Chapter 5 - My Father's Ledger Contained a Name That Could Destroy Dante's FamilyWe found the ledger beneath the warehouse floor.
It was old.
Leather.
No lock.
No digital copy.
Inside were names.
Payment records.
Photographs.
Meeting locations.
And a page titled:
THE CHILDREN.
I stared.
"What does that mean?"
Dante read it.
His face went pale.
"These are witness protection identities."
"Children?"
"Yes."
"Why would Vale have them?"
"Because their parents saw things."
I turned another page.
My mother's name.
Dante's father's name.
Then—
Dante's name.
I froze.
"Why are you here?"
He stared.
My name appeared below his.
"Why are we both listed?"
He shook his head.
"I don't know."
Then I found the final entry.
PROJECT ORCHID.
"What's that?"
Dante didn't answer.
I looked at him.
"What?"
"I heard the name once."
"From whom?"
"My father."
He turned the page.
A list of patients.
Children with genetic markers.
Heart conditions.
Blood disorders.
Neurological diseases.
My stomach turned.
"This is medical."
"Yes."
"Your family was involved."
"So was yours."
I stared at the names.
Then saw my mother.
SUBJECT 17.
My blood froze.
I wasn't supposed to know.
My mother had been part of the project.
She had been a nurse.
She had discovered children were being used.
That's why she disappeared.
That's why my father tried to expose Vale.
And that's why everyone was hunting the ledger.
Because it contained proof.
Dante sat.
"I remember a girl."
"What?"
"When I was fourteen."
"She was brought to our house."
"She was sick."
"Your mother tried to help her."
"Who was she?"
"I don't know."
I stared.
"That girl may have been me."
Dante looked at me.
"What?"
"If my mother was involved, then I could have been one of the children."
He shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because your mother would never allow it."
I swallowed.
"Maybe she couldn't stop them."
He took my hand.
"I'll find out."
A moment passed.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown.
I answered.
My mother's voice.
"Elena."
I couldn't breathe.
"Mom?"
Dante froze.
The voice trembled.
"Do not trust anyone."
"Where are you?"
"I can't tell you."
"I need to see you."
"I know."
"Then where?"
"St. Gabriel's Cemetery."
"When?"
"Midnight."
The line died.
I stared at Dante.
He was already standing.
"We're going."
"You heard her."
"Yes."
"You don't know if it's a trap."
"I know."
"Then why?"
"Because it could be your mother."
At midnight, we reached the cemetery.
A woman stood beneath a tree.
Older.
Thin.
Scared.
She turned.
"Elena."
I ran.
We embraced.
My mother cried.
So did I.
Dante stood several feet away.
My mother looked at him.
"Dante."
He nodded.
She whispered:
"You're just like your father."
"How?"
"You still protect people who don't deserve it."
Dante's expression changed.
"What did my father do?"
"He tried to stop Vale."
"And?"
"He failed."
"Who killed him?"
She looked at me.
"Your father."
I froze.
"What?"
"My father?"
"No."
Dante stepped forward.
"Your father was framed."
"By whom?"
"By someone inside your family."
She looked at Dante.
"Your uncle."
He went still.
"Salvatore."
She nodded.
"He's alive."
Dante's face turned cold.
"And he's working with Vale."
A gunshot cracked through the cemetery.
My mother fell.
I screamed.
Dante caught her.
"Mom!"
Her eyes closed.
Dante shouted:
"GET DOWN!"
Bullets struck the stone around us.
He pulled us behind a grave.
My mother was bleeding.
I pressed my hands against the wound.
"She's alive."
Dante looked at me.
"Can you save her?"
"Yes."
"Then do it."
I did.
For the next ten minutes, I worked under moonlight.
No hospital.
No equipment.
Just pressure, gauze, and hope.
My mother survived.
May you like
And when the gunfire stopped, we were no longer hiding.
We were hunting.
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