Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Elena’s aunt stepped from the shadows.
Grace Vale looked almost exactly as Elena remembered.
Older.
Thinner.
But alive.
Elena could barely speak.
“You’re dead.”
Grace smiled.
“That was the point.”
Vincent aimed his weapon.
Grace looked at him.
“If you wanted to kill me, Vincent, you would have fired already.”
He did not lower the weapon.
“How do you know my name?”
“I knew your father.”
Grace looked at Elena.
“And I knew your mother.”
Elena stepped forward.
“You lied to me.”
“I kept you alive.”
“You told me my mother was dead.”
“She needed to stay dead.”
“Where is she?”
Grace looked away.
“I don’t know.”
Elena’s face collapsed.
“You’re lying.”
“I wish I were.”
Grace pulled out an old photograph.
It showed Elise standing beside a man Elena recognized immediately.
Vincent’s father.
But there was something strange.
Elise was holding an infant.
Elena.
On the back was a date.
The same year Vincent had been born.
Grace looked at Vincent.
“Your father and Elise had an arrangement.”
Vincent’s expression tightened.
“What kind?”
“Protection.”
“From whom?”
“The Tribe itself.”
Elena shook her head.
“That makes no sense.”
Grace looked at her.
“The Tribe was never 1 organization. It was 7 circles. The Morettis controlled 1. The Calders controlled 1. The Coles controlled another. The remaining circles remained hidden.”
Vincent understood.
“Raymond Cole.”
“Yes.”
“Why does he want Elena?”
“Because he believes the Keeper can open the archive.”
“What archive?”
“The original archive.”
Grace explained.
Decades ago, the Tribe created a hidden repository containing evidence powerful enough to destroy dozens of dynasties.
The archive was sealed when Elise tried to expose it.
The Keeper was the only person who could unlock it.
The tattoo was the first key.
The silver pendant was the second.
The final key was blood.
Elena stared.
“Whose blood?”
Grace looked at Vincent.
“Both lines.”
Silence.
Vincent understood.
“My blood?”
“Yes.”
Elena stepped back.
“No.”
Grace nodded.
“Your mother knew one day the Keeper would need a Moretti descendant to complete the lock.”
Vincent’s voice was quiet.
“My father knew.”
“That is why he searched for Elise.”
“And that’s why she disappeared.”
“Yes.”
Elena stared at Vincent.
“What does this have to do with me being your secretary?”
Grace’s answer was devastating.
“Your mother chose you.”
Elena blinked.
“What?”
“She wanted you close to the Moretti family but not inside it.”
Grace turned toward Vincent.
“She needed someone capable of protecting you.”
Vincent frowned.
“Who?”
Grace looked at him.
“You.”
He stared.
“That was impossible.”
“Your father believed you were loyal to him.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Your mother knew.”
Elena could not process it.
For 2 years, she had believed she had chosen Vincent as a means of accessing his company.
But perhaps her mother had been guiding both of them without their knowledge.
A distant siren sounded.
Grace looked toward the tunnel entrance.
“They found us.”
Vincent grabbed Elena’s hand.
“Move.”
They ran.
Three cars entered the station.
Men poured out.
Shots echoed.
Vincent pushed Elena behind a concrete column.
Grace fired first.
She was far more capable than Elena remembered.
Vincent looked at her.
“You’re not a helpless old woman.”
Grace smiled.
“You never knew your aunt very well.”
They escaped through a service stairwell.
Outside, rain soaked them.
Elena turned toward Grace.
“Come with us.”
Grace shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“I’m the one they are looking for.”
“You’re family.”
Grace smiled.
“I’ve spent half my life being dead.”
She handed Elena another envelope.
“For the day you open the archive.”
Then she walked away.
Vincent watched her disappear.
Elena cried silently.
He placed a hand on her shoulder.
“She chose that.”
“I hate that everyone keeps choosing for me.”
“Then stop letting them.”
She looked at him.
“How?”
“Choose.”
“Choose what?”
He met her eyes.
“Me.”
The word hung between them.
Elena stared.
Vincent stepped closer.
“You’ve spent 2 years pretending to work for me while investigating my family.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve spent 2 years pretending you were just my secretary.”
“Yes.”
“Neither of us believes that anymore.”
“No.”
He touched her cheek.
“This is a terrible time to do this.”
She laughed through her tears.
“Yes.”
Then she kissed him.
It was not careful.
It was not planned.
It was the kind of kiss built from fear and relief and 2 years of everything they refused to say.
When they separated, Vincent rested his forehead against hers.
“We have 72 hours.”
Elena nodded.
“And an entire forgotten network wants you dead.”
She smiled weakly.
“Sounds like my Tuesday.”
For the first time in days, Vincent laughed.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His smile disappeared.
“Who?”
A voice spoke.
May you like
Vincent looked at Elena.
“The archive has been opened.”
