Chapter 6 - Her Mother Was Alive—and She Had Lied About Everything
Nari stopped breathing.
"Mom?"
Her mother looked older.
Gray streaks in her hair.
A scar near her eye.
But it was her.
"Nari."
Nari started crying.
She rushed toward her.
Then stopped.
Because her mother didn't move.
She stood beside Anton Bellini.
The man who had hunted them.
"You betrayed me."
Her mother shook her head.
"No."
"You're standing beside him."
"Because he is not the enemy."
Alessio stepped forward.
"Explain."
Anton smiled.
"You finally found the truth."
Alessio raised his weapon.
"Start talking."
Nari's mother spoke.
"The Bellori Syndicate was never controlled by Anton."
She pointed toward a folder.
"The real leader was your father."
Alessio froze.
"Our father?"
"Yes."
"He died."
"Officially."
She opened a file.
"Your father built the organization."
Nari listened.
"Then why did you run?"
"Because I discovered what he planned to do."
"What?"
"He wanted to use you."
Nari stared.
"Me?"
"Your languages."
Her mother explained.
Nari had been trained from childhood to become a perfect interpreter.
Not for diplomacy.
For criminal negotiations.
Her ability to understand different dialects made her valuable.
Her mother had stolen her away.
Then staged her disappearance.
But the syndicate kept searching.
"I spent twelve years hiding you."
Nari shook.
"I thought you abandoned me."
"I almost did."
Her mother cried.
"But I couldn't."
Dorian—no, Alessio—wait, keep Alessio.
Alessio stood beside Nari.
"Why did Bellini help?"
Anton answered.
"Because I loved your mother."
Silence.
Nari stared.
"You?"
Her mother nodded.
"He protected us."
"But he sent people after me."
"I had to."
"Why?"
"To make your enemies believe I had found you."
Nari felt overwhelmed.
Too many lies.
Too many years.
Too much truth arriving at once.
She turned to Alessio.
"What do we do now?"
He looked at the files.
"We end this."
The Bellori organization was still active.
Its leadership had been taken over by a council of men who wanted Nari alive.
They needed her to decode the old records.
Those records contained access to enormous hidden accounts.
Millions.
Possibly billions.
Nari was the only person alive who could interpret the oldest code.
That was why twelve interpreters had failed in Franks Corporation.
The people who replaced her knew modern languages.
They didn't know the old dialect.
Nari did.
But there was another problem.
One of the council members was already inside Franks Corporation.
A man named Richard Hale.
Alessio's chief financial officer.
The most trusted man in the company.
The betrayal cut deeply.
Richard had been there since Alessio took over.
He had advised him.
Protected him.
Handled money.
All while secretly feeding information to the Bellori council.
The final confrontation was planned.
Nari would pretend to decode the account records.
Alessio would use the opportunity to expose everyone involved.
The meeting took place in an abandoned opera house.
Twelve men arrived.
Nari sat at the center.
Richard stood behind her.
Alessio watched from the shadows.
The old code appeared on screen.
Nari read it.
Then stopped.
"This account isn't money."
Richard frowned.
"What?"
"It's names."
"What names?"
"The council."
She smiled.
"Every person involved."
Richard drew his gun.
Alessio stepped into the light.
"You should have checked the microphones."
Richard's face changed.
The room exploded into chaos.
Gunfire.
Screaming.
Men running.
Nari dropped to the floor.
Her mother pulled her behind a column.
Alessio fought through the room.
One by one, the council members were captured.
Richard tried to escape.
Nari heard his footsteps.
She shouted:
"He's heading for the west door!"
Alessio turned.
Caught him.
The remaining members surrendered.
The empire collapsed.
But one final piece remained.
The identity of the person who had ordered the original murder attempts.
Nari opened the final file.
A photograph fell out.
She recognized the face.
Her mother gasped.
Alessio stared.
May you like
It was their father.
Alive.
