Chapter 13 - THE LAST ORDERElena stared at Rafael.
“Is it true?”
Rafael said nothing.
Luca stepped backward.
“You were ordered to kill me?”
“I was.”
“By my mother?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She believed the trust would destroy you.”
“And you agreed.”
“I agreed to protect you.”
“That sounds convenient.”
Rafael looked at him.
“You were twelve.”
Luca froze.
“What?”
“The first time I was given the order.”
“When?”
“After your father found the blood records.”
Victor looked down.
Rafael continued.
“Your grandfather believed you were a threat.”
“So my mother ordered your death?”
“No.”
“She ordered mine.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she believed you were the key to the trust.”
Luca stared at Elena.
She whispered:
“She thought killing you would protect me.”
Rafael nodded.
“Did you try?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I was your father.”
The silence was unbearable.
The patriarch smiled.
“And this is why families are useful.”
Luca turned toward him.
“You manipulated all of us.”
“Yes.”
“You killed people.”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed two families.”
“Yes.”
“You think this makes you powerful?”
The old man smiled.
“No.”
He pointed at Elena.
“I think it makes me necessary.”
Luca raised his weapon.
The patriarch laughed.
“Shoot me.”
Luca didn't.
“Why?”
“Because the trust has already transferred.”
Everyone looked at Elena.
She held the letter.
“What?”
Rafael understood first.
“The voluntary union.”
Luca took Elena's hand.
The patriarch's smile disappeared.
“You don't know what you're doing.”
“Yes, we do.”
They stepped toward the biometric scanner.
The system activated.
A voice announced:
TWO VERIFIED BLOODLINES DETECTED.
The lights turned red.
The patriarch slammed his hand against the armrest.
“No.”
TRANSFER OF CONTROLLING RIGHTS.
Victor smiled faintly.
“For once…”
He looked at Luca.
“…you did exactly what I hoped you would.”
The patriarch's guards stormed the corridor.
Matteo opened fire.
Adriano joined him.
Rafael shielded Elena.
Luca pressed his hand onto the scanner.
Elena did the same.
The vault doors closed.
A massive mechanical sound shook the building.
The patriarch screamed.
“STOP!”
The system spoke again.
TRUST OWNERSHIP TRANSFER COMPLETE.
Every screen in the facility changed.
Documents appeared.
Bank accounts.
Political donations.
Private contracts.
Secret recordings.
Names.
Thousands of them.
Luca stared.
“This is everything.”
Elena nodded.
“The whole machine.”
The patriarch sat perfectly still.
Then he smiled.
“You think owning it means you control it.”
Luca turned.
“What does that mean?”
The old man leaned forward.
“You didn't inherit the trust.”
“You inherited its debt.”
A warning appeared on the screen.
LIABILITY RELEASE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.
Matteo looked concerned.
“What is that?”
Rafael scanned the screen.
“The trust is liquidating.”
“What does that mean?”
“Every hidden account is being exposed.”
Luca looked at Elena.
“That's what we wanted.”
“No.”
Rafael shook his head.
“Not all of it.”
The screens began displaying names.
Judges.
Police commanders.
Businessmen.
Lawmakers.
Executives.
Then one final category.
CIVILIAN COMPENSATION FUND.
Millions of dollars.
Luca stared.
“This money was stolen.”
“Yes.”
“And now it's being returned.”
The patriarch smiled.
“Not all.”
The screen flashed.
FINAL ACCOUNT HOLDER: LUCA VALENTI.
Luca's face went pale.
“What?”
The patriarch laughed.
“Everything you thought belonged to you…”
He pointed at Luca.
“…was purchased with stolen money.”
The system announced:
ACCOUNT LIABILITY: ONE HUNDRED TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS.
Elena stared at Luca.
The patriarch smiled.
“Congratulations.”
“You are now the richest man in the room.”
He paused.
“And the most wanted.”
Sirens began approaching outside.
Police.
Dozens of vehicles.
The patriarch leaned back.
“Let's see how long your new inheritance lasts.”
Luca looked at Elena.
“What did we just do?”
She looked at the screen.
At the money.
At the names.
At the approaching lights.
“We ended the secret.”
“No.”
She slowly shook her head.
“We opened it.”
Then every television in the world switched to the same breaking-news broadcast.
VALENTI FAMILY SCANDAL EXPLODES.
A reporter spoke.
“Authorities have confirmed the discovery of an underground financial network connecting multiple institutions…”
Luca looked at the screen.
Then a second headline appeared.
POLICE SEEK LUCA VALENTI AS PERSON OF INTEREST.
Elena stared.
“They think you did this.”
Luca nodded.
“That's impossible.”
Rafael shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed at the screen.
“Someone wanted exactly this.”
The broadcast showed a photograph of Luca entering Bellini Hotel.
Then another.
Luca carrying the ledger.
Another.
Luca standing beside Victor.
All of them edited.
All of them damning.
Matteo whispered:
“Someone has framed you.”
Luca looked at the patriarch.
The old man was smiling.
But then he noticed something.
The old man's smile wasn't directed at Luca.
It was directed at Elena.
The patriarch whispered:
“She was always the real target.”
Elena turned.
May you like
A red laser appeared across her chest.
A sniper had already taken position.
