Chapter 6 - My Sister Had Left One Final Message Beneath the VHS Player—And It Explained Exactly How to Destroy the Empire Our Family Had BuiltElena remembered another hiding place.
A small metal box beneath the old television.
Inside was a second VHS tape.
This one had no label.
I played it.
Alessandra appeared.
She looked exhausted.
But calm.
“Luca, if you're watching this, I'm probably dead.”
I closed my eyes.
“I know who is responsible.”
She listed names.
Marco.
My mother.
Victor.
Thomas.
But she saved one name for last.
My father.
He had created the organization.
My mother had inherited it.
She had expanded it.
Alessandra had discovered something else.
A master ledger.
The complete network.
Who paid whom.
Where the money went.
Who disappeared.
Who ordered each operation.
The ledger was not digital.
It existed on paper.
Hidden in a place nobody would search.
The family mausoleum.
I stared.
My father's tomb.
Alessandra had hidden the ledger there.
I went that night.
The mausoleum was silent.
Cold.
The crypt opened.
Behind my father's stone was a hidden compartment.
Inside:
The ledger.
Names.
Payments.
Orders.
Deaths.
Everything.
It was enough to destroy the entire network.
But the final page contained a warning.
The person who reads this will become the next target.
I turned.
Marco stood behind me.
He had a gun.
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand everything.”
He lowered his weapon.
“Your mother will kill you.”
“She already killed Alessandra.”
Marco's face broke.
“I didn't want her to die.”
“You helped.”
“I was trapped.”
“You chose.”
He closed his eyes.
“Give me the ledger.”
“Why?”
“Because I can help you.”
I stared.
“You killed my sister.”
“I know.”
“Why should I trust you?”
He swallowed.
“Because I want out.”
I believed him.
Barely.
Then we heard footsteps.
Victor.
Thomas.
May you like
And my mother.
We were surrounded.
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