Chapter 7 - The FarmhouseThey reached Albany before dawn.
The farmhouse sat alone beyond a narrow dirt road.
No lights.
No cars.
No movement.
Adrian stepped out of the SUV.
The air was freezing.
Vincent walked beside him.
“Could be a trap.”
“Everything is a trap now.”
They approached the house.
The front door was unlocked.
Inside, the smell of old wood and cigarette smoke lingered.
Adrian called out.
“Father?”
No response.
They searched room by room.
Empty.
Then Adrian noticed a light beneath a basement door.
He opened it.
A staircase descended.
At the bottom was a small room filled with photographs.
Hundreds.
His childhood.
Marcus.
Their father.
Clara.
Mia.
And Adrian.
Every year.
Every place.
Every moment.
Vincent stared.
“Someone has been watching us for decades.”
Adrian found a wall covered in notes.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Doctors.
Judges.
Police officers.
Politicians.
The Black Ledger wasn't just a book.
It was an entire archive.
A door opened behind them.
Adrian turned.
An old man stood there.
Gray hair.
Wheelchair.
Scar across his throat.
His father.
Don Matteo Moretti.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“You're alive.”
Matteo smiled.
“You finally came.”
Adrian's hands shook.
“You knew about Mia.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Lucian.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Marcus was alive.”
Matteo looked at Vincent.
“And you knew too.”
Vincent lowered his eyes.
Adrian turned sharply.
“What?”
Vincent didn't answer.
Adrian stepped toward him.
“You knew Marcus was alive?”
Vincent whispered:
“For six months.”
Adrian stared at him.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Marcus told me not to.”
Adrian felt betrayed.
His father watched silently.
“Everyone lied to me.”
Matteo nodded.
“Because everyone knew what would happen when you learned the truth.”
“What truth?”
Matteo pointed to a folder.
Adrian opened it.
Inside were medical records.
His.
Marcus's.
Mia's.
And another.
Lucian Volkov.
Adrian stared at the genetic reports.
There was a matching sequence.
His father explained.
“Your family carries a rare mutation.”
“The heart disease.”
“Yes.”
“But Lucian?”
“He doesn't have it.”
“Then why does he care?”
Matteo looked at the records.
“Because he discovered what the mutation can become.”
Adrian's stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Resistance.”
“To what?”
“Certain forms of engineered cardiac failure.”
Adrian stared.
Matteo continued.
“For twenty years, Lucian has been building a private research network designed to create people who can survive extreme biological stress.”
Vincent frowned.
“Why?”
Matteo looked at Adrian.
“For war.”
Adrian whispered, “That's insane.”
Matteo nodded.
“Yes.”
Then he pulled another photograph from the folder.
It showed Mia.
Beside her was Lucian.
And behind them stood Clara.
Adrian stared at Clara.
“She was working for him.”
“No,” Matteo said.
“She infiltrated him.”
Adrian froze.
“To steal the ledger?”
“To save Mia.”
Matteo continued.
“Clara was never your enemy.”
Adrian looked at Vincent.
“Then why didn't she tell me?”
“Because you would have done exactly what you are doing now.”
Adrian said nothing.
Matteo handed him another file.
“This is what Lucian wants.”
Inside was a medical report.
Mia was listed as a biological match.
Adrian's hands tightened.
“They're going to take her.”
“They already have.”
Adrian turned toward the stairs.
“Then we're getting her back.”
Matteo stopped him.
“You cannot fight Lucian with guns.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn't fear death.”
Matteo looked into his son's eyes.
“He fears losing control.”
A gunshot shattered the basement window.
Everyone ducked.
Another bullet struck the wall.
Vincent returned fire.
Adrian pulled Matteo behind cover.
Then the farmhouse lights came on.
Every window illuminated.
A loudspeaker crackled.
Lucian's voice filled the room.
“Adrian.”
Adrian looked upward.
“You have one hour.”
“For what?”
“To decide which family member you are willing to lose.”
The basement doors slammed shut.
Gas began pouring through the vents.
Vincent shouted.
“Move!”
Adrian grabbed Matteo.
But Matteo shook his head.
“Leave me.”
Adrian refused.
Then his father's face changed.
He whispered:
“Your daughter is at the hospital.”
Adrian froze.
“What hospital?”
May you like
Matteo smiled sadly.
“The one where your heart was diagnosed.”
