CHAPTER 12 THE FATHER WHO NEVER STOPPED LOOKING FOR HIS DAUGHTER
The phone remained in Julian's hand long after the call ended.
Nobody spoke.
Maya stared at him.
"That was him."
Julian nodded.
"Gabriel."
Her mother closed her eyes.
For the first time since Maya had seen her alive, Isabella looked genuinely terrified.
Not nervous.
Not worried.
Terrified.
Maya noticed.
"Mom."
Isabella opened her eyes.
"Yes?"
"You know where he is."
Isabella didn't answer.
"You know where my father is."
A long silence followed.
Then Isabella whispered:
"Yes."
Maya stood.
"Where?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"Because if I tell you, he'll know you're coming."
"I want him to know."
"Maya, you don't understand."
"Then make me understand."
Isabella looked toward Julian.
"He isn't the man you think he is."
Maya's expression hardened.
"Neither was Victor."
"Gabriel is worse."
Julian stepped closer.
"How?"
Isabella looked at him.
"Because Victor wanted power."
She swallowed.
"Gabriel wanted revenge."
Derek entered the room.
"Someone's outside."
Julian immediately turned.
"How many?"
"Three vehicles."
"Police?"
"No."
"Armed?"
"Probably."
Julian looked at Maya.
"We're leaving."
Isabella stood.
"No."
Julian looked at her.
"We don't have time."
"If you leave through the front, they'll follow."
"Then we'll use the rear."
"They're watching that too."
Derek frowned.
"How do you know?"
Isabella looked at him.
"Because I taught them how."
The room went silent.
Julian studied her.
"You were working for Victor."
"No."
"Then what?"
"I was surviving."
She walked toward the kitchen.
Opened a cabinet.
Pressed a hidden button.
A section of the wall slid open.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
Maya stared.
"How long has this been here?"
"Since before you were born."
Julian looked at Isabella.
"You built this?"
"No."
She looked at him.
"Rafael did."
The tunnel led beneath three buildings.
Nobody spoke while they walked.
Maya stayed beside Isabella.
For the first time in her life, she was close enough to touch her mother.
But the closer they became physically, the more distant Isabella seemed emotionally.
Maya finally asked:
"Why did you let me believe you were dead?"
"Because it was the only way to keep Gabriel from finding you."
"You said Victor imprisoned you."
"He did."
"Then why didn't Gabriel find you?"
"He thought I was dead."
Maya stopped walking.
"Why?"
Isabella turned.
"Because Victor told him I died the same night Rafael did."
"But Rafael didn't die."
"No."
"Where was he?"
Isabella's eyes filled.
"He was hiding."
"From Victor?"
"From everyone."
"Why?"
"Because Rafael discovered that someone had betrayed him."
"Gabriel."
Isabella nodded.
"Gabriel sold Rafael's location."
"To Victor?"
"To three different families."
Maya stared.
"And then?"
"They came for him."
"What happened?"
"Rafael survived."
Maya whispered:
"Where is he now?"
Isabella looked away.
"He isn't."
Maya's face fell.
"You just said he survived."
"He survived the attack."
"What killed him?"
Isabella's voice broke.
"Gabriel."
Silence.
Maya closed her eyes.
"So Gabriel killed my father."
"Yes."
"Then why did he call himself my father?"
"Because he wants you to believe he loved you."
Maya opened her eyes.
"Did he?"
Isabella didn't answer.
That answer was enough.
They reached the end of the tunnel.
A steel door opened into an abandoned train station.
Julian looked around.
"Where are we?"
"Near the river."
Derek checked his phone.
"No signal."
"That's intentional."
Maya stared at Isabella.
"You knew this was coming."
Isabella nodded.
"Gabriel has been watching you for years."
"How long?"
"Since you were nineteen."
Maya's stomach tightened.
"Four years."
"Yes."
"The bakery."
"Yes."
"The penthouse."
"Yes."
"My second job."
"Yes."
Maya looked at her mother.
"Did you know about Julian?"
Isabella hesitated.
"I knew his name."
"Did you know I loved him?"
"No."
"When did you find out?"
"When Victor started hunting you."
Maya frowned.
"Why did that matter?"
"Because Victor would never have risked a war with Julian unless he was afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
Isabella looked at Julian.
"That Julian would discover who he really was."
Julian's face tightened.
"My identity?"
"Your blood."
He stared at her.
"You said I'm Rafael's son."
"Yes."
"And Maya's father is Gabriel."
"Yes."
"Then what does that mean?"
Isabella looked at them.
"Rafael and Gabriel were brothers."
Julian's eyes widened.
"So..."
Maya whispered:
"Julian and I are cousins."
Isabella shook her head.
"No."
Maya frowned.
"Why not?"
"Because Julian isn't Rafael's son."
Julian stared.
"You just said—"
"I said Victor stole you from Rafael."
"That doesn't mean I'm his son."
Isabella took a breath.
"Your real father was someone else."
Julian's expression hardened.
"Who?"
Isabella looked toward Maya.
"Her father."
Maya stopped breathing.
Julian stared.
"Gabriel?"
Isabella nodded.
"Gabriel is your father too."
Silence.
Maya and Julian looked at each other.
Isabella continued.
"That's why Victor was afraid of both of you."
Maya whispered:
"We're siblings?"
"No."
Isabella shook her head.
"You're not related by blood."
"Then how?"
"Because Julian wasn't Gabriel's biological child."
Julian stared.
"Then who?"
Isabella looked at him.
"Your mother was pregnant before she married Victor."
Julian's face went blank.
"With whom?"
"Rafael."
He closed his eyes.
"Then you just said—"
"I know."
Isabella's voice trembled.
"Your mother had an affair with Rafael."
Maya stared.
"Then Julian is Rafael's son."
"Yes."
"And I'm Gabriel's daughter."
"Yes."
"So we're not related."
"No."
Julian exhaled.
For the first time in minutes, he seemed able to breathe.
Maya looked at him.
Neither spoke.
But both understood the implication.
The train station lights flickered.
Derek raised his weapon.
"Someone's here."
Footsteps echoed.
Julian pushed Maya behind him.
A figure appeared.
Daniel.
He was alone.
Julian lowered his gun.
"What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you."
"How did you find us?"
"Michael."
Michael stepped from the darkness.
Maya ran toward him.
"Are you okay?"
He smiled faintly.
"Better."
"Who treated you?"
"Someone my brother trusts."
Daniel looked at Julian.
"There's no time."
Julian frowned.
"For what?"
"Gabriel has taken Victor."
Everyone froze.
Derek asked:
"Why?"
"Because Victor knows where the original archive is."
Julian's eyes narrowed.
"Where?"
Daniel looked at Maya.
"Your mother's house."
Maya stared.
"My old house?"
"Yes."
"But it burned."
"No."
Daniel shook his head.
"The house burned."
He paused.
"The basement didn't."
They drove south before sunrise.
The old neighborhood was quiet.
Maya stared out the window.
She remembered the little house.
The blue curtains.
The broken kitchen table.
The small bedroom she had shared with her mother.
She remembered waking one night to shouting.
A gunshot.
Then smoke.
Then nothing.
Julian parked two blocks away.
They approached on foot.
The house looked abandoned.
Charred.
Windows broken.
Walls blackened.
Maya stood outside.
"I remember this."
Isabella touched her shoulder.
"I know."
"Someone was here."
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Gabriel."
Maya looked at her.
"He came that night?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To kill me."
Maya stared.
"Why didn't he?"
"Because Rafael stopped him."
Maya's eyes widened.
"My father was here."
"Yes."
"That was the night he died."
Isabella nodded.
"But you escaped."
"How?"
"Daniel carried you."
Maya looked at Daniel.
He nodded.
"You were four."
Maya's eyes filled.
"You saved me."
"I promised your mother."
She turned to Isabella.
"And you?"
"I stayed."
"Why?"
"Because Rafael was alive."
Maya swallowed.
"What happened?"
Isabella looked toward the house.
"Gabriel shot him."
Maya closed her eyes.
"I heard it."
"Yes."
"I remember."
"You were hiding beneath the stairs."
Maya's breathing became uneven.
"I remember a man."
"Who?"
"A boy."
Daniel's face changed.
"Me."
"You were crying."
"I was."
"You told me not to make a sound."
"Yes."
"You said someone would come."
"I thought they would."
Maya whispered:
"They never did."
Daniel looked away.
"I'm sorry."
Inside the house, they found the basement entrance.
The floor was damaged.
Maya moved toward the old staircase.
She stopped.
"Here."
Julian followed.
She pointed beneath the stairs.
"That's where I hid."
Derek examined the wall.
"There's something behind it."
He removed a section of burned wood.
A metal box appeared.
Isabella gasped.
"The archive."
Julian opened it.
Inside was a single USB drive.
Nothing else.
Maya frowned.
"That's it?"
Isabella nodded.
"Everything was digitized."
Julian took it.
"What password?"
Isabella shook her head.
"Rafael chose it."
"What was important to him?"
She looked at Maya.
"You."
Julian tried her name.
Nothing.
Her birthday.
Nothing.
The date of Rafael's death.
Nothing.
Daniel stepped closer.
"Try the church."
Julian typed STAGNES.
Access denied.
Michael said:
"Try the necklace."
Julian entered the symbols.
Denied.
Maya looked at the screen.
Then something clicked.
"The drawing."
Julian looked at her.
"What drawing?"
"When I was a child."
"What about it?"
"I drew three circles."
Michael stared.
"The Moretti symbol."
"No."
Maya shook her head.
"I always thought it was a family symbol."
She pointed.
"It wasn't."
"What was it?"
"Three people."
She typed three words.
MAYA ISABELLA RAFAEL
The screen opened.
Files appeared.
Hundreds.
Payments.
Photographs.
Audio recordings.
Videos.
Names.
Politicians.
Judges.
Police officers.
Businessmen.
And one folder marked:
PROJECT DAUGHTER.
Maya clicked it.
A video began.
Rafael appeared on screen.
Alive.
Older.
Tired.
Maya stopped breathing.
"That's him."
Julian stood behind her.
Rafael looked directly into the camera.
"If you're seeing this, then Gabriel has failed."
Maya began crying.
Rafael continued.
"Maya, I don't know if you'll ever know me."
He smiled sadly.
"But I knew you."
Maya covered her mouth.
"I watched you grow."
The video showed photographs.
Maya as a baby.
Maya at five.
Maya at ten.
Maya at fifteen.
Rafael had been watching.
All those years.
Then he said:
"Gabriel believes you are his greatest weakness."
He paused.
"He is wrong."
Rafael leaned closer.
"You are his greatest threat."
The screen changed.
A document appeared.
PROJECT DAUGHTER: SUBJECT MAYA TORRES
Julian frowned.
"Subject?"
Maya stared.
Then the final line appeared.
MAYA IS NOT GABRIEL'S BIOLOGICAL DAUGHTER.
Maya froze.
Isabella whispered:
"No."
Julian looked at her.
"You didn't know?"
Isabella shook her head.
Rafael's voice continued.
"Isabella, if you failed to tell her, I forgive you."
Maya stared at her mother.
"But she must know."
A final photograph appeared.
A newborn baby.
A hospital bracelet.
The name:
MAYA MENDOZA.
Below it:
BIOLOGICAL FATHER: RAFAEL MENDOZA.
Maya's entire body went still.
Julian looked at her.
She whispered:
"Then I'm Rafael's daughter."
Isabella began crying.
"Yes."
"And Julian?"
Rafael's voice answered from the recording.
"Julian is not my son."
Maya turned toward Julian.
He stared at the screen.
Rafael continued:
"Julian's father is Victor Croft."
Silence.
The screen changed again.
DNA MATCH: VICTOR CROFT — 99.98%.
Julian's face became empty.
Maya looked at him.
Her hand found his.
He didn't pull away.
Rafael's final words played.
"If Julian discovers the truth, he will believe himself a monster."
A pause.
"He isn't."
Then:
"He is the only person I trust to protect my daughter."
The screen went black.
Nobody moved.
Then the basement door slammed shut.
A voice came from above.
"Touching."
Gabriel.
He stepped onto the stairs.
A gun pressed against Isabella's head.
Victor stood beside him.
Alive.
Bloodied.
Smiling.
Gabriel looked directly at Maya.
"My daughter."
Maya stared.
Rafael's words echoed in her mind.
You are his greatest threat.
Gabriel smiled.
"But now you finally know."
He raised his gun.
"You're not my daughter."
Maya froze.
Gabriel's smile widened.
"You're the reason I killed your father."
Julian stepped in front of her.
Gabriel laughed.
"And you're the reason I killed mine."
Julian's face changed.
Victor looked at him.
"Son."
May you like
Gabriel pulled the trigger.
The basement exploded into gunfire.
