Chapter 14 - The Betrayal Inside the RoomThe doors opened simultaneously.
Agents rushed through.
Police.
Federal investigators.
Members of the district attorney's office.
Everyone shouting.
Everyone confused.
The underground facility became a storm of bodies and weapons.
Vega disappeared through a hidden door.
Sebastián chased him.
Valeria shouted his name.
He ignored her.
He followed Vega into a narrow corridor.
At the end was a private elevator.
Vega stepped inside.
Sebastián reached the doors before they closed.
He caught them.
Vega aimed his gun.
"You should have stayed ignorant."
Sebastián stepped inside.
"So should you."
The elevator descended.
Past floors.
Past laboratories.
Past vaults.
Past server rooms.
Finally, it stopped.
A door opened.
Vega stepped into a massive chamber.
At its center was a circular machine.
Screens surrounded it.
Data flowed across every surface.
Vega smiled.
"This is what your family built."
Sebastián stared.
"What is it?"
"The Vault."
"What does it do?"
"Predicts behavior."
"Of people?"
"Of markets. Governments. Elections. Crises."
Sebastián looked at the screens.
"You manipulated everything."
"Not everything."
Vega smiled.
"Only what mattered."
The baby began crying in Sebastián's arms.
The system reacted.
Screens flashed.
PRIMARY ASSET DETECTED.
Vega walked closer.
"Give him to me."
"No."
"Then watch."
He pressed a button.
A screen showed Valeria.
She was being held by two guards.
Sebastián's blood froze.
"Let her go."
"Bring me the child."
"I'll kill you."
Vega laughed.
"You won't."
"How do you know?"
"Because you are not your father."
Sebastián froze.
"What does that mean?"
Vega looked at him.
"Your father chose power."
He leaned closer.
"You chose love."
Sebastián tightened his grip on the baby.
Vega pressed another button.
The screen changed.
Valeria was suddenly holding a gun.
A man stood behind her.
Adrián.
He spoke.
"Sebastián."
Sebastián's heart stopped.
"Help me."
Adrián turned the gun toward Valeria.
Sebastián shouted.
"Don't!"
Adrián's face was unreadable.
Vega smiled.
"Your brother still has a choice."
Sebastián looked at the screen.
"Adrián, listen to me."
"Don't."
"He'll kill you when you're no longer useful."
Adrián hesitated.
Vega's face changed.
"Do it."
Adrián raised the gun.
Then he fired.
The screen went black.
Sebastián screamed.
He lunged toward Vega.
The two men crashed into the console.
Vega's gun fired.
Sebastián fell.
The baby cried.
The machine activated.
Every screen flashed.
Then a woman's voice came through the chamber.
"Authorization accepted."
Sebastián looked up.
It was Valeria.
She stepped out of the shadows.
No blood.
No guards.
Holding a gun.
Vega stared.
"How?"
Valeria smiled.
"Because you forgot something."
She pointed at the machine.
"I helped build the Vault."
Sebastián stared at her.
"What?"
Valeria looked at him.
"I told you I was a forensic accountant."
She took another step.
"I never told you what happened after I left."
The machine suddenly opened.
Inside was a biometric scanner.
Valeria placed her hand on it.
The system flashed.
SECONDARY AUTHORIZATION CONFIRMED.
Vega's face collapsed.
"You."
Valeria whispered:
"I was never your recruit."
May you like
She looked at Sebastián.
"I was the architect's daughter."
