Chapter 20 - The Name
987 Words
The gun clicked behind them.
Sofia froze.
Her mother's face went pale.
Alessandro moved first.
He grabbed Sofia around the waist and pulled her behind one of the stone pillars as the first shot rang through the church.
The bullet struck the wooden pew where Sofia had been standing.
"Stay down!" Alessandro ordered.
Another shot.
Luca fired back from the opposite side of the church.
"Move!" he shouted.
Sofia crouched behind the pillar, her heart pounding.
Her mother was beside her.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Good."
Sofia stared at her.
"You said Alessandro knows who betrayed Dad."
Her mother closed her eyes.
"This isn't the time."
"When will it be?"
Another gunshot echoed through the church.
Her mother flinched.
Sofia grabbed her hand.
"You're not disappearing again."
Her mother's eyes filled with tears.
"I never wanted to leave you."
"But you did."
"I thought it was the only way to keep you alive."
Sofia's anger cracked.
"Then tell me the truth."
Her mother looked toward Alessandro.
He was crouched behind another pillar, weapon raised.
Their eyes met.
Her mother whispered,
"Your father trusted Alessandro because he trusted his father."
Sofia shook her head.
"That's not the truth you were talking about."
"No."
Her mother swallowed.
"The truth is that Alessandro was the last person your father spoke to."
Sofia's heart stopped.
"What?"
"Before they took him."
She stared across the church.
Alessandro had heard.
His expression was unreadable.
"Is that true?" Sofia asked him.
He nodded.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was sixteen."
"That's not an answer."
"No."
He looked at her.
"But I was afraid."
The honesty in his voice silenced her.
"Afraid of what?"
"That if I told you, you'd spend the rest of your life looking for someone you couldn't find."
Sofia's mother whispered,
"Your father told Alessandro one thing."
"What?"
Her mother looked at Sofia.
"He said, 'If I don't come back, protect my daughter from the man I trusted.'"
Sofia's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
Her mother shook her head.
"I don't know."
Sofia stared at her.
"You just said Alessandro knows."
"I said he knows the name."
Alessandro looked toward them.
"I know."
Sofia's heart raced.
"Then tell me."
He hesitated.
A shadow moved at the far end of the church.
Luca fired.
The figure disappeared behind the doorway.
"We need to get out," Luca shouted.
Alessandro crossed the distance between them.
He took Sofia's hand.
"Now."
"What about my mother?"
"I'm coming with you."
Her mother stood.
They ran toward the side exit.
Another shot shattered a stained-glass window.
Glass rained onto the floor.
Alessandro shielded Sofia with his body.
They reached the exit.
Luca opened the door.
"Go!"
They rushed outside.
The cold night air hit Sofia's face.
They ran toward the cars.
Then her mother stopped.
Sofia turned.
"Mum?"
Her mother was staring back at the church.
"What is it?"
"I know that voice."
"Whose?"
Her mother looked terrified.
"The man inside."
Alessandro immediately turned.
"Who?"
Her mother's voice trembled.
"Adrian."
Everyone froze.
Sofia's eyes widened.
"Adrian Vale?"
Her mother nodded.
"He was there the night your father disappeared."
Alessandro's jaw tightened.
"You said Adrian disappeared six months before."
"I lied."
"Why?"
Her mother looked at Sofia.
"Because Adrian wasn't working for the Covenant."
Sofia's confusion deepened.
"Then who was he working for?"
Her mother whispered,
"Your father."
---
They reached the safe house just before dawn.
Nobody spoke during the drive.
Once inside, Alessandro locked every door.
Luca checked the cameras.
Sofia stood beside her mother.
She had a thousand questions.
But one mattered most.
She turned to Alessandro.
"You said you knew the name of the person who betrayed my father."
"I do."
"Then tell me."
He looked at her mother.
She nodded.
Alessandro walked toward the table.
He placed both hands against it.
"My father believed your father was betrayed by Adrian."
Sofia frowned.
"But Mum just said Adrian worked for Dad."
"That's what makes it complicated."
"Then who betrayed him?"
Alessandro looked directly at Sofia.
"Your father's most trusted man."
"Adrian?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Alessandro took a breath.
"Samuel Hart."
Sofia's heart dropped.
"Samuel?"
"The lawyer?"
"Yes."
"But he helped us."
"Exactly."
Sofia shook her head.
"That doesn't make sense."
"I know."
"He gave me the key."
"Which may have been exactly what he wanted you to have."
Sofia stared at him.
"So the message telling us not to trust you..."
"Could have come from Samuel."
Her mother stepped forward.
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
"Samuel wasn't the traitor."
Alessandro frowned.
"You know who was?"
Her mother nodded.
"I knew the moment I saw the photograph."
"Who?"
She looked at Sofia.
Then at Alessandro.
And finally whispered:
"Your father's closest friend."
Sofia's eyes widened.
"Matteo."
Her mother shook her head.
"No."
She took a shaky breath.
"Matteo was protecting him."
Silence.
Sofia stared at her.
"Protecting who?"
Her mother's eyes filled with tears.
"The man your father trusted most."
A pause.
"The man who was standing beside him when you were born."
Sofia's breath caught.
"Who?"
Her mother whispered the name.
And the room went completely silent.
"Alessandro's father."
Alessandro didn't move.
Sofia stared at him.
Her mother continued.
"Your father discovered the truth too late."
Alessandro's voice was barely audible.
"My father?"
"Yes."
Sofia looked between them.
"But he's dead."
Her mother shook her head.
"That's what everyone was supposed to believe."
Alessandro's face hardened.
"Are you saying my father is alive?"
Her mother nodded.
"I saw him."
"When?"
"Three weeks ago."
Sofia's heart pounded.
"Where?"
Her mother looked toward the window.
"At the harbour."
Alessandro stepped closer.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because he wasn't alone."
"Who was with him?"
Her mother looked at Sofia.
"Your father."
Sofia stopped breathing.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Alessandro whispered,
"Your father is alive."
And Sofia realized that the story she had spent eleven years believing had never been the truth at all.
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