Chapter 8 - BENEATH SAINT MARY'S
Saint Mary's Chapel had been abandoned for years.
The roof leaked.
The stained-glass windows were cracked.
Weeds grew through the stone steps.
Luca remembered the place differently.
He remembered being ten years old.
His father holding his hand.
His mother walking behind them.
The smell of candles.
His father's voice telling him:
"One day, you'll understand why this place matters."
Luca had never understood.
Until tonight.
They entered through the side door.
Rafael stayed behind them.
Naomi carried a flashlight.
Vivian followed silently.
Luca approached the altar.
"Where?"
Rafael pointed.
"Underneath."
Luca found an old iron handle.
He pulled.
Nothing.
Vivian stepped forward.
"Two locks."
She pointed at the stone.
"One for your blood."
"And the other?"
"Your mother's."
Luca looked at her.
"She isn't here."
Vivian reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small metal key.
"She gave this to me."
Luca stared.
"When?"
"Before everything started."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was afraid."
He took the key.
Together they opened the mechanism.
The altar shifted.
A staircase appeared.
They descended.
The room beneath the chapel was enormous.
Shelves lined the walls.
Boxes filled the floor.
Documents covered tables.
And at the center stood a steel vault.
Luca walked toward it.
A biometric scanner lit up.
He placed his hand against it.
The screen read:
BLOODLINE CONFIRMED.
The vault opened.
Inside were stacks of documents.
Bank certificates.
Property deeds.
Photographs.
And a single videotape.
Luca picked it up.
There was a note attached.
WATCH THIS BEFORE TRUSTING ANYONE.
They found an old television in the corner.
Rafael connected the tape.
The screen flickered.
Then Rafael appeared.
But younger.
Twenty-eight years younger.
Luca stared at his father.
The recording began.
"If you're watching this, I'm either dead or you have finally discovered what I spent my life protecting."
Luca's breathing stopped.
Rafael continued.
"Your grandfather created a private financial reserve after the war. It was intended to protect our family if the organization ever turned against us."
The screen changed.
A document appeared.
"Over the years, men tried to seize it."
Then a younger Alexander appeared.
Luca stared.
His father continued.
"Alexander was once my closest friend."
The footage showed Alexander beside Rafael.
"Then he became obsessed with control."
Another image appeared.
The council.
Six men.
All younger.
One of them was someone Luca recognized.
His current attorney.
Luca stepped backward.
"No."
Naomi looked at him.
"What?"
"He's one of them."
The recording continued.
"Alexander discovered the reserve required three living members of my bloodline."
Luca frowned.
"Three?"
Rafael's recorded voice continued.
"Me."
The screen showed Rafael.
"Isabella."
His mother.
"And my daughter."
Vivian appeared as a child.
Luca looked at Vivian.
She was crying.
"I didn't know."
Luca said nothing.
The recording continued.
"Alexander wanted my daughter because controlling her would give him access."
Rafael's younger face became grim.
"I refused."
Then the screen showed a car.
The same car from the night of the accident.
Rafael's voice continued.
"He arranged my death."
Luca's hands curled into fists.
"I survived."
A photograph showed Rafael badly injured.
"But the only way to protect my family was to disappear."
The screen went black.
Then a final message appeared.
DO NOT TRUST THE MAN WHO SAVED YOU.
Luca stared.
"Who saved me?"
Rafael's voice returned.
"The person who claims to have protected you may be the person who needed you alive."
Luca turned toward his father.
"That's you."
Rafael didn't deny it.
Luca stepped closer.
"You knew everything."
"I knew enough."
"You let me become a killer."
"I kept you alive."
"You let me believe you were dead."
"I had no choice."
"You had twenty-eight years!"
Rafael's eyes filled with tears.
"I watched you from a distance."
Luca's voice broke.
"Why didn't you come home?"
"Because every time I came close, people died."
Luca looked away.
Then Naomi noticed something.
"Wait."
She pointed toward the wall.
A red light was blinking.
"That's a camera."
Everyone froze.
Luca stared at it.
Someone was watching them.
A speaker crackled.
Alexander's voice filled the chamber.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Luca raised his weapon.
"Where is my mother?"
"Safe."
"Prove it."
A screen turned on.
Isabella appeared.
She was sitting in a chair.
Alive.
But beside her stood a man.
Luca recognized him.
His lawyer.
The same man from the council.
Luca's face went cold.
His lawyer smiled into the camera.
"You should have stayed home, Luca."
Luca whispered:
"You."
The lawyer smiled.
"Your father taught you to trust family."
He lifted a gun toward Isabella.
"But family is exactly what destroys men like you."
Luca stepped toward the screen.
"Touch her and I'll kill every person in this room."
The lawyer laughed.
"That's the problem."
"What?"
"You still think this is about money."
The screen changed.
A document appeared.
Luca stared.
It was his birth certificate.
Except the name of his father had been altered.
Luca's face went blank.
The lawyer spoke.
"Rafael Moretti isn't your biological father."
Silence.
Rafael looked at Luca.
"Don't believe him."
The lawyer smiled.
"Ask Isabella."
Luca turned toward his mother on the screen.
She was crying.
The lawyer leaned toward her.
"Tell your son."
Isabella shook her head.
He raised the gun.
Luca screamed:
"STOP!"
Isabella finally spoke.
One broken word.
"Sorry."
The screen went black.
Luca stood frozen.
Rafael lowered his head.
Naomi looked between them.
"What's happening?"
Luca turned toward his father.
"Am I your son?"
Rafael's silence was answer enough.
Luca stepped backward.
Then the floor beneath them shook.
An explosion ripped through the chapel.
Stone collapsed.
Dust filled the chamber.
Naomi fell.
Vivian screamed.
Rafael grabbed Luca.
They ran toward the stairs.
Behind them, the vault door slammed shut.
And from somewhere above came a voice.
"Welcome home, little brother."
Luca froze.
It was Vivian's voice.
But Vivian was standing beside him.
She looked terrified.
May you like
Someone else had spoken through the darkness.
Someone who sounded exactly like her.
