Chapter 11 - I couldn't breathe.My father's face filled the screen.
Samuel Vaughn.
Older than I remembered.
Thinner.
But unmistakably him.
The man I'd buried six months ago.
The man whose ashes sat inside a small wooden box on my bedroom shelf.
“Dad?”
He stared at me.
“Clara.”
I stepped toward the monitor.
“Where are you?”
“I don't know how much time we have.”
Adrian moved beside me.
“You've been alive.”
Samuel looked at him.
“Adrian Moretti.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“You knew my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You helped her.”
“Yes.”
“You betrayed her.”
Samuel closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
I stared.
“How?”
“I thought I could control Delacroix.”
“Why?”
“Because I believed I could use their network to protect you.”
My voice shook.
“You faked your death.”
“I had no choice.”
“You let me bury you.”
He looked broken.
“I know.”
Adrian stepped closer to the screen.
“Who controls Delacroix now?”
Samuel hesitated.
Then answered:
“You.”
Adrian frowned.
“What?”
Samuel continued.
“Vittorio created it.”
His eyes moved toward Eleanor.
“She destroyed it.”
Then back to Adrian.
“And you inherited what's left.”
Adrian looked at the first USB.
“The folders.”
“Seven keys.”
“What does that mean?”
“Each folder opens one part of the network.”
Bank.
Port.
Police.
Family.
Marchand.
Eleanor.
Adrian.
My father continued.
“The last folder is yours.”
Adrian stared.
“Why?”
“Because Vittorio wanted you to become the next head of Delacroix.”
Adrian laughed.
“No.”
Samuel's expression remained serious.
“He trained you from childhood.”
“I was raised to lead the Moretti family.”
“That was the cover.”
The room became silent.
“Delacroix wasn't built to serve the Moretti family.”
Samuel whispered.
“The Moretti family was built to serve Delacroix.”
Adrian's face changed.
Eleanor stepped toward him.
“That's why your grandfather protected Vittorio.”
“And why my father was killed?” I asked.
Samuel looked directly at me.
“He wasn't killed.”
I froze.
“Who killed him?”
Samuel hesitated.
“I did.”
Silence.
“What?”
“I caused the crash.”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
Adrian looked at me.
Samuel continued.
“I needed everyone to believe I was dead.”
I stared at him.
“You killed yourself?”
“I survived.”
“Then why hide?”
“Because someone else was coming.”
A siren sounded in the distance.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Eleanor looked toward the tunnel entrance.
“They found us.”
Adrian drew his weapon.
“How?”
Samuel shook his head.
“Because Clara.”
I looked at him.
“The moment you opened the first drive, they knew.”
“Who?”
Samuel's expression became terrified.
“The Council.”
Adrian stiffened.
“What council?”
“The people who inherited your grandfather's network.”
“How many?”
Samuel looked at the camera.
“Seven.”
The seven folders.
I suddenly understood.
Each folder represented a member.
Bank.
Port.
Police.
Family.
Marchand.
Eleanor.
Adrian.
Seven branches.
Seven people.
Seven powers.
But there was an eighth.
Me.
Samuel said quietly:
“You are the eighth key.”
Adrian looked at me.
Eleanor whispered:
“That's why they have been hunting you.”
The tunnel shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Luca looked toward the entrance.
“They're here.”
Samuel's screen flickered.
“Clara.”
“Yes?”
“Whatever happens next…”
He swallowed.
“Do not trust Adrian.”
I stared.
Adrian turned toward me.
The screen went black.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
May you like
Then the tunnel door exploded inward.
And the first assassin stepped through.
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