CHAPTER 9: The Father of Lies
The underground chamber fell silent.
Even the dripping water from the ceiling seemed to stop.
The elderly man stood beneath the flickering emergency lights, his polished shoes untouched by the dust that covered everything else.
He looked at Ethan with quiet curiosity.
Then at Miguel, lying on the floor with blood soaking through his shirt.
Finally, he smiled.
"So many years..."
"...and you're both exactly where I wanted you."
Ethan felt a chill run down his spine.
"Victor Salazar."
The man inclined his head slightly.
"I see my old friend finally told you the story."
He glanced at the frozen image of Ethan's grandfather on the television.
"A stubborn man."
"He never understood when to surrender."
Miguel struggled to sit up.
"Stay away from him."
Victor looked down at his wounded son.
"You still protect him?"
Miguel coughed, blood staining his lips.
"I won't let you use him."
Victor sighed as if disappointed by a child.
"I spent twenty-four years giving you everything."
"Power."
"Wealth."
"Influence."
"And this is how you repay me?"
Miguel laughed bitterly.
"You never gave me anything."
"You bought me."
Victor didn't deny it.
Instead, he slowly walked toward one of the shelves filled with old files.
His fingers brushed across the dusty folders.
"You know..."
"I never cared about this land."
Ethan frowned.
"Then why destroy our family?"
Victor turned toward him.
"Because your grandfather made a mistake."
"He stole something that belonged to me."
"The archive."
He pointed at the red folder marked PROJECT PHOENIX.
"Those files."
"They contain enough evidence to destroy an empire."
Carla instinctively stepped in front of the desk.
"You're not touching them."
Victor smiled.
"My dear..."
"I don't need to."
He snapped his fingers.
A dozen armed men poured into the chamber from both tunnels.
Weapons raised.
The room was surrounded.
Ethan slowly realized something.
"At the house..."
"The men."
"At the chapel..."
"The convoy."
"You controlled both sides."
Victor nodded.
"Conflict is useful."
"People stop asking who started the fire when they're busy escaping it."
Miguel closed his eyes.
"I told you."
"He's always three moves ahead."
Victor walked over to Miguel and crouched beside him.
His voice became almost fatherly.
"You disappointed me when you refused to kill them."
Miguel stared back without fear.
"They're my family."
Victor's expression hardened.
"No."
"They were your assignment."
Ethan's heart pounded.
"What assignment?"
Victor stood.
"When Miguel turned twelve..."
"...I gave him one job."
He looked directly into Ethan's eyes.
"Earn their trust."
"Wait."
"When the time is right..."
"Take everything."
Silence crushed the chamber.
Ethan couldn't breathe.
For a moment, every memory of his childhood flashed before him.
Miguel teaching him to ride a bicycle.
Miguel protecting him from bullies.
Miguel carrying him home after he broke his ankle.
Were those memories real?
Or had they all been part of an act?
As if reading his thoughts, Miguel whispered,
"They were real."
Ethan looked at him.
"I hated the mission."
"I loved this family."
His voice cracked.
"But every time I tried to leave..."
"...Victor reminded me what he'd do to all of you."
Victor shrugged.
"I merely motivated him."
Carla slowly reached toward the red folder.
Victor noticed immediately.
"Don't."
She ignored him.
In one swift motion, she grabbed the folder and threw it across the chamber toward Ethan.
"Run!"
Gunfire erupted.
Bullets shattered wooden shelves.
Boxes exploded open.
Old documents flew through the air like snow.
Ethan caught the folder against his chest and dove behind a stone pillar.
Miguel forced himself to his feet despite his wounds.
He grabbed a fallen rifle from one of the guards.
"No!"
Victor shouted.
Too late.
Miguel fired three rapid shots.
The chamber lights exploded.
Darkness.
Complete darkness.
Screams echoed from every direction.
No one knew who was shooting.
Ethan crawled through the chaos, clutching the folder.
Someone grabbed his wrist.
He spun around, ready to fight.
It was Father Gabriel.
The old priest was bruised and bleeding, but alive.
"I found another passage."
"There isn't much time."
"Follow me."
They hurried toward a narrow crack behind one of the shelves.
Hidden by decades of dust was a stone doorway barely wide enough for one person.
Father Gabriel pulled a rusted lever.
The wall slowly slid open.
A secret tunnel.
Before Ethan entered, he looked back.
Flashes of gunfire illuminated the chamber.
Miguel stood alone between Victor's men and the tunnel entrance, firing until his rifle clicked empty.
Victor's voice thundered through the darkness.
"Miguel!"
"Move aside!"
Miguel smiled through the blood on his face.
"For the first time..."
"...I'm choosing my family."
He threw the empty rifle aside.
Then drew a small remote control from his pocket.
Victor's calm expression finally disappeared.
"No..."
Miguel looked toward Ethan one last time.
His eyes filled with regret.
"I'm sorry..."
He pressed the button.
A deafening explosion erupted beneath the chamber.
The floor split apart.
Stone pillars cracked.
The ceiling began collapsing.
Father Gabriel shoved Ethan into the tunnel.
"GO!"
As the hidden door slammed shut behind them, Ethan heard Miguel's final shout echo through the collapsing chamber:
"Don't let him bury the truth again!"
Then...
May you like
The mountain itself seemed to collapse.
End of Chapter 9
