Chapter 9 - The Brother Behind the MaskMarco Moretti looked older than the man in my memories.
The same dark eyes.
Same sharp jaw.
Same slight tilt of his head when he was amused.
But the brother I remembered had disappeared.
This man looked like someone who had spent eleven years talking to ghosts.
“Let her go.”
Marco smiled.
“You always were predictable.”
Camilla stood frozen.
Sofia stared at him.
“Is that him?”
Marco looked at her.
“Yes.”
Sofia backed away.
“Mommy said you were dead.”
“Your mother believed many lies.”
I stared.
“Did you take Lila?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Alive.”
“Where?”
“You'll see her.”
“Right now.”
Marco shook his head.
“You don't make demands.”
“Then what do you want?”
He pointed the gun slightly toward Camilla.
“I want you to remember.”
“Remember what?”
“The night you almost died.”
My mind flashed.
A hospital.
White ceiling.
Machines.
A voice.
Marco.
Then darkness.
He continued.
“Voss didn't just drug you.”
“What did he do?”
“He rewired your memories.”
“Why?”
“Because you discovered the plan.”
I stared.
“What plan?”
“To remove you without killing you.”
My pulse increased.
“They wanted you alive because your organization trusted only one man.”
“Me.”
“Yes.”
“They wanted you to continue signing papers while believing they were legitimate.”
I remembered the forged documents.
The missing time.
The headaches.
The strange familiarity.
Marco lowered the gun.
“And I tried to stop them.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You kidnapped my daughter.”
“I saved her.”
“You poisoned her.”
“No.”
Camilla looked at him.
“You told me it was temporary.”
“I never told you to continue for six months.”
“Who did?”
Marco looked at her.
“Hale.”
Something passed through his eyes.
Fear.
Real fear.
“Where is he?”
Marco looked toward the ceiling.
“Watching us.”
A speaker clicked.
Hale's voice.
“Family reunions are so inefficient.”
The lights went out.
Gunfire exploded.
I tackled Camilla.
Rafael fired.
Someone screamed.
Emergency lights flashed red.
Marco disappeared.
“Find Lila!” I shouted.
We split.
I followed the hall.
A door slammed ahead.
I kicked it open.
Empty.
Then I heard breathing.
I looked down.
A small hatch.
I opened it.
A hidden elevator.
The doors were closing.
Inside stood a woman holding Lila.
Not Camilla.
Elena.
“Don't!” I shouted.
She looked at me.
“I don't have a choice.”
“Put her down.”
Lila reached toward me.
“Daddy!”
The elevator disappeared.
I slammed my fist into the wall.
Rafael arrived.
“They're moving her.”
“Where?”
“Up.”
We reached the roof.
Nothing.
No helicopter.
No car.
Then Rafael pointed to the adjacent building.
A cable stretched between rooftops.
They had crossed using a maintenance line.
We followed.
On the opposite roof, we found Lila's cane.
And a bloodstain.
Fresh.
Camilla arrived.
“What happened?”
I turned.
She was holding something.
A black envelope.
“What is that?”
“Marco gave it to me.”
“Why?”
She opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Me.
Camilla.
Lila.
Sofia.
The photograph had been taken years earlier.
At a hospital.
Behind us was a man I didn't recognize.
A handwritten note said:
The Moretti family was selected because of the bloodline.
Another page:
Three children were born.
I froze.
“Three?”
Camilla's hand shook.
“Three children?”
The next page had three names.
Lila.
Sofia.
And a third child.
Nina.
I stared.
“Who is Nina?”
The final line answered.
Alive.
My heart pounded.
Another hidden daughter.
Another secret.
Another child controlled by someone.
I looked at Camilla.
“You knew nothing about this?”
She shook her head.
“I swear.”
A phone rang.
It was mine.
Unknown.
I answered.
A little girl's voice spoke.
“Daddy?”
I closed my eyes.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Nina.”
“Where are you?”
She whispered:
“I am with the doctor.”
“What doctor?”
“Dr. Hale.”
My blood froze.
Then she said something that changed everything.
“He told me you aren't my father.”
A pause.
“He said Marco is.”
The line disconnected.
I looked at Marco's photograph.
Three children.
Three identities.
Three experiments.
And suddenly I understood.
May you like
This wasn't a war for my empire.
It was a war over which Moretti bloodline would survive.
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