Chapter 8: The Family Secret
“Don't move.””
The command came from behind them.
Ricardo raised his hands.
Bia held onto his coat.
Helena stood perfectly still.
The red dot moved from Ricardo's chest to Helena's forehead.
A man stepped forward.
Ricardo recognized him.
The driver.
“You're supposed to be in the hospital.””
He smiled weakly.
“They thought I was.””
“You betrayed us.””
“I betrayed your uncle.””
“Why?””
“Because your father gave him orders.””
Ricardo stared.
“How long have you been working for my father?””
“Twenty-two years.””
“And Daniel?””
“I drove him.””
“You were there the night he died.””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you stop it?””
The driver lowered the gun.
“Because your father had my daughter.””
Ricardo's eyes narrowed.
“He threatened your family.””
“He owned my family.””
Helena whispered, “And now?””
“Now she's safe.””
He placed the gun on the desk.
“I want out.””
The lights returned.
A screen activated.
Ricardo's father appeared.
He looked older than Ricardo remembered.
But unmistakably alive.
“Son.””
Ricardo stared at the screen.
“You're a monster.””
His father smiled sadly.
“I expected anger.””
“You murdered my mother.””
“I loved your mother.””
“Then why?””
“Because love doesn't change what people become.””
Ricardo stepped forward.
“You could have told us.””
“I tried.””
“When?””
“When you were young.””
“That isn't an answer.””
“It is the only one you'll get.””
Bia suddenly looked at the screen.
“Grandpa?””
The room went silent.
Ricardo turned.
“Bia…”
Her father stared at her.
“Is that my granddaughter?””
Ricardo stepped between them.
“She has nothing to do with this.””
“She has everything to do with it.””
He pressed a button.
A photograph appeared.
Bia's mother holding the child as a baby.
On the back was a date.
And another photograph.
Daniel.
Holding Bia.
Ricardo stared.
“Daniel knew her.””
“Yes.””
“How?””
“He was her father.””
Ricardo stopped breathing.
Helena covered her mouth.
“What?””
His father continued.
“Daniel had another child.””
Ricardo looked at Bia.
The room seemed to tilt.
“No.””
He turned to Helena.
“Did you know?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
The driver looked away.
Ricardo's father spoke.
“Your brother was not just your brother.””
“He was the father of Bia.””
Ricardo looked at the little girl.
She seemed confused.
Her entire world had just changed without her understanding why.
“My mommy said Daddy was dead.””
Ricardo knelt.
“She told you that?””
Bia nodded.
“She said someday I'd know why.””
Ricardo hugged her.
His father's voice continued.
“That is why your mother recorded everything.””
“Why?””
“Because she wanted Bia protected.””
“From you?””
“From everyone.””
Ricardo stared at the screen.
“Where is my mother?””
Silence.
Then his father said:
“She isn't where you think.””
Ricardo's heart slammed against his ribs.
“What does that mean?””
“She died believing she had saved Bia.””
“That doesn't answer me.””
“It will.””
The screen went black.
Then a final image appeared.
A photograph of a small house beside the ocean.
Ricardo recognized it.
His mother had once taken him there as a child.
He had believed it belonged to an old family friend.
The driver stepped closer.
“That's where she was kept.””
Ricardo turned.
“She was alive?””
“For six months.””
“What happened?””
“She escaped.””
“And then?””
“We lost her.””
Ricardo looked at the image.
“You're telling me my mother may still be alive.””
“No.””
The driver pointed to the photo.
“She was alive when this photograph was taken.””
“When was it taken?””
“Three months ago.””
Helena gasped.
Ricardo stared.
Three months.
A living mother.
A dead brother.
A hidden child.
A criminal empire.
None of it made sense.
Then the front door of the hidden room opened.
His father stepped inside.
Alive.
No screen.
No distance.
Just a man standing twenty feet away.
Ricardo stared at him.
His father smiled.
“You look like me.””
Ricardo's voice was barely audible.
“You don't look dead.””
His father answered:
“I never was.””
He glanced toward Bia.
“Now come here.””
Ricardo stepped in front of her.
“No.””
May you like
His father sighed.
“Then you'll never see your mother again.””
