Chapter 9: The Brother Who Sold Us Out
Nobody wanted to believe it.
That was the worst part.
Not the betrayal.
Not the danger.
The disbelief.
Because the person Daniel named had shared our tables.
Our rides.
Our memories.
He had stood beside us when we buried Wizard.
And now we knew he had helped create the lie.
Tom sat alone in the clubhouse later that day.
The photograph was on the table.
The evidence was everywhere.
Our brother had betrayed us.
His name was Marcus.
He had joined the club ten years earlier.
He was the quiet one.
The reliable one.
The person everyone trusted.
That was why nobody suspected him.
Wizard stood by the window.
"He was working with them before I disappeared.""
Tom looked up.
"Why?""
Wizard shook his head.
"I don't know.""
Then the clubhouse door opened.
Everyone reached for weapons.
Marcus walked in.
Alone.
Tom stared at him.
"You have some courage showing up here.""
Marcus looked around.
"I know what you found.""
Nobody spoke.
Marcus sighed.
"I can explain.""
Tom laughed.
A painful laugh.
"Explain?""
He stood.
"We buried him.""
Marcus looked at Wizard.
"I know.""
"You watched us suffer.""
"I know.""
"You lied to us.""
Marcus lowered his eyes.
"Yes.""
The honesty shocked everyone.
Wizard stepped forward.
"Why?""
Marcus looked at him.
"Because I was trying to save you.""
Nobody believed him.
Then Marcus pulled out a file.
"I was never working for them.""
Tom stared.
"Then what were you doing?""
Marcus placed the file down.
"I was working against them.""
The room went silent.
He opened the file.
Inside were photographs.
Names.
Dates.
Proof.
"I found out someone inside the organization was targeting your family.""
Wizard looked confused.
"Then why fake my death?""
Marcus looked at him.
"Because they were going to kill you.""
The room went quiet.
Marcus continued.
"I had one chance to get you out.""
Tom shook his head.
"You let us think he was dead.""
Marcus looked at him.
"Because they were watching you too.""
Nobody spoke.
Then Wizard asked:
"Who gave the order?""
Marcus hesitated.
That hesitation told us everything.
Tom stepped closer.
"Who?""
Marcus looked at him.
"The person who has controlled this from the beginning.""
He placed one final photograph on the table.
A photograph of the man wearing the black ring.
The man who had been behind everything.
Then Marcus said:
"Your club founder.""
Nobody moved.
The name was impossible.
The man who created the club.
The man who taught us loyalty.
The man whose portrait hung in our clubhouse.
Tom looked at the wall.
At the old photograph.
His face went pale.
Because suddenly, the missing pieces connected.
The founder wasn't dead.
He was the person who had been hunting Wizard's family.
The person who had been inside our lives all along.
Then the phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Tom answered.
A voice whispered:
"You finally figured it out.""
Tom gripped the phone.
"Where are you?""
The voice laughed.
"Where I have always been.""
A pause.
Then:
"At your clubhouse.""
Everyone turned.
Slowly.
May you like
Because the voice wasn't coming from the phone.
It was coming from behind us.
