Chapter 8: The Choice Richard Thought He Could Control
Luca looked at the dead phone screen for several seconds.
Then he set it down.
“He thinks he has leverage.””
Adrian watched him carefully.
“He does.””
“No.””
Luca looked toward the shelves of hidden files.
“He thinks Maya is leverage.””
Helena's eyes filled with tears.
“She is.””
Luca turned.
“Then we take that away from him.””
Marco stepped closer.
“How?””
Luca looked at the file containing his own name.
“Twelve years ago, they made me believe I had nothing left to lose.””
His hand moved to the wheel.
“They were wrong.””
Adrian studied his brother.
“What are you planning?””
Luca's answer came quietly.
“To give Richard exactly what he wants.””
Marco frowned.
“Your empire?””
“Yes.””
Adrian immediately shook his head.
“No.””
Luca looked at him.
“You said they wanted access to Father's network.””
“They do.””
“Then I'll give them access.””
“And let them control everything?””
“No.””
Luca's eyes hardened.
“I'll give them something they can't refuse.””
He reached for another folder.
Inside were financial records connected to dozens of shell companies.
Luca scanned them.
Then he smiled.
For the first time that night, Adrian looked afraid.
“What?””
Luca tapped the pages.
“My father wasn't hiding money.””
Adrian looked down.
“He was hiding evidence.””
“What evidence?””
“Enough to destroy The Meridian.””
Adrian leaned closer.
“What are you seeing?””
“Transfers.””
He pointed to a sequence of transactions.
“Every major shell company used by The Meridian eventually paid a consulting firm.””
Helena stepped forward.
“Which one?””
Luca turned the page.
“Harbor Strategic.””
Adrian's face changed.
“I know that name.””
“So do I,” Luca said.
“Who owns it?””
Luca looked toward Helena.
She hesitated.
Then whispered, “Richard.””
Silence.
Luca's smile disappeared.
“He didn't work for The Meridian.””
Adrian shook his head slowly.
“He is The Meridian.””
A loud crash sounded above them.
Everyone froze.
Marco moved toward the staircase.
“Stay here.””
Luca shook his head.
“No.””
“Sir—”
“The room is the safest place in this house.””
Marco looked at the steel door.
Then nodded.
He closed it.
The hidden archive fell into darkness.
Luca checked the time.
2:17 a.m.
“We have thirty minutes.””
Adrian frowned.
“Until what?””
“Until Richard expects an answer.””
“You're going to negotiate?””
“No.””
Luca pulled a small device from his desk drawer.
Marco recognized it.
“A recorder?””
“A transmitter.””
“Why?””
Luca looked at the device.
“Because Richard is going to tell us where Maya is.””
Adrian shook his head.
“He won't.””
“He will.””
“Why?””
“Because people who think they control the room always talk too much.””
Luca looked toward the closed door.
“Especially when they believe they've already won.””
Minutes later, the estate's main doors opened.
Richard Bell walked inside.
He wasn't alone.
Four armed men followed him.
Richard removed his wet coat and handed it to one of them.
He looked completely relaxed.
He had spent more than a decade sitting across from Luca's desk, advising him on acquisitions and legal threats, smiling whenever Luca made a decision that increased his power.
Now he walked through the house as if it belonged to him.
Perhaps, in his mind, it already did.
“Luca,” he called.
No answer.
Richard smiled.
“I know you're here.””
He walked into the study.
Empty.
“Interesting.””
He opened a drawer.
Nothing.
Then he noticed the floor.
One of the rugs had been moved.
Richard's expression changed.
He pulled it away.
A small metal panel was visible beneath it.
He smiled.
“There you are.””
He opened it.
Behind him, one of the armed men said, “Should we call Helena?””
Richard shook his head.
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because Helena is frightened.””
He crouched.
“Fear makes people unpredictable.””
Then he opened the hidden passage.
The stairs were dark.
Richard smiled.
“Luca always did love secrets.””
He descended.
At the bottom, the steel door was open.
The archive appeared empty.
Richard stepped inside.
A light turned on.
Luca sat at his father's desk.
Adrian stood behind him.
Marco stood near the wall.
Richard stopped.
For the first time all night, he looked genuinely surprised.
“Adrian.””
Adrian said nothing.
Richard stared at him.
“You should be dead.””
“So should Luca.””
Richard looked at Luca.
“Fair point.””
Luca rested his hands on the wheelchair.
“You wanted my empire.””
Richard smiled.
“I wanted you to understand the cost of keeping it.””
“You took Maya.””
“I borrowed her.””
Luca's eyes hardened.
“Where is she?””
“Safe.””
“Location.””
“Not yet.””
Richard walked farther into the room.
“You always were impatient.””
“You always were stupid.””
Richard laughed.
“There he is.””
He looked at Adrian.
“You know, I warned them about you.””
“Who?””
“The Meridian.””
Adrian stepped forward.
“And you still failed.””
Richard's smile disappeared.
“I didn't fail.””
“You lost.””
“No.””
Richard looked at Luca.
“I won twelve years ago.””
He pointed at Luca's wheelchair.
“You just haven't accepted it.””
Luca's voice remained calm.
“Then why are you here?””
Richard paused.
“Because your father made one mistake.””
“What?””
“He believed blood meant loyalty.””
Luca watched him.
Richard continued.
“He left everything in this room. Names. Accounts.
Evidence. But he trusted his sons to protect it.””
Adrian said, “He trusted us to expose you.””
“He trusted the wrong people.””
Richard walked toward a shelf.
He pulled out a black ledger.
Luca's eyes followed it.
“What is that?””
“The first ledger.””
“Of what?””
“Everything.””
Richard opened it.
“The Meridian's financial structure. The judges they paid. The companies they controlled. The names of the men who carried out their orders.””
He looked at Luca.
“And the names of the people who betrayed them.””
Luca understood.
“This is what they want.””
Richard nodded.
“Exactly.””
“Then why don't you take it?””
Richard smiled.
“Because it won't open without you.””
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Father's system.””
Richard nodded.
“Biometric authentication.””
Luca looked at the desk.
“You've been trying to access it for twelve years.””
“Yes.””
“And you couldn't.””
“No.””
“So you needed me.””
Richard's smile widened.
“Very much.””
Luca leaned back.
“Then you've made a mistake.””
“What mistake?””
“You told me.””
Richard frowned.
“What?””
“That I still matter.””
Silence.
Then Luca pressed a button beneath the desk.
The archive doors slammed shut.
Steel shutters dropped over the entrances.
The four armed men outside were separated from Richard.
Richard spun toward the door.
“What did you do?””
Luca smiled.
“My father built this room to survive a siege.””
Adrian looked surprised.
“I didn't know that.””
“Neither did I.””
Luca pressed another button.
The walls came alive.
Screens illuminated.
Dozens of files appeared.
Names.
Transactions.
Photographs.
Audio recordings.
Richard stared.
“No.””
Luca looked at him.
“You said the room contained everything.””
“It does.””
“Then you should have realized that included your conversations.””
Richard's face went pale.
Luca's recorder had been transmitting.
Every word.
Every admission.
Every name.
Outside the archive, Marco's security team moved into position.
Richard looked at Luca with hatred.
“You think this changes anything?””
Luca shook his head.
“No.””
He tapped the screen.
“It ends it.””
A video appeared.
Richard's face.
Captured twelve years earlier.
He was standing in a hospital corridor beside Victor Shaw.
The timestamp showed the night of Luca's accident.
Richard heard his own voice.
*“He can't know about the treatment.””*
Victor's recorded voice answered.
*“What about Adrian?””*
Richard replied:
*“Adrian is becoming a problem.””*
The recording stopped.
Richard stared at the screen.
Luca said nothing.
Adrian stepped closer.
“You ordered my disappearance.””
Richard's face tightened.
“You would have destroyed everything.””
“You destroyed my life.””
“You were going to tell Luca.””
“Yes.””
Richard laughed bitterly.
“And look where that got you.””
Adrian's fists clenched.
Luca stopped him.
“Not yet.””
Richard looked at Luca.
“Why?””
“Because there is one question.””
“What?””
“Where is Maya?””
Richard smiled.
“You think a recording will make me talk?””
“No.””
Luca looked at the ledger.
“I think this will.””
He pushed the ledger toward Richard.
Richard stared.
Luca said, “You want this.””
“Yes.””
“Then trade.””
“For what?””
“Maya.””
Richard looked amused.
“You'll surrender the ledger?””
“No.””
Luca closed the ledger.
“You'll surrender the location.””
“And then?””
“Then you get exactly what you came for.””
Richard studied him.
“You'd sacrifice your empire for a child?””
Luca's answer was immediate.
“My empire can be rebuilt.””
He looked toward Adrian.
“My brother can't.””
Richard's expression changed.
For the first time, uncertainty appeared.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
A voice spoke for several seconds.
Richard's face went pale.
“What?””
He listened.
“No.””
Another pause.
“Don't touch her.””
He looked at Luca.
The call ended.
“What happened?”” Luca asked.
Richard stared at him.
“They moved Maya.””
“Where?””
“I don't know.””
Luca's expression hardened.
Richard continued quickly.
“I swear.””
“Who moved her?””
“The Meridian.””
“Where?””
“They were supposed to keep her at the safe house.””
Luca turned toward Adrian.
Adrian's face had gone pale.
“They knew.””
Richard looked at him.
“They always knew.””
Luca moved forward.
“You said she was safe.””
“She was.””
“Where?””
Richard swallowed.
“St. Agnes.””
Adrian shook his head.
“That building was abandoned.””
Richard looked at him.
“Not anymore.””
Luca's phone vibrated.
A message had arrived.
One sentence.
*Your father chose the same place.*
Underneath was an address.
Luca stared at it.
Adrian saw his face.
“What?””
Luca handed him the phone.
Adrian read it.
His expression changed completely.
“We have to go.””
“Why?””
Adrian looked at Luca.
“Because St. Agnes wasn't just a hospital.””
“What was it?””
“The place where they started Project Lazarus.””
Luca's heart slammed against his ribs.
The hidden files.
The neurological experiments.
His name.
The medication.
The years stolen from him.
Everything led there.
Luca turned toward Richard.
“You're coming.””
Richard shook his head.
“No.””
Marco opened the archive door behind him.
“You misunderstand.””
Luca looked at Richard.
“You're not negotiating anymore.””
He reached forward.
“This time, you're taking us to Maya.””
Richard stared at him.
“And if I refuse?””
Luca's expression was calm.
“Then you can explain to The Meridian why their secrets are already being streamed to every federal investigator my father ever trusted.””
Richard went silent.
Luca smiled faintly.
“Your choice.””
Richard looked at the screens.
Then at Adrian.
Then at Luca.
He finally lowered his head.
“St. Agnes.””
Luca nodded.
“Good.””
As they left the archive, Richard suddenly stopped.
He looked back at the hidden room.
“You still don't understand.””
Luca turned.
“What now?””
Richard's eyes were filled with something Luca had never seen there before.
Fear.
“The person you're looking for at St. Agnes isn't Maya.””
Luca went still.
“Then who is it?””
May you like
Richard whispered,
“Your father.””
