Chapter 6 - The Family Behind the Poison
Sylvio spent the next forty-eight hours going through every record his father had left.
The truth was devastating.
The Romano family hadn't created the poison.
They had tried to stop it.
The organization had been infiltrated by people working for an international network.
Marco had been recruited.
Vale had developed the compound.
Sarah had discovered an antidote.
Sylvio's father had hidden it.
Elena had survived an assassination attempt.
And Mia was living proof that the resistance could be inherited.
But there was another layer.
The network wasn't after Sylvio alone.
They wanted Mia.
Because without her blood, the antidote couldn't be completed.
The doctors could create a temporary treatment.
But not a permanent solution.
Mia was essential.
Sylvio refused.
“She is not a laboratory.”
The lead scientist nodded.
“I agree.”
Mia overheard.
She walked into the room.
“I want to help.”
Sylvio looked at her.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you're a child.”
“But people are sick.”
“That isn't your responsibility.”
She crossed her arms.
“My mom tried to help.”
“And it killed her.”
Mia went quiet.
Sylvio immediately regretted his words.
He knelt.
“I'm sorry.”
She looked at him.
“Did my mom know she might die?”
“Yes.”
“Did she do it anyway?”
“Yes.”
Mia nodded.
“Then maybe being brave means doing something even when you're scared.”
Sylvio stared.
She sounded like Sarah.
He agreed to a controlled medical process.
No experiments.
No pain.
No exploitation.
Her blood helped create the antidote.
The first batch worked.
The network's toxin could be neutralized.
For the first time in fifteen years, the weapon was no longer unbeatable.
Sylvio released the antidote formula to trusted international health organizations.
Not for profit.
Not for control.
To make the weapon useless.
That enraged the people who had spent years creating it.
They retaliated.
Banks were attacked.
Warehouses burned.
Two Romano properties were bombed.
The city entered a state of panic.
Sylvio knew the final battle was coming.
And he knew who would lead it.
Marco.
Marco sent one message.
Meet me at the old theater.
Bring the girl.
Sylvio replied.
No.
Marco answered.
Then your mother dies.
Elena had been kidnapped.
Sylvio stared at the message.
Mia stepped beside him.
“She's alive.”
“Yes.”
“We have to go.”
“No.”
“She's your mother.”
“Yes.”
“Then you can't leave her.”
He looked at Mia.
“You are not coming.”
She crossed her arms.
“You don't get to decide everything.”
Sylvio almost smiled.
“You really are Sarah's daughter.”
They went.
The old theater was abandoned.
Dust.
Broken seats.
A stage covered in darkness.
Elena was tied backstage.
Marco stood above her.
Vale was there too.
He had survived the gunshot.
His face was scarred now.
He smiled when Sylvio entered.
“You brought the girl.”
Sylvio's gun was aimed at him.
“You're finished.”
“No.”
Vale pointed toward Mia.
“She is the beginning.”
Mia stepped forward.
“No.”
Vale frowned.
“What?”
“I am the end.”
Silence.
Sylvio looked at her.
Vale laughed.
“She doesn't even understand.”
Mia held up the antidote vial.
“My blood isn't your weapon.”
“It is.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“It belongs to people you can't hurt anymore.”
Sylvio smiled.
Vale raised his gun.
Gunfire erupted.
The theater exploded into chaos.
Sylvio reached Elena.
Vincent tackled Vale.
Mia ran to her mother.
Marco appeared behind Sylvio.
He raised his gun.
Before he could shoot, Elena moved.
She struck him with a broken chair.
Marco fell.
Sylvio turned.
“Mom?”
Elena smiled.
“Still not helpless.”
Marco was arrested.
Vale was arrested.
The network collapsed over the following months.
The poison was neutralized.
The antidote was distributed.
The Romano empire changed.
Sylvio closed every illegal operation.
Some people called him weak.
Others called him stupid.
He didn't care.
He had learned something.
May you like
Fear could protect an empire.
It could not build a family.
