Chapter 8 - The Man Who Came Back From the Dead
"Nobody move."
Victor's voice echoed through the hallway.
Daniel immediately raised his hands.
Gabriel pulled Clara behind him.
Virgilio stepped forward.
"Put the gun down."
Victor laughed.
"Still giving orders, Virgilio?"
"You're finished."
"Not until I get what I came for."
Victor pointed toward the metal box.
"The ledger. The tape. Everything."
Gabriel shook his head.
"You already destroyed enough lives."
Victor's expression hardened.
"You should have stayed missing."
Clara looked at her father.
"You knew he was alive?"
Gabriel swallowed.
"I knew he was dangerous."
"That's not what I asked."
He couldn't answer.
Virgilio moved slightly to the side, keeping Victor's attention on him.
"Why did you let everyone believe you were dead?" he asked Gabriel.
"Because Victor was watching every person I contacted. I couldn't risk bringing him to Clara."
Victor interrupted.
"How touching. The missing father returns to save his little girl."
He stepped closer.
"You know what your father never understood, Clara? People like us don't survive by being good. We survive by making other people afraid."
Clara looked directly at him.
"My mother wasn't afraid of you."
For the first time, Victor appeared genuinely irritated.
"Your mother should have kept her mouth shut."
"She died protecting the truth."
"And she accomplished nothing."
Virgilio moved.
Victor raised the gun.
"One more step and I'll shoot."
Then a loud crash came from the rear entrance.
Matteo appeared.
His face was bruised, and he was limping, but he was alive.
"Drop it, Victor."
Victor turned.
For one moment, nobody moved.
Then the gun fired.
The bullet struck the wall.
Virgilio tackled Victor, and the two men crashed against a table. Matteo reached them, grabbed the weapon, and forced it away.
Daniel called emergency services.
Clara rushed toward Gabriel.
He was holding his side.
Blood spread across his shirt.
"Papa!"
He collapsed into her arms.
Virgilio turned toward Matteo.
"You're alive."
Matteo nodded.
"Victor's men grabbed me after the shooting at the office. I managed to escape last night."
"Why didn't you contact me?"
"Because I didn't know who I could trust."
Virgilio stared at him.
"Did you kill my father?"
Matteo's expression changed.
"No."
"Gabriel's recording says the killer was someone standing beside me."
Matteo looked toward Victor.
"Then you need to ask him who he hired."
Victor began laughing.
Even with his hands restrained, he seemed strangely confident.
"You're still looking in the wrong direction."
Virgilio stepped closer.
"Explain."
Victor smiled.
"Matteo didn't kill your father. He helped cover up the truth because he was protecting someone."
"Who?"
Victor turned toward Clara.
"Her."
Clara froze.
"That's impossible."
Victor's smile widened.
"Your father wasn't the only one who knew about the ledger. Your mother made a deal years ago. She agreed to hide something in exchange for your life."
Gabriel tried to speak, but pain stopped him.
Victor continued.
"Ask him what happened the night you were born."
Clara looked at her father.
"What is he talking about?"
Gabriel closed his eyes.
"Clara, there's something I never told you."
Before he could continue, the emergency responders entered.
They rushed Gabriel toward the ambulance.
Clara tried to follow, but Virgilio caught her hand.
"Go with him."
She looked at him.
"What about you?"
"I have to finish this."
As the ambulance doors closed, Gabriel reached toward his daughter.
"Your mother didn't give birth to you in that town," he whispered.
Clara went pale.
"Then where was I born?"
Gabriel's eyes moved toward Virgilio.
May you like
"Ask his father."
Then the ambulance pulled away.
