Chapter 3 - The Daughter Who Came Back With Blood on Her Hands
Nobody moved.
Isabella's gun trembled.
Gabriel's men raised their weapons.
Gabriel immediately lifted one hand.
"Lower them."
The guards obeyed.
Isabella's breathing was uneven.
"Isabella, put the gun down."
"You'll arrest me."
"No."
"You don't believe me."
"I believe you're scared."
Her eyes flickered.
Sophie noticed something.
The blood on Isabella's sleeve wasn't hers.
There was no blood on her hands.
"Who did you hurt?" Sophie asked.
Isabella looked at her.
"You."
Sophie frowned.
"Me?"
"You were supposed to be the easiest person to remove."
Gabriel's head turned.
"What does that mean?"
Isabella lowered the gun slightly.
"Margaret hired someone to scare her away."
Sophie remembered the threatening conversation.
"Who?"
"A man named Ray Cole."
Gabriel's expression changed.
"He's dead."
"No."
Isabella shook her head.
"He's alive."
Gabriel stared at her.
"Where?"
"Working for Vincent."
A guard rushed into the room.
"Sir."
Gabriel turned.
"We found the vehicle."
"Isabella's?"
"No. The car used to abduct her."
"Where?"
"Near the river."
Gabriel looked at his sister.
"How did you escape?"
"I didn't."
Everyone froze.
Isabella's voice broke.
"Someone let me go."
"Who?"
"I never saw his face."
Gabriel stepped closer.
"What did he tell you?"
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
"He said, 'Your father knew this day would come.'"
Gabriel went still.
Sophie felt the room change.
"Did he mention Carlo's recordings?"
"No."
"Did he mention Mom?"
"Yes."
Isabella swallowed.
"He said Elena was the only reason Vincent hadn't taken control already."
Gabriel closed his eyes.
Then he looked at Sophie.
"We need to get back to the hospital."
They drove through the night.
At the hospital, Elena remained unconscious.
Gabriel stood beside her bed.
Sophie watched him hold his mother's hand.
For the first time, she saw how young he looked when he wasn't pretending to be invincible.
Isabella entered quietly.
She sat on the other side of Elena.
"I'm sorry."
Gabriel looked at her.
"For what?"
"I should have told you sooner."
"Told me what?"
Isabella looked toward Sophie.
Then back at him.
"Mom wasn't the only one recording."
Gabriel stiffened.
"What?"
"Dad gave me something before he died."
She pulled a small key from around her neck.
"I was sixteen."
Gabriel stared.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because Dad made me promise."
"What did he give you?"
"A key."
"To what?"
"A safety deposit box."
Gabriel looked at Sophie.
The answer came immediately.
"The Hartwell account."
Isabella nodded.
Inside the box they found another recorder.
But this one contained video.
Carlo appeared on screen.
Older.
Tired.
Frightened.
"If Gabriel is watching this, I'm already dead."
Gabriel stared at his father.
Carlo continued.
"Your uncle Frank is involved. Vincent is involved. Margaret is involved."
Then came a pause.
"But there is one person you must never accuse without proof."
Gabriel leaned closer.
"Who?"
Carlo looked directly into the camera.
"Your wife."
Gabriel froze.
Sophie looked at Isabella.
"Gabriel was married?"
"She died," Isabella whispered.
Three years earlier.
A car accident.
At least that was what Sophie understood.
Gabriel's expression hardened.
"My wife had nothing to do with this."
Carlo's recording continued.
"Your wife discovered the financial transfers."
Gabriel shook his head.
"No."
"She was going to tell you."
The video cut.
Gabriel stood motionless.
Then another file began.
His wife's voice.
She was speaking to Elena.
"I don't know who to trust."
Elena answered.
"Trust Gabriel."
"I do."
"Then tell him."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because they're watching him."
Sophie felt her chest tighten.
The recording ended.
Gabriel stepped away.
"My wife knew."
Isabella touched his arm.
"She tried to tell you."
"I wasn't there."
His voice broke.
"I was in Chicago."
Sophie quietly said, "You couldn't have known."
Gabriel looked at her.
"That's becoming everyone's favorite sentence."
The next morning, Elena woke.
Gabriel was beside her.
"Mom?"
Her fingers moved.
She whispered, "Sophie."
Sophie stepped closer.
"I'm here."
Elena smiled faintly.
"Good."
Gabriel looked hurt.
"Mom."
Elena reached for him.
"My boy."
He took her hand.
"Tell me everything."
Elena's face became serious.
"Not here."
"Why?"
"Because hospitals have walls."
Gabriel looked at Sophie.
She understood.
Someone might be listening.
That afternoon, Elena was moved to a private secured facility.
Only four people were allowed inside.
Gabriel.
Isabella.
Sophie.
And the doctor Gabriel personally trusted.
Elena told them the truth.
Carlo had discovered that Vincent and Frank were diverting money through shell companies.
Margaret had helped hide the transactions.
But the real architect was someone else.
Someone with access to the family's legal structure.
Someone who could manipulate bank accounts, medical records, and police reports.
Someone nobody suspected.
Elena whispered the name.
Gabriel stared.
"No."
Isabella covered her mouth.
Sophie didn't know the person.
Gabriel did.
It was the family's longtime attorney.
Thomas Reed.
A man who had represented the DeLucas for thirty years.
But Elena wasn't finished.
"Thomas didn't work alone."
Gabriel asked, "Who else?"
Elena's hand tightened around Sophie's.
"Someone in your household."
Sophie felt cold.
"Who?"
Elena turned toward the sound of Sophie's voice.
"I don't know."
Then the lights went out.
The doctor shouted.
A gunshot cracked through the hallway.
Gabriel pushed Sophie behind him.
Security guards stormed in.
Another shot.
Then silence.
When the emergency lights came on, the doctor lay on the floor.
Alive.
But wounded.
And Elena's bedside table was empty.
The recorder was gone.
Gabriel looked at Sophie.
She immediately understood.
Someone had stolen the evidence.
But they had made one mistake.
The thief had not noticed Sophie was holding a second device.
The tiny recorder Elena had secretly slipped into Sophie's hand earlier that morning.
Sophie looked down.
A single file appeared on its screen.
TRUTH — FOR SOPHIE ONLY
She pressed play.
Elena's recorded voice whispered:
"If they take the first recorder, let them."
Sophie looked at Gabriel.
Elena continued.
"The first one tells them what I want them to know."
A pause.
"The second tells you what they fear."
Sophie pressed the device against her chest.
And for the first time, she understood.
May you like
Elena hadn't merely been surviving.
She had been preparing for war.
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