Chapter 9 - The Man I Buried Ten Years Ago Was Sitting Behind a Glass Wall With My Childhood Medical Records Spread Across the TableMy father looked older.
But not weak.
His hair was gray.
His eyes were exactly the same.
Cold.
Calculating.
He smiled when he saw me.
"Dante."
I hated that he still knew how to say my name like it belonged to him.
"You killed Chiara."
He looked at her.
"Apparently not."
"You killed my mother."
"No."
"You stole children."
"I saved them."
I laughed.
"By locking them underground?"
"They were dying."
"They were being experimented on."
"Progress requires sacrifice."
Chiara stepped forward.
"You always said that."
He looked at her.
"You should have stayed dead."
I raised my weapon.
"You touch her again and I'll kill you."
He smiled.
"You still don't understand."
He pointed at the children.
"You're the cure."
I froze.
He explained.
The genetic marker in me could stabilize the research.
The children had been selected because their bodies responded to the compounds.
He wanted to combine our markers.
Create a treatment.
Or a weapon.
He didn't care which.
The money from my shipping companies funded it.
The family empire protected it.
Valentina had been forced to help.
Chiara had tried to stop it.
My father had never been dead.
He had been hiding beneath the city.
Waiting for me.
Then Mia spoke.
"Your room is upstairs."
Everyone froze.
My father looked at her.
"What?"
Mia pointed.
"Your chair."
She was right.
There were fingerprints on the stairs.
Fresh dust.
Someone had recently gone upstairs.
We followed.
A room full of files.
My father's personal records.
And one object.
A cassette player.
The same kind as mine.
I pressed play.
My mother spoke.
My mother had recorded a message before her death.
"If Dante finds this, tell him the truth."
She explained.
She had learned my father was experimenting on children.
She had hidden the original research.
She had tried to save me.
She had helped Chiara escape.
Then my father killed her.
But before she died, she left the final code.
The code could destroy the network.
She whispered it.
I memorized it.
My father entered behind us.
"Smart boy."
I turned.
He smiled.
"You finally became useful."
I entered the code.
Every computer screen went black.
The files began uploading to the outside world.
My father stared.
May you like
"What did you do?"
"Ended your empire."
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