Chapter 13 - The ShepherdThe older man looked at Carmine with almost affectionate pride.
“You’ve built quite a kingdom.”
Carmine did not answer.
“You were always ambitious.”
“My father is dead.”
The man smiled.
“People die when their usefulness ends.”
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
“Technically, I was.”
Ivy stepped backward.
The Shepherd looked at her.
“And there she is.”
Carmine stepped between them.
“Don’t look at her.”
The old man laughed.
“That instinct will be your downfall.”
Carmine raised his gun.
“You killed her father.”
“Yes.”
“You killed mine.”
“Yes.”
“You tried to erase her memory.”
“Yes.”
Every answer came without hesitation.
Ivy trembled.
“Why?”
The Shepherd finally looked directly at her.
“Because your father discovered the accounts.”
“What accounts?”
“The people.”
Her face tightened.
“The people?”
“The organization was never built around money.”
He smiled.
“It was built around influence.”
Judges.
Police commissioners.
Prosecutors.
Businessmen.
Politicians.
Everything had a price.
“Your father discovered the network.”
“And he tried to expose you.”
“He tried to escape.”
The Shepherd looked at Lucia.
“She helped him.”
Lucia said nothing.
“Maria hunted them.”
“She killed my father.”
“No.”
The Shepherd shook his head.
“She only thought she did.”
Ivy felt confused.
“Then who killed him?”
The Shepherd smiled.
“You.”
Silence.
Carmine stiffened.
“What?”
The old man looked at Ivy.
“You saw your father fighting with Maria.”
“Yes.”
“You saw me enter.”
“Yes.”
“You remember the gunshot.”
“Yes.”
“You think I killed him.”
“Yes.”
“But the gun was never fired.”
Ivy’s memory fractured.
The sound.
The flash.
Her father collapsing.
She suddenly remembered something.
A mirror.
A reflection.
A second man.
Standing behind the Shepherd.
Someone she had not remembered until now.
She whispered:
“There was someone else.”
The Shepherd’s expression changed.
For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes.
Carmine noticed.
“Who?”
Ivy stared into the darkness.
“I don’t know.”
Then a woman stepped forward.
Maria.
She held a gun to Lucia’s head.
“You finally remembered.”
The Shepherd turned.
“Maria.”
She smiled.
“I’m afraid your little story ends here.”
The gunshot came instantly.
But the bullet did not hit Lucia.
It hit The Shepherd.
He collapsed.
Maria looked at Carmine.
“Now you understand.”
Carmine stared.
“What?”
Maria released Lucia.
“The Shepherd was never the one controlling this.”
She looked at Ivy.
“He was only the mask.”
Ivy whispered:
“Then who is?”
May you like
Maria smiled.
“Someone you trust.”
