Chapter 16 - Vincent Finally Learned Who Betrayed His Family
I did not go alone.
I simply made Anthony believe I did.
Clara hated the plan.
Dominic hated it.
Matteo didn't know the details.
For once, I kept something from him because an eight-year-old did not need operational information about a rescue.
But I did tell him one thing.
“I'm bringing Mom home.”
He looked at me.
“Don't promise stuff you can't control.”
I almost laughed.
My son had learned too much from Clara.
So I corrected myself.
“I'm going to try.”
“Good.”
The warehouse stood near an abandoned shipyard.
I entered through the front.
No visible weapon.
Anthony waited inside.
He looked calm.
Elena sat twenty feet away.
Alive.
Seeing her nearly destroyed me.
Fourteen months of funerals.
Grief.
Nightmares.
Guilt.
And there she was.
Her hair longer.
Face thinner.
Eyes exactly the same.
“Vincent,” she whispered.
Every instinct screamed to run to her.
Anthony raised one hand.
“Stay.”
I stopped.
“You staged her death.”
“Yes.”
“Then imprisoned her.”
“She became difficult.”
Elena laughed weakly.
“I've always been difficult.”
I almost smiled.
Anthony looked annoyed.
“Your father built something extraordinary.”
“My father built a disease.”
“He built control.”
“Same thing.”
Anthony's expression hardened.
“You inherited it and wasted it.”
“Good.”
“Do you know what people would pay for medical leverage? Judges. CEOs. politicians. corporate boards. Information is power.”
“And you poisoned my wife.”
“Marcus did.”
“You authorized it.”
“Only enough to frighten her.”
“Elena discovered you.”
“She discovered everything.”
He looked at her.
“And refused to understand the value.”
Elena said, “I understood perfectly.”
Anthony ignored her.
“The bombing wasn't supposed to happen.”
I stared.
“What?”
“Marcus panicked.”
“Who planted it?”
“A contractor.”
“Under whose order?”
“Marcus.”
“Why?”
“He believed Elena had copied the ledger.”
My eyes moved to her.
She had.
The pendant.
Anthony continued.
“I told him to stop. Elias tried to disarm the device.”
That aligned with Samuel's recording.
“So you staged Elena's death afterward.”
“She asked us to.”
Elena spoke.
“I asked Samuel.”
Anthony smiled.
“And Samuel asked me for help. Irony.”
“You betrayed them.”
“I adapted.”
I looked at Elena.
“Why didn't you contact me?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I tried twice.”
“Fourteen months.”
“They monitored everything.”
“I would have burned the world looking for you.”
“I know.”
Her voice broke.
“That was why I couldn't let you know.”
The truth hurt.
She had hidden because she knew exactly what grief would turn me into.
Anthony stepped closer.
“Give me Shepherd access.”
“No.”
“Then Elena dies.”
“No.”
His face changed.
Not because of my answer.
Because the warehouse lights flashed.
Dominic's team had cut external power.
Backup lights activated.
Anthony turned.
That was enough.
Elena kicked backward, driving her chair into him.
I moved.
So did the hidden team.
No gunfire.
No dramatic battle.
Anthony was tackled before he reached the exit.
Elena fell.
I caught her.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
My arms knew her.
Her weight.
Her breathing.
The way her fingers curled against my shirt.
“Hi,” she whispered.
I laughed and cried at the same time.
“Hi.”
Then she slapped me.
Not hard.
I stared.
She started crying.
“You installed cameras in Matteo's bedroom?”
I laughed harder.
“How do you know that?”
“Samuel told me you would.”
Even after everything, she knew me.
I held her.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I know.”
“I buried you.”
“I know.”
“I hated myself.”
Her expression changed.
“Vincent.”
“I should have listened when you asked me to leave the business.”
“We can discuss your emotional incompetence later.”
That was Elena.
Then she asked the only question that mattered.
“Matteo?”
“He's alive.”
“I know.”
“He speaks again.”
Her face collapsed.
“What?”
“He started talking.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Does he hate me?”
“No.”
“I left him.”
“You were trying to keep him alive.”
“I still left him.”
I understood that guilt too well.
“You can tell him yourself.”
We drove home before dawn.
Matteo waited in the main hallway.
Clara beside him.
Dominic behind.
When Elena walked through the doors, Matteo didn't move.
Neither did she.
For one long second, mother and son stared at each other.
Then Matteo whispered:
“Mom?”
Elena fell to her knees.
“Yes.”
Matteo rolled forward.
She wrapped both arms around him.
He began sobbing.
So did she.
I stood several feet away.
Clara touched my arm.
“Go.”
I shook my head.
“This is theirs.”
Then Matteo looked over Elena's shoulder.
“Dad.”
One word.
An invitation.
I joined them.
For the first time in fourteen months, the three of us held each other.
Not healed.
Not fixed.
Alive.
Then Dominic's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“What?”
I asked.
He lowered the phone.
“Marcus Vale is inside the estate.”
My blood went cold.
“Where?”
Dominic looked toward the security wing.
“Underground.”
May you like
Marcus had gone for the Argent servers.
And Matteo's wheelchair was between him and the only exit.
