Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4 — The Brother's Return
Before Clara could process the reality of Trent being in the basement, the elevator chimed.
The heavy steel doors slid open with a soft hiss.
Clara spun around, wincing as her ribs protested the sudden movement.
Two of Silas’s armed guards stepped out, flanked by a man in a soaking wet paramedic jacket.
"Clara!"
Ben broke past the guards, sprinting across the mahogany floor.
He didn't care about the luxury. He didn't care about Silas or the men with guns.
He crashed to his knees in front of her, his hands hovering over her bruised face, terrified to actually touch her and cause more pain.
"Oh my god, Clara," Ben choked out, tears instantly mixing with the rain on his face.
"They came to my apartment. They kicked my door in. They said you were hurt."
Clara dropped to the floor beside him, ignoring the burning agony in her chest.
She threw her arms around her brother’s neck, burying her face in his wet jacket.
"I'm okay, Ben," she sobbed, the emotional dam finally breaking. "I'm okay."
Ben held her fiercely, rocking her gently back and forth on the expensive hardwood.
"I’m so sorry," Ben whispered fiercely into her hair. "I should have dragged you out of there. I should have killed Trent myself."
"I told you I was done, but I wasn't. I was coming back for you tomorrow. I swear I was."
Clara pulled back, wiping her eyes, offering him a broken, trembling smile.
"I know you were," she said.
Silas stood silently by the window, letting the siblings have their moment.
He motioned to the guards, and they immediately retreated to the elevator, leaving them alone.
Ben finally looked up, noticing the massive penthouse, the city skyline, and the dangerous-looking man by the glass.
Ben stood up, pulling Clara up with him, keeping her safely behind his back.
"Who the hell are you?" Ben demanded, his paramedic instincts kicking into protective overdrive.
"I am the man who got her out," Silas answered simply.
Ben looked around the room, taking in the absurd wealth and the clinical security.
"This isn't a safe house," Ben said, his eyes narrowing. "This is a fortress. What is going on?"
Clara placed a hand on Ben's shoulder.
"Ben," she said softly. "Mom's name wasn't Mary."
Ben froze.
His entire body went rigid. He didn't turn around to look at her, but his breathing stopped.
"What did you just say?" Ben whispered.
"You knew," Silas observed, stepping forward into the light of the room.
"You were adopted, Ben. You were older than Clara when Elena ran. You remember the truth."
Ben’s fists clenched at his sides.
"Mom made me swear," Ben said, his voice trembling with years of buried secrets.
"She made me swear on a bible when I was ten years old."
"She said if Clara ever found out who she was, the monsters would come and kill us all."
Ben turned to Clara, his eyes wide with desperate apology.
"I didn't know Trent was one of them, Clara. I swear to god."
"I thought he was just a piece of trash. I didn't know they found us."
"They found the pendant, Ben," Silas explained calmly.
"Trent owed the Los Santos cartel money. He sold Clara’s location to pay his debt."
Ben covered his mouth with his hand, pacing violently across the floor.
"We have to run," Ben panicked. "Clara, we have to go right now. You don't understand what these people do."
"They burned our house down in Mexico. They slaughtered Mom's entire security detail."
"We cannot stay here."
"Run where, Ben?" Silas asked, his voice ringing with absolute authority.
"The Los Santos cartel knows her face now. They know yours."
"You can run for another eighteen years, sleeping with one eye open, working minimum wage jobs, hiding in the rain."
"Or," Silas said, stepping closer to Clara, his eyes locked on hers.
"You can stay here."
"You can claim the Vargas Syndicate."
"You can turn the hunted into the hunters."
Ben stopped pacing. He looked at Clara, seeing the expensive silk, the patched wounds, and the sudden, terrifying clarity in her eyes.
"Clara," Ben whispered, horrified. "You can't."
Clara looked at her brother, the man who had suffered through poverty and fear just to keep her safe.
Then she looked at Silas, the man who had brought her a world where she would never be touched again.
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"Ben," Clara said, her voice dropping to a low, icy register that sounded exactly like her mother’s.
"Trent is in the basement."
