CHAPTER 14 THE TRUTH GABRIEL HAD BURIED FOR TWENTY-THREE YEARS
The lighthouse door hung from one hinge.
Snow blew through the opening.
Gabriel stood in the doorway with six armed men behind him.
Maya remained frozen beside Rafael.
Julian stood between them and the intruders.
His weapon was raised.
"Nobody moves."
Gabriel smiled.
"You still think you're in control."
Julian's eyes narrowed.
"I know exactly what I'm doing."
"No."
Gabriel looked at him.
"You know what you've been taught."
He shifted his attention to Maya.
"But she is about to learn what really happened."
Maya looked down at Rafael.
Blood covered his shirt.
"He's dying."
Gabriel shrugged.
"He's survived worse."
Julian fired.
The bullet struck the wall inches from Gabriel's head.
"Try again."
Gabriel didn't flinch.
"You've always had your father's temper."
Julian froze.
"My father?"
Gabriel smiled.
"Now you're interested."
Maya knelt beside Rafael.
"Stay with me."
Rafael's eyes opened.
"Maya."
"I'm here."
He struggled to breathe.
"Listen."
"Don't talk."
"You need to know."
"What?"
"Your father..."
A cough.
Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Julian crouched beside him.
"Who is it?"
Rafael looked at Julian.
"Not Victor."
Gabriel laughed.
"Of course not."
Everyone looked toward him.
Gabriel slowly lowered his weapon.
"Victor was never important."
Julian's expression hardened.
"Then who was?"
Gabriel looked at Maya.
"Your mother."
Maya stared.
"What?"
"She knows."
Isabella shook her head.
"No."
Gabriel smiled.
"Tell them."
"No."
"Tell them what happened in the hospital."
Isabella's face went white.
Maya turned.
"What hospital?"
Her mother said nothing.
Gabriel stepped forward.
"Twenty-three years ago, Isabella gave birth to twins."
Maya froze.
"Daniel and Michael."
Gabriel nodded.
"But she gave birth to a third child."
Silence.
Julian looked at Maya.
Gabriel continued.
"That child was you."
Maya's eyes widened.
"I wasn't a twin."
"No."
"You said three children."
"I did."
"Who was the third?"
Gabriel smiled.
"Your mother had another daughter."
Maya shook her head.
"Who?"
"Her name was Elena."
Isabella whispered:
"Stop."
Gabriel ignored her.
"Elena died before she was one year old."
Maya stared.
"And you?"
Gabriel looked at her.
"You were supposed to die with her."
Julian stepped forward.
"Why?"
Gabriel's eyes moved toward him.
"Because Rafael had made a deal."
"What deal?"
"Your father wanted out."
Julian's face tightened.
"Out of what?"
"The organization."
Gabriel smiled.
"He wanted to take Isabella, the twins, and you somewhere no one could find them."
"Why did he fail?"
"Because someone betrayed him."
Maya looked at Daniel.
He shook his head.
"Not me."
Gabriel laughed.
"Of course not."
"Then who?"
Gabriel looked at Isabella.
"She did."
Maya turned.
"Mom?"
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't betray him."
"You gave me his location."
"I had no choice."
"There is always a choice."
Isabella shook her head.
"Not when your children are being held at gunpoint."
Maya stared.
"Who had us?"
Gabriel smiled.
"I did."
Maya stepped backward.
"You took me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Rafael had something I wanted."
"The ledger."
"Exactly."
"Why not kill him?"
"Because he was useful."
Gabriel looked toward Julian.
"He knew where the money was hidden."
Julian frowned.
"What money?"
Gabriel smiled.
"The original Croft fortune."
Silence.
Julian looked at him.
"My family had money before the empire."
"Much more."
"How much?"
"Enough to buy governments."
Julian's expression hardened.
"And the ledger?"
"Recorded every transaction."
Maya understood.
"So this was never just about the mafia."
"No."
Gabriel smiled.
"It was about ownership."
Daniel stepped forward.
"You lied."
Gabriel looked at him.
"About what?"
"You told me Rafael died."
"He did."
"Then why is he alive?"
Gabriel's expression changed.
"Because Rafael has always been difficult to kill."
Rafael tried to stand.
Julian helped him.
Rafael stared at Gabriel.
"You should have killed me when you had the chance."
Gabriel smiled.
"I tried."
"Twenty-three years ago."
"Yes."
"You failed."
"Yes."
Rafael looked at Maya.
"And now you're going to fail again."
Gabriel's smile disappeared.
Suddenly, the lighthouse lights went out.
Darkness.
Gunfire.
Julian shoved Maya to the floor.
Derek fired toward the doorway.
Daniel tackled one of Gabriel's men.
Michael pulled Isabella behind the stone wall.
Rafael crawled toward cover.
Maya heard Julian shouting:
"Stay down!"
A flash of light.
Then another.
The gunfire stopped.
Silence.
Maya lifted her head.
Two of Gabriel's men lay on the floor.
The others had retreated.
Gabriel was gone.
Julian stood in the doorway.
"He escaped."
Derek looked outside.
"No."
He pointed.
A helicopter rose over the lake.
Gabriel was inside.
But he wasn't alone.
Isabella was gone.
Maya screamed.
"Mom!"
Julian ran toward the window.
The helicopter disappeared into the storm.
Maya turned to Daniel.
"Where did he take her?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't know."
Michael looked at the floor.
A small piece of paper lay there.
He picked it up.
One sentence.
COME ALONE, MAYA.
Underneath was an address.
Maya looked at Julian.
"No."
He immediately shook his head.
"Absolutely not."
"She's my mother."
"He wants you."
"Then I'll go."
"You won't go alone."
The answer was immediate.
"I didn't say you could come."
"I'm not asking."
Rafael grabbed Julian's wrist.
"Don't."
Julian looked down.
"Why?"
"Because that's exactly what Gabriel wants."
"I know."
"Then why?"
"Because he has Maya's mother."
Rafael stared at him.
"Gabriel doesn't need Isabella."
Julian frowned.
"What?"
"He needs Maya."
"Why?"
Rafael looked toward the necklace.
"The chip."
Julian understood.
"The ledger."
"Yes."
Maya stepped closer.
"Then why doesn't he take it from me?"
"Because he needs you alive."
"Why?"
Rafael hesitated.
"Because the ledger is encrypted with your blood."
Maya stared.
"What?"
"Your DNA."
Julian frowned.
"That's impossible."
"Not anymore."
Rafael looked at Maya.
"Your mother designed the encryption."
"Why?"
"So only you could open it."
Maya touched her necklace.
"How?"
"The chip recognizes your genetic sequence."
Derek looked at Julian.
"So killing her doesn't help."
"No."
"They need her alive."
"Yes."
Maya understood.
"Then my mother is still alive."
Rafael nodded.
"For now."
They reached the address.
An abandoned theater.
The sign read:
CROWN THEATER.
Maya stepped inside.
Julian followed.
Derek stayed outside.
Daniel and Michael took the rear entrance.
The theater was dark.
Dust covered the seats.
A spotlight suddenly turned on.
Isabella sat in the center.
Her hands were tied.
Gabriel stood behind her.
Maya stepped forward.
"Mom."
Isabella looked at her.
"Don't."
Gabriel smiled.
"Welcome."
Maya held up her hands.
"I'm here."
"Show me the necklace."
She touched it.
Gabriel nodded.
"Good."
Julian stepped into the light.
Gabriel frowned.
"I said alone."
Julian smiled.
"I don't listen well."
Gabriel raised his gun.
"Then she dies."
Maya turned.
"Julian."
He stopped.
Gabriel walked toward Maya.
"You've caused me a great deal of trouble."
Maya stared.
"You killed my father."
"Which one?"
She froze.
Gabriel smiled.
"That's the problem with your family."
He leaned closer.
"Too many fathers."
Maya's voice hardened.
"Who was mine?"
Gabriel's expression changed.
"Rafael."
"But you said—"
"I lied."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted you to hate him."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted you to come to me."
Maya stared.
"Why?"
Gabriel took a breath.
"Because Rafael left something inside you."
Maya frowned.
"What?"
"His memories."
She went still.
Gabriel continued.
"Before he disappeared, he had experimental memory technology installed."
Julian's eyes widened.
"What?"
"Nothing supernatural."
Gabriel smiled.
"Encrypted information."
Maya touched her temple.
"That's why I have memories."
"Yes."
"The church."
"Yes."
"The fire."
"Yes."
"The man carrying me."
"Yes."
"That's why I remember things nobody else does."
Gabriel nodded.
"You weren't remembering."
He stepped closer.
"You were accessing."
Maya stared.
"Accessing what?"
"Your father's final message."
Gabriel reached for the necklace.
Julian raised his weapon.
"Don't."
Gabriel smiled.
"Then listen."
He pressed a remote.
The theater screen came alive.
Rafael appeared.
Maya's father.
The same recording from the basement.
But this time the video continued.
Rafael looked directly at the camera.
"Maya, if you're watching this, then Gabriel has found you."
Maya's eyes filled.
Rafael continued.
"There is something I couldn't tell you."
He paused.
"The ledger isn't a list of criminals."
Julian frowned.
"What?"
Rafael looked directly into the camera.
"It's a map."
Maya stared.
"A map to what?"
Rafael's voice became quieter.
"To the Croft fortune."
Julian froze.
Rafael continued.
"The fortune was never held in banks."
"The money was converted into assets."
"Land."
"Companies."
"Trusts."
"Art."
"Gold."
"And property."
He paused.
"All hidden behind false owners."
Julian understood.
"My father's empire."
Rafael nodded on screen.
"Victor doesn't own the Croft empire."
Maya looked at Julian.
Rafael continued:
"Neither does Julian."
Gabriel smiled.
"Who does?"
Rafael looked directly at the camera.
"Isabella."
Maya's mother began crying.
Julian stared at her.
"What?"
Rafael continued.
"Isabella Moretti is the legal beneficiary of the original Croft trust."
Julian's face went blank.
Victor had spent decades believing he controlled the empire.
He didn't.
Isabella did.
And the only reason Gabriel had kept her alive...
was because he needed her signature.
Maya looked at her mother.
"You own the entire empire?"
Isabella shook her head.
"I never wanted it."
Gabriel laughed.
"You didn't want it."
He leaned toward Maya.
"But your mother inherited everything."
"Then why did Victor control it?"
"Because he forged her death certificate."
Julian stared.
"My father stole the company."
"Yes."
"And Gabriel?"
"He wanted the trust."
Maya understood.
"The ledger proves ownership."
"Exactly."
Gabriel stepped toward her.
"Give me the necklace."
"No."
"Then your mother dies."
Maya looked at Isabella.
Her mother shook her head.
"Don't."
Gabriel pressed the gun against her temple.
"Maya."
Julian whispered:
"Don't do it."
Maya looked at him.
"I can't watch her die."
Julian's eyes filled.
Gabriel smiled.
"Smart girl."
Maya removed the necklace.
She held it out.
Gabriel reached for it.
Then Maya smiled.
He stopped.
"What?"
"You made one mistake."
"What?"
"You assumed the necklace was the key."
She dropped it.
The pendant shattered on the floor.
Gabriel stared.
Inside was nothing.
No chip.
No ledger.
His face changed.
Maya smiled through her tears.
"The real chip is inside Julian's watch."
Julian stared at her.
Then understood.
Gabriel's men turned.
Julian raised his wrist.
The watch had been with him all night.
Gabriel's face twisted with rage.
"You little—"
The theater lights exploded.
Gunfire erupted.
Derek stormed through the rear entrance.
Daniel and Michael attacked from the opposite side.
Julian rushed Maya.
Isabella ducked.
Gabriel fired.
Julian pushed Maya aside.
The bullet struck him.
He fell.
"JULIAN!"
Maya screamed.
Gabriel ran.
Maya chased him.
She caught his coat.
He turned.
His gun pointed at her.
Then Isabella struck him from behind.
Gabriel fell.
Maya kicked the weapon away.
Julian staggered toward them.
Blood covered his side.
Maya ran to him.
"You're shot."
He smiled weakly.
"Not the first time."
She pressed her hands against the wound.
"Stay with me."
"I'm here."
Gabriel groaned.
Derek handcuffed him.
Daniel stood over him.
"For twenty-three years."
Gabriel looked up.
"You're too late."
Daniel frowned.
"Why?"
Gabriel smiled.
"Because Victor already activated the final transfer."
Julian froze.
"What transfer?"
Gabriel laughed.
"The entire Croft fortune."
Maya looked at him.
"To whom?"
Gabriel smiled.
Then said:
"To Maya Torres."
Silence.
Everyone stared.
Maya whispered:
"What?"
Gabriel laughed again.
"Congratulations."
He looked at Julian.
"Your girlfriend now owns everything your father ever stole."
Julian stared at Maya.
She stared back.
Then her phone vibrated.
One message.
TRANSFER COMPLETE.
Maya looked at the screen.
Billions of dollars.
Thousands of properties.
Hundreds of companies.
The entire hidden Croft fortune.
All in her name.
And beneath the transfer confirmation was one final line:
AUTHORIZED BY VICTOR CROFT.
Julian's face hardened.
"Why would Victor do that?"
Gabriel's smile disappeared.
"I don't know."
Then the theater doors opened.
Victor walked inside.
Everyone turned.
He looked at Maya.
And said:
"Because I knew she would be the only one strong enough to destroy it."
Maya stared.
May you like
Victor smiled sadly.
"Now we can finally end this."
