Chapter 9 - They escaped through a tunnel beneath the chapel.Ava led them through darkness while bullets echoed above.

Julian followed with his gun raised.

Elena struggled to keep up.

“How long is this tunnel?”

“Four hundred meters.”

“You've memorized it?”

“I grew up here.”

“You lived beneath the chapel?”

Ava laughed bitterly.

“Sometimes.”

Elena looked at her.

“What does that mean?”

Ava didn't answer.

They reached an underground chamber.

The walls were covered in photographs.

The same photographs Elena had seen in the warehouse.

Missing children.

Shipping containers.

Port maps.

And at the center was a massive screen.

Ava turned it on.

The face of Victor appeared.

“Well done.”

Julian raised his gun.

“Where are you?”

Victor laughed.

“Everywhere.”

A map appeared.

Red dots illuminated ports around the world.

New York.

Rotterdam.

Singapore.

Dubai.

Hong Kong.

Cape Town.

“Black Meridian isn't a company,” Victor said.

“It's a system.”

Ava stared at the screen.

“You used us.”

“No.”

Victor smiled.

“I invested in you.”

Elena's voice shook.

“You kidnapped children.”

Victor corrected her.

“We acquired assets.”

Julian stepped forward.

“You're insane.”

“No.”

Victor looked almost offended.

“I'm practical.”

He touched the screen.

“Wars, governments, elections, sanctions.”

All controlled by shipping.

“Control the ports, control the world.”

Elena whispered:

“And Victoria?”

“She was useful.”

Ava laughed bitterly.

“She thought she was in charge.”

“She was.”

“For a while.”

Victor's expression hardened.

“Then she became sentimental.”

Elena frowned.

“About us?”

“Yes.”

Victor paused.

“She tried to protect one of you.”

Elena looked at Ava.

“Who?”

Victor smiled.

“Guess.”

Ava looked away.

Elena suddenly understood.

“You.”

Ava nodded.

“Victoria tried to save me.”

“And she chose me to die.”

Ava's eyes filled with tears.

“She thought you were safer.”

Elena's voice broke.

“She abandoned me.”

“She sent you away,” Ava said.

“She didn't kill you.”

“That isn't the same thing.”

Ava stepped closer.

“She saved you from the vault.”

Elena froze.

“What?”

“The first child used in the biometric trials died.”

Ava swallowed.

“The second almost died.”

Elena stared.

“And you?”

Ava nodded.

“I survived.”

Ava touched the scar behind her ear.

“They implanted something into me.”

Elena's face went pale.

“What?”

“The vault can only be opened by two matching biometrics.”

Julian understood.

“Both twins.”

Ava nodded.

“The ring was only half the key.”

Elena stared at the platinum band.

“What happens if we open the vault?”

Victor smiled through the screen.

“You'll find your father's greatest secret.”

“What?”

Victor leaned closer.

“The proof that Julian Sterling is not who he thinks he is.”

Julian froze.

“What does that mean?”

Victor's smile widened.

“The bloodline was never yours.”

The screen went black.

Julian stared at Elena.

Ava looked down.

Elena's heart was pounding.

“What is he talking about?”

Ava whispered:

“I don't know.”

Then the doors behind them opened.

Daniel Sterling stepped into the room.

Alive.

But this time, he was holding a gun.

Pointed at Julian.

Elena froze.

“Dad?”

Daniel's voice was cold.

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“I'm sorry.”

Then he fired.