Chapter 14 - The gun fell onto the floor.Elena stared at her mother.
“Did you shoot him?”
Claire didn't answer.
Ruiz raised his weapon.
“Step away.”
Claire slowly stepped backward.
“You don't understand.”
Elena's voice shook.
“Then explain.”
Claire looked at Daniel.
“He betrayed us.”
“Who is us?”
“The people trying to destroy Victor's organization.”
Ruiz shook his head.
“You're part of the network.”
“No.”
Claire looked at Elena.
“I infiltrated it.”
Elena laughed bitterly.
“Everyone says that.”
Claire walked closer.
“I lost twelve years because of you.”
“I lost my husband.”
“I lost your father.”
“You were supposed to be dead.”
“I wanted you alive.”
Claire pointed at Daniel.
“He was going to kill you.”
Elena froze.
“You ordered him to push me?”
“Yes.”
The confession hung in the air.
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“But I never told him to hurt the baby.”
Daniel coughed.
“He misunderstood the order.”
Claire turned toward him.
“You were supposed to frighten her.”
“You told me to make it look accidental.”
“I did.”
Elena stepped forward.
“My own mother ordered my fall.”
Claire whispered:
“To save you.”
“No.”
Elena shook her head.
“To use me.”
Claire's expression broke.
“No.”
“You needed me to open the trust.”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Claire finally admitted it.
“But I also needed the evidence inside.”
Ruiz stepped forward.
“The master vault is already secured.”
Claire looked at him.
“Not the real vault.”
Everyone froze.
“What?”
Claire pointed beneath the floor.
“There is another one.”
They followed her instructions.
The floor panel opened.
A second chamber appeared.
Inside was a single computer.
Elena inserted the pendant.
The screen came alive.
GENETIC VERIFICATION REQUIRED.
She placed her hand on the scanner.
IDENTITY CONFIRMED.
The screen changed.
HEIR CONFIRMED.
Elena stared.
“I'm the heir.”
Claire nodded.
The system continued.
SECOND-GENERATION HEIR CONFIRMED.
A new message appeared.
WARNING: TRUST CONTAINS BIOLOGICAL ARCHIVE.
Elena frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Ruiz looked confused.
“Biological archive?”
The computer opened a video.
Thomas Reed appeared.
“Elena.”
She stepped closer.
“If you're watching this, then the trust has opened.”
Thomas looked exhausted.
“I lied to you about your father because I had no choice.”
He continued.
“Victor Hawthorne was not your biological father.”
Elena froze.
“What?”
Thomas stared directly into the camera.
“Victor believed you were his daughter.”
“But you are.”
Elena's heart raced.
Thomas continued.
“Your biological father is someone else.”
Claire covered her mouth.
Even Ruiz looked stunned.
Thomas said:
“He is the man Victor spent twenty years trying to destroy.”
The screen displayed a name.
MICHAEL REED.
Elena whispered:
“My father's brother.”
Thomas's voice continued.
“Your baby carries a DNA sequence that doesn't come from Victor.”
“It comes from Michael.”
Elena looked at Claire.
“Who is Michael?”
Claire didn't answer.
Ruiz slowly lowered his weapon.
Then the computer unlocked a final file.
A live video feed appeared.
A man was sitting in a dark room.
Older.
Scarred.
Alive.
He looked directly into the camera.
Elena stopped breathing.
She knew those eyes.
They belonged to the man from her wedding photograph.
The man everyone said was dead forty years ago.
Her grandfather.
The man smiled.
“Hello, Elena.”
Then he leaned toward the camera.
May you like
“You've finally come home.”
The screen went black.
