Chapter 14 - The helicopters landed in the field.Men poured out.
Black suits.
Masks.
Weapons.
Dad recognized the symbol.
"The old council."
I looked at him.
"Who?"
"The men who funded your grandfather."
Luca stepped forward.
"They've been waiting."
"For what?"
"For the entire family to gather in one place."
The doors of the estate exploded inward.
Gunfire ripped through the hallway.
Dad pushed me behind a pillar.
Luca fired back.
Ryan appeared beside us.
He had a cut across his forehead.
"Where's Lily?"
"She's coming."
"What?"
He pointed toward the back entrance.
A black van had crashed through the gate.
The door opened.
Lily jumped out.
I saw her.
My daughter.
Small.
Terrified.
Alive.
I ran.
"Mommy!"
She ran into my arms.
I dropped to my knees.
She wrapped her arms around my neck.
I held her for the first time.
She smelled like soap and rain.
I cried.
"I've got you."
She whispered:
"I knew you'd come."
Behind her stood a man.
Older.
White hair.
A scar across his jaw.
He held a small metal case.
My mother gasped.
"Your grandfather."
The man smiled.
"He never died."
Dad stared.
"Father?"
The old man nodded.
"I let you believe it."
Dad raised his weapon.
"You destroyed this family."
The old man shook his head.
"No."
He pointed at me.
"Your family was destroyed long before I touched it."
He opened the metal case.
Inside was a small device.
"The ledger."
I stared.
"What is that?"
"Proof."
"Of what?"
"That your mother was never kidnapped by your uncle."
I turned toward my mother.
She looked down.
The old man continued.
"She worked with him."
Dad froze.
My mother began to cry.
"I had no choice."
The old man laughed.
"Everyone says that."
I looked at my mother.
"Is it true?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
"You helped him?"
"I was trying to keep you alive."
"You lied."
"Yes."
I stepped back.
"What else?"
My mother looked toward Nora.
"I created her."
Silence.
"What?"
"Your DNA was the only material your grandfather trusted."
Nora stared at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I thought if you knew..."
"You thought I'd hate you."
Nora's voice broke.
"I do."
Then a gunshot.
The old man fell.
Ryan had fired.
Dad grabbed Ryan.
"What did you do?"
Ryan said:
"He was about to kill them."
The old man smiled from the floor.
"You still don't understand."
He pressed a button.
Every television in the estate turned on.
A live broadcast appeared.
The mayor.
Judges.
Police commanders.
Business leaders.
All sitting around a conference table.
A document appeared.
The headline:
THE MORETTI FAMILY WILL BE CHARGED WITH DOMESTIC TERRORISM, FRAUD, KIDNAPPING, AND MURDER.
I stared.
The old man laughed.
"They've already won."
Dad looked at Luca.
"What do we do?"
Luca stared at the broadcast.
Then at me.
"We expose everything."
I held Lily tighter.
"And the ledger?"
Luca pointed toward the device.
"It's already uploading."
The screen displayed:
UPLOAD: 83%
84%.
85%.
Then suddenly...
99%.
Everyone held their breath.
The screen flickered.
ERROR.
Dad's face fell.
Someone had remotely stopped the upload.
Luca looked at me.
"There's one person who can restart it."
"Who?"
He handed me the device.
"You."
The screen displayed one instruction.
DNA AUTHENTICATION REQUIRED.
I stared at it.
Then at my pregnant stomach.
My mother's face went pale.
"What?"
Luca whispered:
"The baby."
The unborn child.
The final key.
I looked at the screen.
A countdown began.
00:59.
00:58.
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00:57.
And outside, sirens approached from every direction.
