access to everything."
"Why?"
"Because he knew where the original evidence was hidden."
Ethan shook his head.
"But he was just a child."
Reeves nodded.
"Exactly."
He handed Ethan the flash drive.
"Your brother was only seven years old when he disappeared. But before that happened, he recorded something."
"What?"
Reeves looked toward Robert.
"Something that could destroy your entire family."
Robert's expression hardened.
"Give me that."
Reeves stepped backward.
"No."
Robert raised his gun.
"Daniel, don't make me do this."
Reeves stared at him.
"You're still making the same mistake, Robert. You're still trying to protect a lie."
Before Robert could respond, the lights went out again.
A gunshot exploded.
Ethan fell to the floor.
When the emergency lights returned, Reeves was lying beside the cabinet.
Blood was spreading across his shirt.
His mother screamed.
"Daniel!"
Ethan rushed toward him.
"Who shot you?"
Reeves struggled to breathe.
He pointed toward the doorway.
But there was nobody there.
"Listen..." he whispered.
Ethan leaned closer.
"Tell me."
Reeves grabbed his wrist.
"Your brother..."
He coughed.
"Your brother didn't disappear."
Ethan stared at him.
"Then where is he?"
Reeves struggled to speak.
"He was taken..."
"By who?"
Reeves looked directly into Ethan's eyes.
"By your mother."
Silence filled the room.
Ethan slowly turned.
His mother stood behind him.
Her face was completely expressionless.
Then she said something that made him realize the nightmare was far from over.
"Daniel was right."
She looked at her son.
"I took Adrian."
She paused.
"But I didn't do it to save him."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I did it because your father wanted him dead."
And suddenly, Ethan understood that the biggest secret in his family had never been about the police.
It had always been about two brothers.
One who had been raised to believe his father was a hero.
And another who had been raised to become a monster.
The underground archive was slowly filling with smoke.
Somewhere above them, alarms were screaming. The explosion had damaged the building's electrical system, and several lights flickered before disappearing completely.
Ethan stood motionless beside Sergeant Reeves.
His mother's words continued echoing inside his head.
"I took Adrian."
He looked at her.
"You took my brother?"
His mother lowered her eyes.
"Yes."
"Why?"
She didn't answer.
"WHY DID YOU TAKE HIM?"
His voice echoed through the underground chamber.
Robert stepped forward.
"Ethan, calm down."
Ethan turned toward him.
"Don't tell me to calm down! Everyone in this family has been lying to me!"
He pointed toward the photograph of Adrian.
"Twenty-three years! I've spent twenty-three years believing I was an only child. I thought my father died protecting this family. I thought my mother was just a woman who lost her husband."
He looked at both of them.
"But apparently, none of that was true."
His mother approached him.
"I know you're angry."
"Angry? You have no idea how I feel."
"I was trying to protect you."
"That's what everyone says!"
Suddenly, Sergeant Reeves coughed.