The Name He Couldn't Say
697 Words
Part 8
Elena stared at Dante.
“What aren't you telling me?”
Dante said nothing.
The voice from the speakers laughed again.
“Come on, Dante. Tell her.”
Elena stepped closer.
“You know him.”
Dante's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
Before Dante could answer, the entire building went dark again.
“Stay with me,” Dante ordered.
Elena grabbed his arm.
“What is happening?”
“They've cut the power.”
A loud crash came from downstairs.
Then another.
Dante immediately turned to his guards.
“Get Isabelle out of here. Now.”
Two guards helped Isabelle toward the back exit.
Elena followed, but Dante caught her hand.
“You stay beside me.”
“I want answers.”
“You'll get them when we're safe.”
“No more secrets.”
Dante looked into her eyes.
“I promise.”
They moved through a narrow corridor.
Suddenly, a figure appeared at the end.
Dante raised his weapon.
“Stop!”
The figure ran.
Dante's men chased him.
Elena heard footsteps behind them.
She turned.
Nothing.
Then a hand covered her mouth.
She struggled violently.
A cloth pressed against her face.
Dante spun around.
“Elena!”
He grabbed the attacker and pulled him away.
The man escaped through a side door.
Dante ran after him, but stopped when he heard Elena coughing.
He returned immediately.
“Are you hurt?”
Elena shook her head.
“I’m okay.”
Dante looked furious.
“He was trying to take you.”
“Why?”
“Because you're the key.”
“The key to what?”
Dante stared at her.
Before he could answer, Isabelle called from the hallway.
“Dante!”
They rushed toward her.
She was standing beside an old metal door.
“I found it.”
Dante looked at the door.
“Found what?”
“The room your father used.”
His expression changed.
“My father had a room here?”
“He built this place.”
Dante slowly opened the door.
Inside was a small office covered in dust.
There were old photographs, documents, and boxes.
Elena walked toward a desk.
On it was a photograph of her parents.
Beside them stood Dante's father.
And another man.
Elena picked it up.
“Who is he?”
Dante stared at the photograph.
His face became pale.
“That…”
He stopped.
Isabelle whispered,
“His name is Victor Romano.”
Elena looked at Dante.
“Romano?”
Dante nodded slowly.
“My uncle.”
Elena's eyes widened.
“I thought he died.”
“He disappeared eighteen years ago.”
Isabelle shook her head.
“He didn't disappear.”
Dante looked at her.
“What are you saying?”
“He was the man controlling everything.”
Elena's heart raced.
“The man who killed my father?”
Isabelle nodded.
“And the man who destroyed Dante's family.”
Dante stared at the photograph.
All the pieces suddenly seemed to fit.
Marcus wasn't the mastermind.
The Black Serpents weren't the mastermind.
Someone had been pulling the strings for eighteen years.
Then a small red light began blinking beneath the desk.
Dante noticed it.
“Everyone get back.”
He pulled Elena away.
A hidden screen suddenly turned on.
A man's face appeared.
Older.
Cold.
Smiling.
Dante froze.
“Uncle Victor…”
The man smiled.
“Hello, nephew.”
Elena couldn't breathe.
Victor leaned closer to the camera.
“I've waited eighteen years for this moment.”
Dante stepped forward.
“Where are you?”
Victor laughed.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
His eyes moved toward Elena.
“The question is…”
He smiled.
“…does she know who she really is?”
Elena's blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
Victor's smile widened.
“Ask your mother.”
The screen went black.
Elena slowly turned toward Isabelle.
“Mom…”
Isabelle's eyes filled with tears.
Victor's final words echoed in her mind.
“Does she know who she really is?”
Elena took a step back.
“What have you been hiding from me?”
End of Part 8
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