Chapter 13 - THE BLACK LEDGERMarcus entered slowly.
No army.
No gun.
Just confidence.
Julian stood between him and Lily.
Marcus smiled.
“You always were clever when you stopped listening to other people.”
Julian said nothing.
Marcus looked at Cassandra.
“You betrayed me.”
Cassandra stepped forward.
“I chose Claire.”
Marcus smiled.
“And she died.”
Cassandra flinched.
Julian raised his weapon.
“Where is the ledger?”
Marcus laughed.
“You think it’s a book?”
“No?”
“It’s data.”
Marcus pointed at Lily.
“She carries the access sequence.”
Julian looked at his daughter.
“Why her?”
“Because Vincent trusted Claire.”
“And Claire trusted you?”
Marcus laughed.
“Claire trusted no one.”
A gunshot rang out.
Marcus’s shoulder was hit.
He stumbled.
Adrian stood behind him.
“Enough.”
Marcus looked genuinely shocked.
“You.”
Adrian walked forward.
“You always believed fear was stronger than love.”
Marcus looked at his son.
“And yet you betrayed me.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed at Lily.
“I chose her.”
Marcus smiled.
“You think you can save her?”
“No.”
Adrian looked at Julian.
“He can.”
Julian understood.
They returned to the mausoleum.
Lily performed the sequence.
The stone wall moved.
A hidden chamber appeared.
Inside was a single black case.
Julian opened it.
A tablet.
One file.
The Black Ledger.
Every crime.
Every payment.
Every name.
The entire empire was there.
Marcus stared at it.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“No.”
Marcus looked at Julian.
“This destroys you too.”
Julian froze.
“What?”
Marcus pointed to one file.
SUBJECT J.D.
Julian opened it.
The file contained photographs of him as a child.
Medical reports.
Psychological evaluations.
And a final document.
PROJECT DE LUCA.
Julian’s hands shook.
“What is this?”
Marcus whispered:
“Vincent didn’t raise you.”
Julian stared.
“He engineered you.”
“No.”
“He knew you would become a criminal heir.”
“No.”
“He trained you to protect the empire.”
Julian stepped backward.
“Stop.”
Marcus smiled.
“You were never the son.”
He pointed at Lily.
“You were the weapon.”
Julian looked at the screen.
One sentence stood at the bottom.
Conditioning complete at age sixteen.
Julian’s face went pale.
Then another file opened automatically.
A video.
A teenage Julian stood in a basement.
Vincent spoke behind the camera.
“Again.”
Teenage Julian fired a gun.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Julian dropped the tablet.
His entire body trembled.
Cassandra approached.
“Julian…”
He held up a hand.
For years he had believed he had chosen the mafia.
Perhaps the mafia had chosen him first.
Marcus smiled.
“Now you understand why I was never afraid of you.”
Julian slowly looked up.
“What did you do to me?”
Marcus replied:
“Nothing.”
He pointed toward Lily.
“Vincent did it.”
Then an alarm began screaming.
The mausoleum doors locked.
Marcus looked toward the ceiling.
“Too late.”
“What?”
“The police are here.”
Julian checked the Black Ledger.
A countdown appeared.
DATA TRANSFER: 60 SECONDS.
Someone was uploading everything.
May you like
Marcus smiled.
“Now we see who survives.”
