Chapter 5 - The Man Behind Marcus’s Crimes Finally Appeared—And He Called Me “The Last Viscari Key”
Silas Vane didn't raise a weapon.
He didn't need one.
Men flooded the hallway behind him.
Adrien stepped between us.
“Leave.”
Silas smiled.
“You sound like your father.”
“Don't compare me to him.”
“I've spent thirty years cleaning up his mistakes.”
My mother trembled.
“You killed Giovanni.”
“Yes.”
I stared.
He admitted it without hesitation.
“Why?”
“Because he wanted freedom.”
Silas looked at me.
“Men like your father don't understand that systems survive because people obey.”
“And you?”
“I built the system stronger.”
Adrien raised his weapon.
Silas laughed.
“You won't shoot me.”
“Want to test that?”
“No.”
Silas looked at me.
“You'll come with me.”
“No.”
“You will.”
He held up a file.
“Your father signed this.”
My heart stopped.
It was a legal guardianship document.
My father had apparently surrendered my custody after Giovanni's death.
I looked at him.
“It's fake.”
Silas smiled.
“Maybe.”
Adrien moved.
His men attacked.
The room exploded into chaos.
My mother pulled me behind a wall.
Adrien fought his way toward Silas.
Silas escaped.
But he left the file behind.
We examined it.
The signature was genuine.
My father had signed it.
I confronted him.
“Why?”
He looked broken.
“Because I had no choice.”
“You gave me away.”
“I saved your life.”
“You abandoned me.”
“I watched you from a distance.”
“Then why didn't you come back?”
“Because anyone connected to me would have been killed.”
I cried.
“I hated you.”
“I know.”
“Did you deserve it?”
“Yes.”
Adrien stood beside me.
My father looked at him.
“Take care of her.”
Adrien's expression hardened.
“I already am.”
My father smiled sadly.
“He would have liked you.”
“Who?”
“Giovanni.”
We found the next clue in the file.
A bank number.
A private locker.
Inside was a small box.
The contents were shocking.
Birth records.
Financial records.
Photographs.
And a keycard.
Blue.
The Blue Room.
The access system was in Chicago.
We flew back.
But before leaving, my mother stopped me.
“Lena.”
“Yes?”
“There's something else.”
She touched my cheek.
“Your biological father loved you.”
Tears came again.
“I know.”
“He wanted to meet you.”
“Why didn't he?”
“He died before he could.”
Then she handed me a letter.
For my daughter.
I opened it.
If you're reading this, then I'm gone.
I'm sorry I never held you.
I'm sorry fear became stronger than courage.
If the day comes when you have to choose between power and love, choose love.
I read it three times.
Then folded it carefully.
Adrien watched.
“What does it say?”
I handed it to him.
He read.
His eyes became wet.
“He sounds like me.”
I smiled.
“Maybe that's why you knew him.”
He looked at me.
“Maybe.”
That night, at the hotel, I couldn't sleep.
Adrien knocked.
“Come in.”
He entered.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
He nodded.
“Me neither.”
I looked at him.
“You're really my brother.”
“Yes.”
“I still can't believe it.”
“Neither can I.”
He sat.
“I spent years thinking I had lost everyone.”
He stared at the floor.
“I didn't know you existed.”
I smiled weakly.
“You do now.”
He looked at me.
“Yeah.”
A pause.
“I'll never let anyone hurt you again.”
“You can't promise that.”
“I can.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“You've been around me long enough to know I'm stubborn.”
I laughed.
“Apparently it's genetic.”
The moment ended when the alarm sounded.
Marco burst into the room.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We found the Blue Room.”
“Where?”
“Under the old Viscari warehouse.”
Adrien looked at me.
“The keycard.”
May you like
I held it.
“We're going.”
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