Chapter 13 - Nobody spoke.Adrian and I stared at one another.
Twins.
Separated at birth.
Raised as different sons.
One designed to lead.
One designed to survive.
My father had known.
My mother had known.
Everyone had known except us.
Grace looked between us.
“Then why was Adrian hidden?”
Adrian answered.
“Because I failed.”
I frowned.
“The mutation appeared early in me.”
He rolled up his sleeve.
Black veins spread beneath the skin.
“I started becoming unstable.”
My father had hidden him.
My mother declared him dead.
But the experiments continued.
They used him.
They studied him.
They kept him beneath the estate.
The prison wasn't built only for Grace.
It had existed for Adrian first.
Grace discovered him.
Then my mother moved her into the cell.
My head spun.
“You've been protecting Grace this whole time?”
Adrian nodded.
“When Elena ordered her killed, I moved her.”
“When she moved her again, I followed.”
“When she wrote on the wall, I gave her the tools.”
I looked at Grace.
“You knew?”
She shook her head.
“I only knew someone was helping me.”
A loud alarm sounded.
The bunker doors began unlocking.
Adrian grabbed my shoulder.
“Someone found us.”
The door opened.
My mother entered.
She was covered in blood.
Behind her stood my father.
Both alive.
My mother looked at us.
Then at the baby.
“It ends tonight.”
My father stepped forward.
“Luca, listen.”
“No.”
“You need to leave.”
“I've had enough.”
He lowered his gun.
“I lied to you because I thought I was protecting you.”
“You created me.”
He closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
“You let me believe I was normal.”
“You deserved a life.”
I laughed.
“Did I?”
My mother interrupted.
“You never deserved freedom.”
She aimed at me.
My father shot her.
The bullet hit her chest.
She fell.
Grace screamed.
My father stared at the smoking gun.
“She won't stop.”
My mother laughed from the floor.
Blood covered her teeth.
“You still don't understand.”
She pressed a hidden button.
The entire bunker began shaking.
Warning sirens screamed.
“What did you do?” I shouted.
She smiled.
“Destroyed the estate.”
I grabbed Grace.
“Move!”
We ran.
Explosions tore through the tunnels.
Stone collapsed behind us.
My father stayed back.
“Go!”
“Dad!”
He looked at me.
For the first time in my life, he looked like my father.
Not a mafia boss.
Not a scientist.
Just a tired man.
“I am sorry.”
The ceiling collapsed.
I pulled Grace away.
“Luca!”
We ran toward the surface.
Adrian followed.
We reached the forest.
Behind us, the mansion collapsed into flames.
The Ferraro estate disappeared beneath smoke.
Grace held the baby.
I looked at Adrian.
“We're free.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
He pointed toward the horizon.
Dozens of black vehicles were approaching.
Federal agents.
Mercenaries.
Mafia soldiers.
All of them.
One vehicle stopped.
A woman stepped out.
She was dressed in white.
Calm.
Elegant.
Familiar.
Grace whispered:
“Who is that?”
Adrian looked terrified.
“My mother.”
I stared.
“Your mother is dead.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Elena was not my mother.”
The woman smiled.
“She was only the caretaker.”
She looked directly at the baby.
“You have something that belongs to us.”
Then she smiled at me.
“And now I finally know where the last Lazarus subject is.”
May you like
Her gaze shifted to Adrian.
“Both of you.”
