Chapter 13 - THE TRUTH ABOUT MATTEOMatteo had not survived the mill.
That was the truth.
His blood had been found beneath the collapsed roof.
The body had never been recovered.
But Clara knew the story was more complicated.
“Matteo died five years ago,” she said.
Alejandro stared.
“You said he was alive.”
“He was.”
“Then why did he come back?”
“Because he knew what was coming.”
Clara explained.
Matteo had discovered the Black Ledger.
He learned that their father had built a secret system that could destroy half the powerful people in America.
Matteo tried to expose it.
He failed.
Then someone killed him.
But before he died, he arranged for Daniel to be hidden.
He arranged for Emma to be born under another name.
And he asked Clara to protect both children.
Alejandro looked at Emma.
“Why me?”
Clara shook her head.
“Because Matteo believed only you could stop your father.”
Alejandro looked toward the vault.
The Ledger represented decades of crimes.
Thousands of lives destroyed.
Entire governments controlled.
He understood now.
This was never simply about killing him.
Someone wanted the Ledger.
And they needed his children to unlock it.
A sound echoed from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Alejandro raised his weapon.
The door opened.
Valentina entered.
She was carrying no gun.
“You finally found it.”
Alejandro stared at her.
“Did you know?”
“Yes.”
“Did you betray me?”
Valentina shook her head.
“Never.”
“Then why did you hide all of this?”
“To keep you alive.”
Alejandro laughed bitterly.
“Everyone says they're protecting me.”
Valentina walked toward him.
“Because you're the last person your father cannot control.”
Alejandro stared.
“What does he want now?”
Valentina looked at the Ledger.
“To erase it.”
“What?”
“He wants to destroy every record.”
“So why create it?”
“Because he no longer controls the people inside it.”
Alejandro understood.
His father had created the Black Ledger as a weapon.
Now the weapon could destroy him.
Valentina continued.
“The only way to erase it is to unlock the final chamber.”
“What final chamber?”
Valentina looked at Daniel.
“The boy knows.”
Everyone turned toward him.
Daniel slowly walked to the vault wall.
He pressed his hand against a symbol.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
A panel opened.
Behind it was an old tape recorder.
A voice began playing.
Alejandro's father.
“My son.”
Alejandro froze.
“If you have reached this room, then you survived what I planned.”
Alejandro's face darkened.
“I knew you would become powerful.”
The voice laughed softly.
“Powerful enough to destroy me.”
The recording stopped.
Then another voice spoke.
A different man.
Alejandro's blood ran cold.
His own voice.
Recorded years earlier.
“I agree.”
Victor stepped backward.
“What the hell?”
Alejandro stared at the recorder.
“I never said that.”
The recording continued.
“I will take control of the Ledger.”
Alejandro's face went blank.
The voice was identical.
His.
But it was impossible.
Then another recording began.
This time it showed Alejandro in the hospital six years earlier.
A doctor stood beside him.
His eyes were closed.
But the voice coming from his mouth was clear.
“Project Eve is complete.”
Alejandro's stomach turned.
Someone had been using him.
Brainwashing.
Drugs.
Memory manipulation.
Or something worse.
The final image appeared.
A timestamp.
SIX YEARS AGO.
And a name.
DR. ELIAS VOSS.
Alejandro knew that name.
The doctor who had treated him after the assassination attempt.
The doctor who had disappeared.
The doctor who had access to his blood.
May you like
The man responsible for Project Eve.
And his father was still alive.
