Chapter 6 - The Woman I Had Buried Was the One Person Who Could End the WarWe found Elena's mother in a private residence outside Montreal.
Her name was Lucia Moretti.
She was alive.
And she wasn't a prisoner.
She opened the door herself.
When Elena saw her, she stopped breathing.
“Mom?”
Lucia cried.
“My baby.”
They embraced.
I looked away.
It wasn't my moment.
After they separated, Lucia looked at me.
“Gabriel.”
“You know me.”
“I knew your father.”
“You knew what he did.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew Sofia?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
Lucia took a breath.
“Alive.”
I felt everything stop.
“Where?”
“She is safe.”
“Why didn't she come back?”
“Because she believed your family would kill her.”
“My family?”
“Your father.”
I stared.
“What did he do?”
“He created the program.”
“To treat children.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did Sofia run?”
“Because she discovered the treatment was hurting them.”
“What children?”
“Children born into families connected to the Moretti organization.”
I felt sick.
“How many?”
“Thirty.”
“Deaths?”
“Eight.”
“My son?”
“Daniel was the ninth case.”
I looked toward Elena.
She had gone pale.
“Why him?”
“Because his heart condition made him valuable.”
“For research.”
“Yes.”
I hated the word.
Research.
It made murder sound scientific.
“What about Salvatore?”
“He tried to stop it.”
“And my father?”
“He ordered Salvatore killed.”
“But he survived.”
“Yes.”
“Where is he now?”
Lucia hesitated.
“New York.”
My blood went cold.
“My uncle is alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why hasn't he come to me?”
“Because he believes you're compromised.”
“How?”
“Because he knows Adrian Bell has controlled you for years.”
I stared.
“Bell.”
“He wasn't merely your CFO.”
“What was he?”
“Your father's right hand.”
The man I trusted.
The man who handled my money.
The man who smiled at every board meeting.
He had been running the medical program.
I felt rage.
“Where is Sofia?”
Lucia handed me an address.
“Before you go, you need to know something.”
“What?”
“Sofia didn't disappear because she stopped loving you.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“She believed Daniel would be safer without her.”
That cut deeper than anything.
“My son thought she abandoned him.”
“He was wrong.”
I closed my eyes.
For three years, Daniel had carried the pain of losing his mother.
And she had been alive all along.
We returned to New York.
Sofia was waiting in an old brownstone.
When Daniel saw her, he didn't move.
Then:
“Mom?”
Sofia fell to her knees.
“My baby.”
Daniel ran to her.
I watched.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
My wife was alive.
My son was whole.
And the family I thought I'd lost was standing in front of me.
Then Sofia looked at me.
“Gabriel.”
I nodded.
“Why didn't you come back?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of me?”
“No.”
“Of whom?”
“Your father.”
“He's dead.”
“His people aren't.”
She explained.
Adrian Bell had continued the program.
The goal was no longer treatment.
It was genetic control.
He wanted to identify families with rare inherited traits.
Use them.
Exploit them.
Sell the information.
Daniel's blood was one of the most valuable samples.
And now Elena had revealed something else.
She had inherited the same gene.
I looked at her.
“You too.”
“Yes.”
“So they need both of you.”
“Yes.”
Sofia nodded.
“That is why they targeted Daniel first.”
“And now?”
“They will come for Elena.”
I looked at her.
“Not if I can stop them.”
My voice surprised me.
I had built an empire to protect people.
Now I understood what that meant.
Not control.
Protection.
That evening, we discovered Bell had taken control of three Moretti subsidiaries.
He had moved money.
Weapons.
Personnel.
He was building his own faction.
And he had one ally.
A woman on my board.
My sister, Isabella.
I stared at the report.
“My sister.”
Sofia looked at me.
“Yes.”
I couldn't believe it.
Isabella had always hated Sofia.
She had claimed Sofia ruined the family.
Now I understood why.
Sofia knew the truth.
Isabella wanted the empire.
Bell wanted the medical program.
Together, they could control everything.
Then my phone rang.
Isabella.
I answered.
Her voice was calm.
“Gabriel.”
“What do you want?”
“Come home.”
“You're the traitor.”
Silence.
Then she laughed.
“No.”
“I am the only one willing to finish what Father started.”
My blood went cold.
“What did you do to Daniel?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Touch him and I will destroy you.”
“Then come alone.”
“Where?”
“The Moretti estate.”
She hung up.
Sofia looked at me.
“Don't go.”
“I have to.”
Elena shook her head.
“We go together.”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“You can't protect everyone alone.”
She was right.
For the first time, I listened.
We would all go.
And when we arrived at the estate, Isabella was waiting.
She smiled.
“Brother.”
Then she said the words that changed everything.
“Welcome back.”
Behind her stood Adrian Bell.
May you like
And Salvatore Moretti.
Alive.
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