Chapter 14 - THE WOMAN THEY COULDN'T CONTROLLuca shoved Elena aside.
The bullet struck the wall.
The room erupted.
Matteo dragged everyone behind cover.
Rafael returned fire toward the upper windows.
Adriano sealed the doors.
Police sirens surrounded the property.
Luca looked at Elena.
“You okay?”
She nodded.
But her eyes were fixed on the patriarch.
“You knew.”
He smiled.
“I knew everything.”
“Who is the sniper?”
“My last employee.”
Elena stepped forward.
“No.”
Luca grabbed her.
“Stay down.”
She shook him off.
“This is my family.”
“That's exactly why you stay behind me.”
“No.”
She looked at the patriarch.
“You spent twenty years deciding what I was.”
The old man stared.
“A weapon.”
“A key.”
“A threat.”
Elena's voice became steady.
“But you never understood one thing.”
“What?”
“I can choose.”
She reached for the trust terminal.
The system activated.
AUTHORIZED BENEFICIARY.
The patriarch's face changed.
“What are you doing?”
“Ending the trust.”
“You can't.”
“I can.”
“You'll destroy everything.”
“No.”
She looked at Luca.
“We'll rebuild it.”
Together, they entered commands.
The system began shutting down the secret network.
Accounts frozen.
Private contracts terminated.
Archives released.
Emergency transfers sent to documented victims.
The patriarch watched helplessly.
“You stupid children!”
Elena didn't stop.
“This was never yours.”
She pressed the final command.
DISSOLVE TRUST.
The patriarch's breathing became heavy.
“No.”
The system asked:
CONFIRM?
Luca looked at Elena.
She nodded.
He pressed the button.
The entire system went dark.
The screens shut off.
The vault became silent.
Then the police breached the building.
Officers entered with weapons raised.
“Luca Valenti!”
Luca slowly stood.
“I'm here.”
“You're under arrest.”
Matteo stepped forward.
“He didn't do this.”
“Hands where we can see them.”
Elena stepped in front of Luca.
“You need to hear me.”
An officer raised his weapon.
“Ma'am, move aside.”
“No.”
“Now.”
She held up the original Bellini documents.
“Everything you need is here.”
The officer took them.
His expression changed as he read.
“This is…”
“The complete record.”
“Names?”
“Yes.”
“Accounts?”
“Yes.”
“Transfers?”
“Yes.”
The officer looked at Luca.
“You're saying he turned this evidence over?”
Elena nodded.
“He did.”
The officer looked toward the patriarch.
For the first time, the old man looked afraid.
But then he smiled.
“You think this ends with me.”
He pointed at Elena.
“Ask her about the missing file.”
Luca looked at Elena.
“What missing file?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
The patriarch laughed.
“The one labeled…”
He paused.
“…PROJECT 318.”
Rafael went pale.
Matteo looked at him.
“What is Project 318?”
Rafael didn't answer.
Luca stepped closer.
“What is it?”
Rafael finally spoke.
“It was the plan to replace the heirs.”
“With who?”
Rafael stared at Luca.
“Three children.”
Luca's face changed.
“Three?”
Elena looked stunned.
“There was another child.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Rafael closed his eyes.
“Your grandfather's final heir.”
“Where is that child now?”
Rafael opened his eyes.
“I'm not sure.”
Luca stared.
“How can you not know?”
“Because the file was destroyed.”
A police officer interrupted.
“What's going on?”
Rafael looked at Luca.
“There's one thing you need to understand.”
“What?”
“If Project 318 was ever completed…”
He paused.
“…the third heir is alive.”
A phone began ringing.
Everyone looked around.
It was inside the patriarch's pocket.
An officer retrieved it.
The screen showed one incoming call.
No number.
The patriarch smiled.
“Answer it.”
The officer did.
Silence.
Then a child's voice.
A little boy.
“Grandfather?”
The patriarch's smile widened.
“Yes.”
“Did they find me?”
“Yes.”
The boy asked:
“Are they coming?”
The patriarch looked directly at Luca.
“They already are.”
The call ended.
Luca stared at the phone.
“Where is the child?”
The patriarch said nothing.
The officer searched him and found a folded photograph.
Luca opened it.
A boy stood outside a school.
Eight or nine years old.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
And around his neck hung a tiny silver pendant.
The Valenti crest.
On the back was written one line.
HEIR THREE.
Luca looked at Elena.
She whispered:
“There's another Valenti.”
Then the lights flickered.
The police radios erupted simultaneously.
Multiple reports.
A school alarm.
A vehicle fleeing.
A missing child.
Luca looked at the photograph.
The boy was gone.
May you like
And beneath the picture was a final handwritten message.
FIND HIM BEFORE HIS FATHER DOES.
