Chapter 13 - The Man Who Owned Julian
The scar was not just a scar. It was a signature.
Julian sat on the library floor while Emma stitched his shoulder.
I stood across from him.
“Start talking.”
He nodded.
“Thirteen years ago, I was sent to kill you.”
Emma stopped stitching.
I didn't react.
“You had just become head of the family.”
“They wanted you controlled.”
“Who?”
“The Council.”
“Why me?”
“Because your father was planning to reveal them.”
“What changed?”
Julian looked at the scar.
“They took me.”
“And implanted the tracker.”
“Yes.”
“Then who saved you?”
“Daniel.”
I remembered the photograph.
The burning warehouse.
Daniel dragging Julian from the flames.
“What happened afterward?”
“Daniel removed the tracker.”
I looked at the scar.
“That isn't possible.”
“It was.”
“Then why is it still there?”
Julian's expression darkened.
“Because there are two.”
He touched the scar.
“One under the skin.”
“One inside the scar tissue.”
I stared.
“You've carried it all these years?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed them to think they still owned me.”
I understood.
He had played both sides.
My father.
The Council.
The people hunting Emma.
Everyone.
“You let them believe you were loyal.”
“Yes.”
“And you protected me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Julian looked toward Lily.
“Because Daniel asked me.”
Emma whispered,
“And my daughter?”
“Daniel's last words were about her.”
He paused.
“He told me if I couldn't save him, save her.”
Lily looked up.
“You did.”
Julian smiled.
“I tried.”
The front door opened.
Footsteps echoed through the penthouse.
I raised my weapon.
Lucian walked inside.
“It's me.”
“You're late.”
“So are you.”
He held up a folder.
“We found Marianne.”
“Where?”
“She went to the old train station.”
“Alone?”
“No.”
“Who with?”
Lucian looked at Lily.
“Clara.”
Emma froze.
“Clara is dead.”
“I know.”
“Then who?”
Lucian opened the folder.
Photographs spilled onto the table.
One showed Marianne.
The second showed a woman.
Alive.
Dark hair.
Pale face.
Same eyes as Lily.
Emma couldn't breathe.
“That isn't possible.”
Lucian nodded.
“It is.”
I looked at the photo.
Clara Moretti.
Alive.
“Then whose body was buried?”
Lucian's expression hardened.
“Someone who looked like her.”
Emma began crying.
“Why would she stay hidden?”
“Because she knew who wanted her dead.”
“Marianne?”
“No.”
Lucian looked at me.
“Your mother.”
Silence.
“My mother died when I was six.”
“She disappeared.”
“Why?”
“Because she was the one who gave the Council access to your family.”
I stared at him.
“You're lying.”
“I wish.”
Lily spoke quietly.
“Mommy knows.”
Emma closed her eyes.
I turned.
“Emma?”
She whispered,
“Clara told me to keep Lily hidden.”
“Where is she?”
“At the train station.”
“Then we go.”
Julian stood.
“I'll come.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“I don't trust you.”
“You don't have to.”
I lowered my gun.
“But you're coming.”
We left.
At the station, the platforms were empty.
Rain fell through the broken roof.
Marianne waited near the tracks.
Clara stood beside her.
Alive.
Lily screamed.
“Mommy!”
Emma ran.
Clara caught her.
She hugged Lily.
Tears streamed down her face.
“My baby.”
Emma stopped.
Clara looked at her.
“Thank you.”
Emma whispered,
“I couldn't lose her.”
Marianne raised her gun.
“That's enough.”
A second voice came from the shadows.
“You should have killed them when you had the chance.”
I turned.
My mother stepped into the light.
Alive.
Older.
Smiling.
She looked at me.
“Hello, Matteo.”
I couldn't breathe.
“You're alive.”
She smiled.
May you like
“Unfortunately for you.”
Then she pointed a gun at Lily.
