Chapter 6 - The Price of Blood
Gabriel had surrounded the warehouse.
Men poured through the upper floor.
We had one exit.
And Grace was upstairs with Hannah.
I handed Julian a weapon.
“You still know how to shoot?”
He smiled.
“Better than you.”
“Good.”
We moved.
Gunfire erupted.
Dante's team arrived from the rear.
For several minutes, the warehouse became chaos.
When the shooting stopped, Gabriel was gone.
But Hannah was missing.
So was Grace.
My heart stopped.
“Find them!”
We searched every room.
Nothing.
Then my phone rang.
Gabriel.
“Bring the ledger.”
I clenched my jaw.
“If you hurt them—”
“You misunderstand.”
He sounded amused.
“I don't want to hurt the baby.”
“Then what?”
“I want her tested.”
Julian grabbed the phone.
“Leave my daughter alone.”
Gabriel laughed.
“My son.”
Julian froze.
“You were never my son.”
“I gave you life.”
“You destroyed it.”
“I made you strong.”
“You made me afraid.”
Silence.
Then Gabriel said:
“Bring Marco.”
The call ended.
Julian looked at me.
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
“But you're going.”
“Yes.”
“So am I.”
We found Gabriel's location through an old family property.
A mansion in the Catskills.
The same house where my father had spent his final years.
We entered through the basement.
Hannah was tied to a chair.
Grace slept in a crib beside her.
Gabriel stood behind them.
He was older than my father had been.
But his eyes were sharp.
He looked at me.
“Marco.”
I raised my weapon.
“You're going to die.”
He smiled.
“Eventually.”
Julian stepped forward.
“You're sick.”
“Very.”
“You don't get to use my daughter.”
Gabriel looked at Grace.
“She has the cure.”
“No.”
“A genetic match.”
“She is a child.”
“She is family.”
Julian's voice became cold.
“You abandoned family.”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“I protected this family.”
“You killed Mom.”
“I protected the organization.”
“You tried to kill Marco.”
“He survived.”
I stared at Gabriel.
“You're insane.”
He laughed.
“Perhaps.”
Then he pointed at a screen.
Medical records.
Grace's bloodwork.
My stomach tightened.
“Where did you get that?”
“Hospitals talk.”
Hannah looked at me.
“I didn't authorize anything.”
“I know.”
Gabriel smiled.
“The question is whether you will sacrifice the child to save me.”
“No.”
He shrugged.
“Then she dies with me.”
Julian lunged.
A gunshot exploded.
Julian collapsed.
“JULIAN!”
I ran toward him.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Gabriel disappeared through a side door.
Hannah screamed.
I dropped beside my brother.
“Stay with me.”
Julian looked at me.
“Protect her.”
“You're not dying.”
He smiled faintly.
“That's what you said at my funeral.”
“Shut up.”
His eyes closed.
I pressed my hands against the wound.
“Call an ambulance!”
Dante did.
Minutes later, sirens approached.
Julian survived.
Barely.
Gabriel escaped.
But he had made one mistake.
He had left his computer behind.
And on it was the complete ledger.
Sixty million dollars.
Hundreds of transactions.
Politicians.
Judges.
Police officers.
Businessmen.
And one name that made my blood freeze.
Vincent Rizzo.
I stared at it.
Vincent had been taking money.
But the payments weren't to him.
They were from him.
He had been funding Julian's disappearance.
Protecting him.
The betrayal was more complicated than I thought.
Vincent hadn't betrayed us.
He had betrayed Gabriel.
And he had been secretly fighting him for eighteen months.
I called him.
He answered.
“Marco.”
“Where are you?”
“Near the hospital.”
“Why?”
“To see Julian.”
I closed my eyes.
“You knew everything.”
“I knew enough.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your brother made me promise.”
I looked at Julian through the hospital window.
“Is there anything else I should know?”
Vincent hesitated.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Gabriel isn't the final enemy.”
“Who is?”
May you like
Vincent whispered:
“Your father's lawyer.”
