Chapter 18 — Eighteen Minutes to Midnight
“LEO!”
Chloe's scream tore through the underground chamber.
Leo lay against Gabriel's arms.
Blood spread across his shirt.
His eyes were closed.
For one horrible second, Chloe couldn't hear anything except the ringing inside her own head.
Then Gabriel shouted.
“Vincent!”
Vincent dropped beside them.
“Move your hands.”
Chloe shook her head.
“No.”
“Chloe, let me see the wound.”
“No!”
Gabriel grabbed her shoulders.
“Look at me.”
She looked at him.
His face was covered in blood.
Not his.
Leo's.
“We need pressure.”
Chloe immediately pressed both hands against the wound.
Leo's body jerked.
His eyes opened.
Barely.
Chloe leaned over him.
“Stay with me.”
Leo looked at her.
His fingers moved weakly.
She watched.
NOT MY BLOOD.
Chloe froze.
“What?”
Leo repeated the sign.
NOT MY BLOOD.
Gabriel looked down.
Vincent pulled open Leo's shirt.
The bullet had torn through the fabric.
But there was almost no blood coming from the wound.
Vincent frowned.
“That's impossible.”
Daniel dropped beside him.
“Armor.”
He pulled a small piece of black material from Leo's shirt.
“It's under the fabric.”
Gabriel stared.
“A bulletproof plate?”
Daniel nodded.
Leo's eyes opened slightly.
He signed:
DANIEL MADE IT.
Daniel gave a bitter smile.
“Three years ago.”
Chloe's knees almost collapsed.
“You scared me to death.”
Leo tried to smile.
His hands moved.
SORRY.
Chloe grabbed his face.
“Don't ever do that again.”
Leo's eyes filled with tears.
He nodded.
Behind them, the red projection still burned across the wall.
ONE BROTHER WILL DIE BEFORE MIDNIGHT.
11:42 p.m.
Eighteen minutes.
Gabriel stood.
“Where's Elias?”
Vincent looked toward the corridor.
“Gone.”
Salvatore checked the tunnel.
“Not gone.”
Everyone looked at him.
Salvatore pointed toward the wall.
“He wants us to chase him.”
Gabriel narrowed his eyes.
“Why?”
“Because that's how he controls people.”
Salvatore looked at Chloe.
“He wants you angry.”
Chloe stood slowly.
“He already has me angry.”
Salvatore shook his head.
“No.”
His expression was grim.
“He wants you desperate.”
A faint metallic click came from somewhere in the chamber.
Everyone froze.
Then the lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The hospital machines went dark.
Matteo's heart monitor stopped.
Chloe turned.
“Dad?”
Gabriel moved toward the bed.
“Matteo!”
The man's eyes opened.
He wasn't dead.
The machine had been disconnected.
He looked directly at Gabriel.
“Don't…”
His voice was weak.
“Don't let them…”
Gabriel leaned closer.
“Let them what?”
Matteo struggled.
“Open…”
He coughed.
“The seventh door.”
Gabriel's face hardened.
“What happens if we open it?”
Matteo stared at him.
“You die.”
Silence.
Then Matteo looked at Chloe.
“Not you.”
Chloe stepped closer.
“Me?”
“You're the key.”
She shook her head.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Matteo reached for her hand.
His fingers closed around hers.
“Because it's true.”
He looked toward Leo.
“Your brother is the heir.”
Then Daniel.
“Your other brother is the blood witness.”
Then Gabriel.
“And he is the protector.”
Gabriel frowned.
“Then what am I protecting?”
Matteo whispered:
“The key.”
Chloe felt a chill.
“Me.”
Matteo nodded.
“The Compact was designed so the bloodline could never activate itself.”
“Why?”
“Because blood can be corrupted.”
He looked toward Salvatore.
“Ambition can be inherited.”
Then toward Elias's abandoned gun.
“Power can be bought.”
Finally, he looked at Chloe.
“But an outsider…”
His voice weakened.
“An outsider can choose.”
Chloe stared.
“What choice?”
Matteo's eyes closed.
“To destroy everything.”
The machines suddenly came back on.
The lights returned.
And on the wall, a new message appeared.
11:46.
Then:
FOURTEEN MINUTES.
Gabriel looked at the screen.
“What happens at midnight?”
Matteo whispered:
“The Compact activates.”
Chloe's stomach dropped.
“How?”
Matteo looked toward her.
“Someone must sign it.”
“Who?”
“You.”
“No.”
“You already did.”
Chloe stared.
“I've never signed anything.”
Matteo looked at her wrist.
Chloe slowly looked down.
There was a thin red mark around her wrist.
She hadn't noticed it before.
A perfect circle.
With seven tiny points.
Gabriel stepped closer.
“When did that appear?”
Chloe shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Salvatore's expression changed.
“You were marked.”
“By whom?”
He looked toward Beatrice.
She lowered her head.
Chloe stared at her grandmother.
“You did this?”
Beatrice shook her head violently.
She signed.
NO.
“Then who?”
Beatrice pointed toward Leo.
Everyone turned.
Leo looked confused.
He shook his head.
NOT ME.
Beatrice pointed toward Chloe's mother.
Her mother froze.
Chloe turned.
“Mom?”
Her mother began to cry.
“I didn't mark you.”
“Then who did?”
She whispered:
“Your father.”
Chloe froze.
“I don't know who my father is.”
Her mother looked at Salvatore.
Then Gabriel.
Then Leo.
Finally, she said:
“You've met him.”
The room went silent.
Gabriel's expression changed.
“Who?”
Chloe's mother looked toward Matteo.
“Not Matteo.”
Then toward the old photograph.
“Not Adrian.”
She looked at Salvatore.
“Not Salvatore.”
Chloe's voice became barely audible.
“Then who?”
Her mother whispered:
“The man who raised you.”
Chloe's breath caught.
Her childhood father.
The man she had believed was simply her father.
The man whose name appeared on every school document.
Every hospital record.
Every family photograph.
The man who had died when she was young.
The man she remembered as kind.
Quiet.
Protective.
The man who had taught her how to ride a bicycle.
The man who had sat beside her hospital bed when she broke her arm.
The man who had never once told her the truth.
Chloe shook her head.
“No.”
Her mother nodded.
“He was part of the original Compact.”
Gabriel asked:
“What was his name?”
Her mother closed her eyes.
“Samuel Bennett.”
Chloe felt the room spin.
Samuel.
Her father.
The name on her birth certificate.
The man who had raised her.
Dead for twelve years.
She looked at the old man who had claimed to be Gabriel's father.
Then at Matteo.
Then at Salvatore.
Then at Leo.
None of them spoke.
Finally, Chloe whispered:
“Why did he lie to me?”
Her mother answered:
“Because he promised your real father he would.”
Chloe's voice broke.
“Who was my real father?”
Her mother looked toward Salvatore.
Salvatore stepped forward.
“I already told you.”
“You're not my father.”
Salvatore froze.
“You are.”
“No.”
Chloe shook her head.
“You may be my biological father.”
She pointed toward herself.
“But you weren't the man who gave me my blood.”
Salvatore stared.
The distinction was impossible.
Chloe continued.
“Blood isn't everything.”
She looked at Gabriel.
“At least that's what everyone keeps telling me.”
Her mother whispered:
“Your real father was Matteo's brother.”
Gabriel's eyes widened.
“What?”
Salvatore looked toward the floor.
“Impossible.”
Her mother nodded.
“His name was Rafael Costello.”
Gabriel stepped back.
“Rafael…”
He remembered the name.
A name from old family records.
A name his father never allowed anyone to mention.
A man supposedly killed before Gabriel was born.
Chloe looked at him.
“Who was he?”
Gabriel answered slowly.
“My father's older brother.”
Her mother nodded.
“And he was the man who loved me.”
Salvatore's face changed.
“You.”
He stared at Chloe's mother.
“You were with Rafael.”
“Yes.”
“And you had Chloe.”
“Yes.”
Salvatore's expression twisted.
“But you told me—”
“I lied.”
Chloe looked between them.
“Why?”
Her mother wiped her tears.
“Because Rafael knew The Seven would come for his children.”
“Children?”
She nodded.
“Rafael had two.”
Chloe's heart stopped.
“Who?”
Her mother pointed toward Chloe.
“You.”
Then toward Leo.
“Him.”
Leo stared at her.
Chloe couldn't breathe.
“You're saying Leo and I are siblings by blood.”
“Yes.”
“And Salvatore?”
“Salvatore is your biological father.”
Chloe frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
Her mother nodded.
“Because the truth was hidden from everyone.”
She looked at Salvatore.
“Even him.”
Salvatore stared at her.
“You used me.”
“I protected my children.”
“You let me believe Chloe was mine.”
“I knew you would protect her.”
Salvatore's face hardened.
“And Leo?”
“I knew you would kill him.”
Silence.
Leo looked at Salvatore.
Salvatore looked away.
Chloe suddenly understood.
The entire family tree had been manipulated.
Names were masks.
Blood was currency.
And the Seven had been using that confusion for generations.
Then the old man spoke.
“Enough.”
Everyone turned.
Richard Bennett stood near the doorway.
The man who had claimed to be Chloe's uncle.
The man who had worked against The Seven.
The man who had revealed the underground chamber.
His gun was pointed at Chloe.
Gabriel immediately raised his weapon.
“Richard.”
Richard looked at him.
“Don't.”
“Lower the gun.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
Richard's eyes filled with tears.
“Because if I don't shoot her, they will kill everyone in this room.”
Chloe stared at him.
“Who?”
Richard looked toward the ceiling.
“They're already here.”
A low vibration moved through the walls.
Then came footsteps.
Dozens.
Above them.
Around them.
Every entrance.
Every tunnel.
Vincent checked his magazine.
“That's a lot of men.”
Daniel looked at the map.
“They've surrounded St. Mary's.”
Gabriel asked:
“How many?”
“Too many.”
Salvatore looked toward Chloe.
“We need to move.”
“Where?”
“The seventh door.”
Matteo suddenly spoke.
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Don't open it.”
Gabriel stepped toward him.
“You said the Compact activates at midnight.”
“Yes.”
“And you said Chloe has to sign.”
“Yes.”
“Then we need to know what happens.”
Matteo shook his head.
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
“The Seventh isn't trying to make Chloe sign.”
He looked at Leo.
“They're trying to make Leo sign.”
Leo's expression changed.
Chloe turned toward him.
“Why?”
Matteo whispered:
“Because only the true heir can open the final succession chamber.”
Leo looked at the door.
Then at Chloe.
His hands moved.
I CAN'T.
Chloe frowned.
“Why?”
Leo signed:
BECAUSE THE DOOR DOESN'T OPEN FROM THIS SIDE.
Everyone went silent.
Gabriel looked at the door.
“What side?”
Leo pointed behind it.
Then toward the wall.
Then made the sign for DEATH.
Chloe translated.
“He says the door opens from the inside.”
A cold silence filled the room.
Daniel understood first.
“You'd have to already be inside.”
Leo nodded.
Gabriel stared.
“How?”
Leo pointed toward the floor.
Then toward the seventh door.
Chloe's face went pale.
“There is another entrance.”
Leo nodded.
“Where?”
He pointed beneath Matteo's hospital bed.
Gabriel moved it aside.
Stone.
Nothing else.
He searched the floor.
Then stopped.
A tiny metal handle.
He pulled.
A section of stone lifted.
Below it was a narrow shaft.
And at the bottom—
a ladder.
Leo looked at Chloe.
Then signed:
I WENT DOWN THERE BEFORE.
“When?”
THREE WEEKS AGO.
“What did you find?”
Leo looked terrified.
He signed:
OUR FATHER.
Chloe froze.
“Rafael?”
Leo shook his head.
Then pointed toward Gabriel.
HIS FATHER.
Gabriel stared.
“My father?”
Leo nodded.
“The real one?”
Leo nodded again.
Gabriel stepped toward the ladder.
“I'll go.”
Leo grabbed his arm.
NO.
“Why?”
Leo signed:
HE'S WAITING FOR YOU.
“Who?”
Leo pointed downward.
Then signed:
THE MAN WHO KILLED HIM.
Gabriel's face hardened.
“You said he was alive.”
Leo shook his head.
HE WAS.
A terrible realization passed through the room.
“Was?”
Leo nodded.
Chloe whispered:
“Then who is waiting below?”
Leo looked at her.
His hands moved slowly.
THE MAN WHO KILLED HIM.
Before anyone could respond, the lights went out again.
A voice came through the speakers.
Elias.
“Four minutes.”
The red numbers appeared.
11:56 P.M.
Then his voice returned.
“Chloe Bennett.”
She looked up.
“You have four minutes to decide.”
Gabriel shouted:
“Decide what?”
Elias answered.
“Which brother dies.”
The speakers clicked.
Silence.
Then Elias added:
“Choose Leo, and Daniel dies.”
“Choose Daniel, and Vincent dies.”
Gabriel's face hardened.
“And if I choose neither?”
A pause.
Then:
“Then Gabriel dies.”
Chloe stared into the darkness.
Three brothers.
One choice.
Four minutes.
Then Leo touched her hand.
He signed one sentence.
HE'S LYING.
Chloe looked at him.
“How do you know?”
Leo pointed toward the speakers.
Then toward himself.
Then made the sign for EYES.
Chloe understood.
“Because Elias can't see us.”
Leo nodded.
“He's not in the building.”
Daniel suddenly looked at the map.
“He's controlling the cameras.”
Vincent understood.
“Then we can use that.”
Gabriel looked at Chloe.
“What are you thinking?”
Chloe stared at the red clock.
11:57.
Three minutes.
Then she looked at Leo.
At Daniel.
At Vincent.
At Gabriel.
At Salvatore.
At Beatrice.
At her mother.
And finally at the seventh door.
“We don't choose.”
Gabriel nodded slowly.
“We make him choose.”
Chloe took the original Blood Compact from the table.
She held it up.
“If this document needs an heir…”
She looked at Leo.
“…then we'll give them one.”
Leo shook his head.
NO.
Chloe smiled through her tears.
“Trust me.”
Leo stared at her.
Then slowly nodded.
Chloe turned toward the cameras.
“Elias!”
Her voice echoed through the chamber.
“We accept.”
The speakers crackled.
Elias answered immediately.
“Excellent.”
Chloe smiled.
“But there's one condition.”
“What?”
“You come here yourself.”
Silence.
Then Elias laughed.
“You don't have the authority.”
Chloe held up the Compact.
“Yes, I do.”
“How?”
She looked toward the seven circles on the document.
Then toward her wrist.
The mark burned.
“I finally understand what I am.”
Elias's voice became colder.
“What?”
Chloe looked at Leo.
Then Gabriel.
Then Daniel.
And said:
“I'm not the key.”
A pause.
“I'm the lock.”
Silence.
Then the seventh door began to open.
From the other side came a sound.
A slow heartbeat.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then a man's voice whispered from the darkness:
“Chloe…”
She froze.
She knew that voice.
Everyone did.
It was the voice of the father she had buried twelve years ago.
Samuel Bennett.
Her dead father.
His voice came again.
“Don't open the door.”
Chloe stared into the darkness.
Then the voice whispered:
“Because I'm not alone.”
The clock changed.
11:58 P.M.
Two minutes remained.
And from behind the seventh door came another voice.
A voice Chloe had never heard before.
But Leo recognized it.
His face went white.
He signed one word.
MOTHER.
Chloe turned.
May you like
Her mother was standing directly behind her.
And she was smiling.
