Chapter 13 - VincentThe gunfire stopped.
No one moved.
Adrian's weapon remained pointed at Vincent.
“You betrayed me.”
Vincent shook his head.
“No.”
“You admitted it.”
“I protected your daughter.”
“You gave her to them.”
“I gave her a chance.”
Adrian's voice was cold.
“Explain.”
Vincent lowered his gun.
“Three years ago, I found out Lucian had identified Mia.”
Adrian stared.
“I intercepted a kill order.”
“What kill order?”
“An order to eliminate Clara and take Mia.”
Vincent swallowed.
“I couldn't stop the whole operation.”
“So you helped it?”
“I changed the target.”
Adrian frowned.
“You what?”
Vincent stepped closer.
“I made Lucian believe Mia was in a different location.”
Adrian stared.
“Then why was she still targeted?”
“Because Clara had the ledger.”
Vincent continued.
“I arranged for Clara to disappear.”
“And told me she abandoned me.”
“Yes.”
Adrian shook his head.
“You decided what I deserved to know.”
Vincent looked ashamed.
“I decided what kept you alive.”
Adrian stared at him.
Every lie had been built around the same excuse.
Protection.
Love.
Fear.
And every lie had produced the same result.
His daughter had grown up without him.
“You should have trusted me.”
Vincent whispered:
“I was afraid you'd choose your daughter over the organization.”
Adrian almost laughed.
“Of course I would.”
Vincent looked down.
“That is why Lucian feared you.”
Suddenly the lights came back on.
Lucian was gone.
A door slammed somewhere above them.
Marcus looked toward the stairs.
“He's escaping.”
Adrian picked up the folder.
“Let him.”
Everyone stared.
Adrian turned toward the laboratory.
“We're taking everything.”
“Everything?”
“The files.”
“The evidence.”
“The money.”
“The names.”
He looked toward the security room.
“And we're burning his empire to the ground.”
Sofia nodded.
But Mia tugged Adrian's sleeve.
“Daddy?”
He looked down.
“Are we going home?”
Adrian hesitated.
Then smiled.
“Yes.”
But before they could leave, Elena opened one of the medical files.
“Adrian.”
He turned.
She looked terrified.
“What?”
She held up a document.
“This isn't about curing you.”
Adrian frowned.
“What is it?”
“The original research.”
She flipped to the final page.
There was a line highlighted in red.
SUBJECT ZERO: MATTEO MORETTI.
Adrian stared.
His father wasn't a victim.
He had been the first successful experiment.
Sofia's face went pale.
Marcus looked sick.
“What does that mean?”
Elena continued.
“Matteo’s condition was artificially induced.”
Adrian whispered:
“He wasn't born with the mutation.”
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
She handed him another file.
The original treatment protocol.
It contained a name.
VOLKOV FOUNDATION.
Adrian looked at Clara.
Her face turned white.
“My family started the program,” she whispered.
Silence.
Adrian realized the truth.
Lucian hadn't created the machine.
He had inherited it.
And now someone else had inherited Lucian.
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Sofia answered.
A voice came through.
Old.
Weak.
Familiar.
Matteo.
“I need you to listen.”
Adrian grabbed the phone.
“Where are you?”
“Far from you.”
“Why?”
“Because Lucian is not the one you should be hunting.”
Adrian's heart sank.
“Then who?”
Matteo whispered:
“The woman who raised your daughter.”
Adrian looked at Clara.
Clara stepped back.
“No.”
Matteo continued.
“She was never protecting Mia.”
The line went dead.
May you like
Everyone looked at Clara.
And for the first time, Clara didn't deny it.
