Chapter 12 - The Betrayal Inside the FamilyThe estate was under attack again.
But this time the attackers didn't shoot from outside.
The first explosion came from inside the west wing.
The floor shook.
Windows shattered.
Guards shouted.
Dante pulled Isabella and me behind a stone pillar.
“Move!”
We ran.
Gabriel was in Clara's arms.
She carried him toward the underground shelter.
Isabella followed.
Dante stayed behind.
I grabbed his hand.
“Don't.”
He looked at me.
“I have to.”
“No.”
He stared.
For the first time, I saw exhaustion in his eyes.
“Everyone I trusted is dead or lying.”
I tightened my grip.
“Then trust me.”
Something changed in his expression.
He nodded.
Together we moved toward the bunker.
Halfway there, Victor stepped out of the shadows.
He wasn't alone.
Five armed men stood behind him.
Dante raised his weapon.
“Victor.”
Victor smiled.
“Boss.”
“You have ten seconds.”
“To do what?”
“Explain why you're still breathing.”
Victor laughed.
“Because you still think this is your empire.”
He raised a folder.
“It never was.”
Dante stared.
“What did you do?”
“I did what Carlo asked.”
“He's dead.”
Victor's smile widened.
“Not all of him.”
I felt a chill.
Victor looked at me.
“Your father built a second empire.”
“Gabriel Valdez?”
“No.”
My mother.
Lucia.
I froze.
“What about her?”
Victor opened the folder.
Inside were photographs of my mother with Carlo.
Then another man.
Then another.
She had been gathering intelligence for years.
She wasn't merely hiding me.
She was infiltrating the Moretti empire.
“She was the mastermind.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
Victor smiled.
“She orchestrated the disappearance.”
Isabella stared at him.
“You're lying.”
Victor turned.
“You were never abducted, Isabella.”
She went pale.
“You escaped.”
The room fell silent.
“Lucia arranged everything.”
“What?”
“She staged your death.”
Dante looked at Isabella.
“You knew?”
She whispered:
“No.”
Victor looked at me.
“Your mother wanted one daughter inside the Moretti family.”
He pointed at Isabella.
“And one outside.”
“Why?”
“To destroy Carlo.”
Dante stared.
“And Gabriel?”
“Insurance.”
He stepped closer.
“Your mother believed the baby would inherit enough power to force every faction into the open.”
I felt sick.
“My whole life…”
“Was a plan.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“You were never an innocent girl.”
I almost laughed.
“I worked in a restaurant.”
“That was part of the cover.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
He handed me a document.
It was my employment record.
Fake.
Every address.
Every job.
Every friend.
Everything had been constructed.
I stared.
“What isn't fake?”
Victor leaned closer.
“Your memories.”
Dante stepped between us.
“Enough.”
Victor raised his gun.
Then Isabella shouted:
“Dante, duck!”
Gunfire erupted.
Dante pulled me down.
Victor's men fired.
Guards returned fire.
I crawled toward Gabriel.
Clara was down.
My heart stopped.
She wasn't moving.
I reached her.
Gabriel was still in her arms.
He was crying.
I grabbed him.
Then I heard footsteps.
Victor was leaving.
I stood.
“Victor!”
He turned.
He smiled.
“You want the truth, Elina?”
He disappeared through the bunker door.
“Ask your mother.”
The door slammed shut.
Dante rushed over.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
He looked at Isabella.
Then Clara.
Clara was alive, barely.
She whispered:
“Lucia…”
I leaned close.
“What?”
“Your mother…”
She struggled to breathe.
“She's not hiding from them.”
I waited.
“She’s hiding from you.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
May you like
Clara closed her eyes.
“Because she knows what you really are.”
