Chapter Twelve — The Bloodline
925 Words
Alessandro's gun remained aimed at the traitor.
“You.”
The man smiled.
“You look disappointed.”
Sophia couldn't move.
She had seen him beside Alessandro countless times.
He had protected the Moretti family for years.
She had trusted him.
“Why?” she whispered.
He looked at her.
“Because your family destroyed mine.”
Elena stood behind him, terrified but strangely calm.
Sophia stepped forward.
“Let her go.”
The traitor tightened his grip.
“Not yet.”
Alessandro's voice became deadly.
“If you hurt her, you won't leave this room alive.”
The man laughed.
“You still think you're in control.”
He pointed toward the walls.
Sophia looked around.
Dozens of screens had appeared.
Images began playing.
Her father.
Her mother.
Elena.
Alessandro.
And Sophia herself.
Then the screen changed.
An old photograph appeared.
A man stood in front of the Moretti cathedral.
Underneath the photograph was a date.
1897.
Sophia stared.
“Who is that?”
Gabriel answered from behind them.
“The founder.”
Sophia looked at the photograph.
The man's face looked strangely familiar.
Not exactly like her.
But close enough to make her uncomfortable.
“What's his name?”
Gabriel whispered:
“Jonathan Williams.”
Sophia's eyes widened.
“My ancestor.”
“Yes.”
Gabriel stepped into the room.
“The man who created the Black Circle wasn't a Moretti.”
Sophia looked at Isabella.
“He was a Williams.”
Isabella nodded slowly.
“Your family has protected that secret for generations.”
Sophia shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at her mother.
“You knew?”
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
“I knew your father was investigating it.”
“But you knew?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
Sophia's voice cracked.
“By lying to me?”
Isabella couldn't answer.
Elena suddenly spoke.
“Mom wasn't the only one who lied.”
Everyone turned toward her.
The traitor looked uncomfortable.
Elena stared at Sophia.
“There are things you don't know about Dad.”
Sophia's heart stopped.
“My father?”
Elena nodded.
“He wasn't just investigating the Black Circle.”
“What was he doing?”
“He was trying to destroy it.”
Silence filled the room.
Sophia remembered the mysterious voice.
Your father discovered the truth too late.
“What happened to him?”
The traitor smiled.
“That's the question you should be asking.”
Sophia turned toward him.
“You know where he is.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
He leaned closer to Elena.
“First, give me the key.”
Sophia frowned.
“What key?”
He smiled.
“The key you were born with.”
Sophia felt a strange chill.
“I don't have any key.”
Gabriel interrupted.
“She does.”
Everyone looked at him.
Gabriel pointed toward Sophia's necklace.
Sophia touched it.
The necklace had belonged to her father.
She had worn it since childhood.
“You mean this?”
Gabriel nodded.
“That isn't a necklace.”
Sophia slowly removed it.
“What is it?”
“The key to the Black Crown.”
Alessandro stared at Gabriel.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“Jonathan Williams created the Crown and divided access to it between two bloodlines.”
“The Williams family?”
“And the Morettis.”
Sophia looked at Elena.
“That's why they took her.”
“Yes.”
“Then why do they need me?”
Gabriel's expression darkened.
“Because Elena can open the system.”
He looked at Sophia.
“But only you can activate it.”
Sophia stared at the necklace.
“What happens if I do?”
Gabriel didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
“You inherit everything.”
Sophia swallowed.
“Everything?”
“The accounts. The influence. The secrets.”
Gabriel's voice became quieter.
“And the power to destroy the Black Circle.”
Suddenly, the lights went out.
Elena screamed.
A gunshot exploded.
Sophia dropped to the floor.
Someone grabbed her.
She struggled.
“Let me go!”
A familiar voice whispered in her ear.
“It's me.”
Alessandro.
Sophia breathed again.
“Where's Elena?”
“I don't know.”
A second gunshot echoed.
Then another.
Someone screamed.
The emergency lights flickered on.
The traitor was gone.
So was Gabriel.
And Elena.
Sophia stood up.
“No.”
She looked around frantically.
“Elena!”
Alessandro grabbed her shoulders.
“We'll find her.”
Sophia shook her head.
“She took the necklace.”
Alessandro froze.
“What?”
Sophia looked down.
The necklace was gone.
Then every screen in the room suddenly turned on.
A message appeared.
THE CROWN HAS AWAKENED.
Beneath it appeared another sentence.
ONE SISTER WILL RULE.
THE OTHER WILL DIE.
Sophia stared at the screen.
“No…”
Alessandro looked at her.
“Don't believe it.”
But then a final image appeared.
Elena.
Standing beside Marco.
And behind them was Daniel Williams.
Alive.
Sophia stopped breathing.
Her father looked directly into the camera.
Then he spoke.
“Forgive me, Sophia.”
The screen went black.
Sophia's knees nearly gave way.
Alessandro caught her.
“Why would he say that?”
Sophia stared into the darkness.
“I don't know.”
Then a phone began ringing somewhere inside the crypt.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Sophia looked toward the sound.
She knew that ringtone.
It was her father's.
And this time, she wasn't afraid to answer.
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