Chapter 8 - The Father Who Wanted To Rewrite Their Lives
The bunker was beneath a mausoleum.
Old.
Cold.
Nearly impossible to find.
Vincent and Charmian entered together.
Elias was waiting.
He was older than the photographs.
But his eyes were sharp.
He looked first at Vincent.
Then Charmian.
“Finally.”
Vincent raised his gun.
“You're not leaving.”
Elias laughed.
“You still think this is about me.”
“It is.”
“No.”
Elias shook his head.
“This is about what your father built.”
“What my father built is over.”
“You don't know what it was.”
“You killed innocent people.”
“So did he.”
Vincent's hand tightened.
“You murdered my mother.”
Elias looked at Charmian.
“No.”
Charmian froze.
“What?”
“I didn't kill Elaine.”
“Liar.”
“She was poisoned.”
“I know.”
“By whom?”
Charmian stared.
Elias pointed at Vincent.
“His father.”
Vincent went still.
“No.”
“Your father discovered Elaine was going to expose him.”
“He ordered the poisoning.”
“No.”
Elias smiled sadly.
“He did it himself.”
Charmian's eyes filled with tears.
“But you were there.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you stop him?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“You let my mother die.”
“Yes.”
“And then you let everyone think you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Elias looked at her.
“Because I became a coward.”
The answer was so simple that it hurt.
Vincent lowered his gun slightly.
“You said you wanted the network.”
“I wanted to destroy it.”
“Then why?”
“Because your father taught me power was easier than truth.”
He looked at Charmian.
“Your mother was the first person who made me ashamed of myself.”
“What happened?”
“I loved her.”
Charmian went still.
“So did my father?”
Elias shook his head.
“Your father loved control.”
He looked at Vincent.
“And your father loved being feared.”
Vincent swallowed.
“Adrian?”
“Adrian tried to stop them.”
“So why did he disappear?”
“Because they framed him.”
Elias pointed toward the wall.
A hidden screen illuminated.
Documents appeared.
Vincent saw his father's signature.
Fraudulent transfers.
Murder orders.
And one final document.
A custody record.
Charmian's name.
The girl's mother was listed as Elaine.
The father:
Adrian Costa.
Vincent stared.
Adrian was Charmian's biological father.
“No.”
Charmian looked at him.
Her entire body shook.
“My father…”
“Yes,” Elias said quietly.
“Adrian is your father.”
She backed away.
“That means—”
“You and Vincent are not related.”
She stared at Elias.
Then at Vincent.
The room seemed to hold its breath.
Elias continued.
“Adrian loved Elaine.”
“Vincent's father hated her.”
“And you were born because they believed you could someday destroy the network.”
Charmian cried.
“My mother never told me.”
“She wanted you to have a normal life.”
“She failed.”
Elias's face hardened.
“I failed her.”
He reached into his coat.
Pulled out a small drive.
“The entire network is here.”
Vincent looked at it.
“Why give it to us?”
“Because I'm dying.”
Charmian froze.
Elias smiled faintly.
“Cancer.”
She stared.
“You have no right to ask forgiveness.”
“I know.”
“But I can give you the truth.”
He handed the drive to Vincent.
A gunshot came from behind.
Elias jerked.
Blood spread across his chest.
Vincent fired back.
The attacker fled.
Elias collapsed.
Charmian rushed toward him.
“No!”
Elias looked at her.
“Your mother…”
He struggled for breath.
“She was proud of you.”
Charmian's tears fell.
“How do you know?”
“Because she told me.”
He reached for her hand.
“She never stopped loving you.”
Then he died.
Silence filled the bunker.
Vincent stood.
The drive remained in his hand.
Charmian looked at him.
“What happens now?”
Vincent looked at the screen.
“Now we finish it.”
They returned to the city.
The drive contained enough evidence to destroy half the state's criminal network.
But there was one problem.
The final file required the song.
The sequence only Charmian knew.
She sat at Vincent's desk.
Her fingers trembled over the keyboard.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
“You can stop.”
She looked at him.
“My mother died so I could have a choice.”
She entered the first sequence.
The files unlocked.
Names appeared.
Accounts.
Judges.
Police.
Doctors.
Politicians.
And one name at the top.
Raphael Costa.
Vincent's father.
Below it:
MURDER OF ELAINE FLANNERY.
Charmian covered her mouth.
Vincent closed his eyes.
The truth was complete.
But it was too late.
Because Adrian Costa was already moving.
He had the final piece.
And he had one demand.
May you like
Vincent had to choose between saving his brother…
or saving Charmian.
