Part 4: The Truth That Could Destroy Them
Part 4: The Truth That Could Destroy Them
The gunshot echoed through the abandoned facility.
Emily’s hand tightened around Roman’s.
“Keep moving.”
They ran through the dark corridor.
Another shot struck the wall behind them.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Emily stumbled.
Roman caught her before she hit the floor.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Keep going.”
They reached the emergency exit.
Roman pushed the handle.
Nothing.
Locked.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Emily’s breathing became faster.
“We’re trapped.”
Roman looked down the corridor.
The emergency lights flickered on.
For one brief second, they saw a figure standing at the far end.
Tall.
Motionless.
Watching them.
Then the lights went dark again.
“Roman…”
“I saw him.”
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know.”
A metallic crash came from behind them.
Roman grabbed a heavy metal bar from the floor and forced open a maintenance door.
“Through here.”
They entered a narrow service tunnel.
Emily followed close behind.
The tunnel ended at an old loading area.
Roman found a manual release and pulled it.
The door opened.
Cold night air rushed inside.
They ran outside.
Only when they reached the car did Roman stop.
Emily leaned against the vehicle, trying to catch her breath.
Roman looked at her face.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re shaking.”
“So are you.”
Roman looked down.
She was right.
His hands were trembling.
Not because of the gunfire.
Because of what Margaret had said.
Emily stepped closer.
“Roman.”
He looked at her.
“She said she knows who killed your father.”
“Yes.”
“And she said it was someone standing beside us.”
Roman’s expression darkened.
“Daniel disappeared immediately afterward.”
Emily nodded.
“But what if she meant someone else?”
Roman stared at her.
“Who?”
Emily didn’t answer.
They both knew.
The security chief.
The man Roman had trusted.
The man who had been present twelve years ago.
The man who had investigated every recent incident.
Roman took out his phone.
“We’re going back to headquarters.”
Emily frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I need to know who has been controlling my security.”
When they arrived at Duca Tower, the building was almost empty.
Roman entered the security command center.
His chief security officer, Victor Hale, was already there.
“Mr. Duca.”
Roman stopped.
“You knew about the old facility.”
Victor’s face remained calm.
“What facility?”
Roman walked toward him.
“The one my mother has been paying to maintain.”
Victor didn’t answer.
Roman placed the old photograph on the desk.
“This photograph was taken twelve years ago.”
Victor glanced at it.
“I don’t remember.”
“You were standing beside my father.”
“I worked for your father.”
“You were there when he discovered the Laurent accounts.”
Victor looked directly at Roman.
“Who told you that?”
Roman’s voice became colder.
“Answer the question.”
Victor remained silent.
Emily watched him carefully.
Then she noticed something.
A small scar on Victor’s right hand.
She had seen it before.
In the security footage.
The person who entered her apartment building.
Emily stepped forward.
“Roman.”
Victor looked at her.
“You were watching me.”
Victor’s expression changed for the first time.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Roman noticed.
“What did you say?”
Emily pointed at Victor.
“That scar.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“The photograph of me leaving my apartment was taken by someone with that same scar.”
Victor looked at her.
“You’re very observant.”
Roman’s voice became deadly.
“Victor.”
Victor suddenly reached inside his jacket.
Roman reacted instantly.
He pulled Emily behind him.
But Victor didn’t draw a weapon.
He placed a small USB drive on the desk.
“I didn’t send the messages.”
Roman stared at it.
“Then who did?”
Victor looked at Emily.
“Your father.”
Emily froze.
“My father is dead.”
“Yes.”
Victor pushed the USB drive toward her.
“That’s what everyone believes.”
Emily stared at him.
Roman’s expression changed.
“What are you saying?”
Victor lowered his voice.
“Your father didn’t die twelve years ago.”
Emily felt the world tilt.
“No.”
“I saw him leave the country.”
Roman looked at Victor.
“Why would he fake his death?”
Victor hesitated.
“Because your father discovered something that could destroy both families.”
Emily’s voice trembled.
“What?”
Victor looked toward the security cameras.
“We shouldn’t talk here.”
Roman immediately understood.
He grabbed the USB drive.
“Where?”
“Your father’s old office.”
Roman’s expression hardened.
“That office was destroyed.”
Victor shook his head.
“Not the real one.”
Twenty minutes later, they stood inside an underground room beneath Duca Tower.
The walls were covered with old documents.
Photographs.
Bank records.
Emily stared at a large photograph pinned to the wall.
It showed her father.
Alive.
Standing beside Roman’s father.
Her knees nearly gave way.
Roman caught her.
“Emily.”
She shook her head.
“That can’t be him.”
“It is.”
She stepped closer.
Her father’s face was unmistakable.
But there was something else in the photograph.
A young Margaret stood behind them.
And beside her was a much younger Victor.
Emily looked at Roman.
“Your mother knew my father.”
Roman nodded slowly.
“Apparently.”
Victor placed another document on the table.
“This is the original investigation.”
Emily read the first page.
Her father’s name appeared at the top.
Thomas Carter — Lead Investigator.
Below it were names, payments, hidden companies, and confidential notes.
Emily read faster.
Then she stopped.
“Roman.”
He looked at her.
She pointed to a name.
Laurent Holdings.
Again.
But beneath it was another company.
One neither of them recognized.
Aurelius International.
Victor spoke quietly.
“That was the real organization behind everything.”
Roman frowned.
“Who owns it?”
Victor shook his head.
“We never knew.”
Emily continued reading.
Then she found something that made her blood run cold.
A list of targets.
Companies.
Executives.
Politicians.
Judges.
Journalists.
And one family name appeared at the bottom.
Carter.
Emily stopped breathing.
“Why is my family on this list?”
Victor looked at her.
“Because your father refused to cooperate.”
Emily’s eyes filled with tears.
“What did they want?”
“Access to Duca’s financial network.”
Roman’s expression hardened.
“And my father refused.”
Victor nodded.
“Both men refused.”
Emily looked down at the documents.
“So they killed them.”
Victor said nothing.
Roman stared at him.
“You said my father was killed.”
“I said I know who did it.”
“Who?”
Victor looked at Emily.
Then at Roman.
“The person who ordered it wasn’t Margaret.”
Roman froze.
Victor continued.
“Margaret tried to stop them.”
Emily stared at him.
“Then why did she hide everything?”
“Because she was afraid.”
“Of whom?”
Victor didn’t answer.
A voice came from the doorway.
“Of me.”
Everyone turned.
Margaret Duca stood there.
Roman’s face hardened.
“Mom.”
Margaret looked older than she had that morning.
She wasn’t wearing her usual elegance.
She looked tired.
Defeated.
Emily stepped forward.
“You knew my father was alive.”
Margaret nodded.
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
Emily’s voice broke.
“You lied to me my entire life.”
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
Emily shook her head.
“My father was alive while I believed he was dead.”
Margaret’s eyes filled with tears.
“He disappeared to protect you.”
“From whom?”
Margaret looked at Roman.
Then at Emily.
“Aurelius.”
Roman stepped forward.
“Who runs it?”
Margaret hesitated.
Then she whispered:
“Your uncle.”
Roman froze.
“My uncle died before I was born.”
“No.”
Margaret’s voice trembled.
“He disappeared.”
Emily looked confused.
“Why would he want the company?”
Margaret answered.
“Because your father and Roman’s father discovered that Aurelius had been secretly controlling parts of Duca Consolidated for decades.”
Roman stared at her.
“My own family?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because after your father died, they threatened you.”
Roman’s face hardened.
“And you obeyed them.”
“I protected you.”
“You lied to me.”
Margaret looked down.
“Yes.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Emily noticed something.
A small photograph on the table.
She picked it up.
It showed a man standing beside her father.
The man was older now.
But Emily recognized him immediately.
She had seen his face before.
At Duca Consolidated.
In Roman’s executive meetings.
Emily whispered:
“That’s impossible.”
Roman looked at the photograph.
His face went pale.
“Who is that?”
Emily looked at him.
“Your uncle.”
Roman stared at the photograph.
Then at Margaret.
“You said he disappeared.”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“He did.”
Roman’s voice became almost a whisper.
“Then why is he working inside my company?”
Margaret looked at him.
“He isn’t working inside your company.”
A pause.
“He owns it.”
Roman’s face went blank.
Emily felt a chill run through her.
“What?”
Margaret continued.
“Roman, the man you believe is your most trusted business partner…”
She looked toward the door.
“…is the man who has been controlling Aurelius all these years.”
Roman immediately reached for his phone.
“No signal.”
Victor checked the security system.
“It’s been disabled.”
Emily heard footsteps outside.
Slow.
Calm.
Approaching.
Roman turned toward the door.
“Everyone stay behind me.”
The handle began to move.
The door opened.
A man stepped into the room.
He was elegant.
Calm.
Older than Roman.
And smiling.
Roman stared at him.
The man’s eyes moved toward Emily.
Then toward Margaret.
Finally, he looked at Roman.
“Hello, nephew.”
Roman couldn’t speak.
The man smiled.
“I’ve been waiting twelve years for you to discover the truth.”
Emily stepped backward.
The man looked directly at her.
“And you…”
His smile disappeared.
“…are your father’s daughter.”
Roman moved between them.
“What do you want?”
The man answered without hesitation.
“Everything your father tried to protect.”
He looked at Emily.
“And unfortunately, that includes you.”
The lights suddenly went out.
A scream echoed through the room.
When they came back on, Margaret was gone.
And on the wall, written in red, were five words:
THE GAME HAS JUST BEGUN.
