The Betrayal Test

The Betrayal Test
Isabella's POV

Marcus was pointing his gun at the fake FBI agents, but I wasn't sure I could trust him.

The tunnel was dark and cold as we crawled through it. Behind us, gunshots echoed from the warehouse battle. Tony was carrying Maria's oxygen tank while I held her close to my chest.

"This way," Marcus whispered, leading us deeper underground.

"How do I know you're really back to normal?" I asked him quietly.

Marcus stopped crawling and looked back at me. "What do you mean?"

"The mind control drugs," I said. "How do I know they're not still affecting you?"

"Bella, it's me," Marcus said. "I remember everything now."

"That's what someone under mind control would say," Tony pointed out.

Marcus looked hurt. "You don't trust me?"

"We can't afford to trust the wrong person," I said. "Not with Maria's life at stake."

I had to test Marcus to make sure he was really himself. But the tests had to be about things only the real Marcus would know.

"What's the first thing you ever taught me?" I asked.

Marcus thought for a moment. "How to punch without breaking your thumb."

That was right, but Vincent Senior's people might know that from watching us.

"What did I give you for Christmas three years ago?" I asked.

"A book about military history," Marcus said. "You said it was because I was living in the past."

Also right, but still not personal enough.

"What did you say to me the night my mother died?" I asked.

This was the real test. I had never told anyone about that conversation, not even Tony.

Marcus's eyes filled with tears. "I said your mother wasn't really dead. That she would live on through you, and that you would make her proud every day of your life."

My heart filled with relief. Only the real Marcus knew that.

"It's really you," I said, reaching out to squeeze his hand.

"Of course it's me," Marcus said. "I would never hurt you or Maria."

We kept crawling through the tunnel until we reached a ladder going up.

"Where does this lead?" Tony asked.

"The subway system," Marcus said. "From there, we can get to a safe house."

We climbed up into an abandoned subway station. It was dirty and smelled terrible, but at least we were away from the shooting.

"Which direction?" I asked.

Marcus pointed to the left. "There's an exit three blocks that way. The safe house is in an old church."

As we walked through the dark tunnel, Maria started crying.

"She's hungry," I said. "And her oxygen levels might be dropping."

"The safe house has medical supplies," Marcus said. "We'll be there in ten minutes."

But something felt wrong. The tunnel was too quiet. Our footsteps echoed too loudly.

"Marcus," I said. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"As sure as I can be," he replied. "The resistance has used this route dozens of times."

We reached the subway exit and climbed up to street level. The church was right where Marcus said it would be.

"There," he pointed to a small building with broken windows. "That's our safe house."

"It doesn't look safe," Tony said.

"That's the point," Marcus replied. "Nobody would think to look for us there."

We walked up to the church door. Marcus pulled out a key and unlocked it.

"Stay close," he said.

The inside of the church was dark except for some candles burning near the front. It looked abandoned, but someone had been taking care of it.

"Hello?" Marcus called out softly.

No one answered.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Probably hiding until they know it's safe," Marcus said.

We walked toward the front of the church where the candles were. That's when I saw something that made me stop breathing.

Bullet holes in the walls. Blood on the floor.

"Marcus," I said slowly. "Someone attacked this place."

Marcus looked around and saw what I saw. "This is bad. Very bad."

"We need to leave," Tony said. "Right now."

But before we could turn around, the church door slammed shut behind us.

Lights came on, revealing at least twenty people with guns surrounding us.

"Nobody move," a familiar voice called out.

I turned around and saw someone I thought was dead.

Agent Sarah Chen was standing near the altar, pointing a gun at us.

"But you're dead," Tony said. "We saw you get shot."

"Bulletproof vest," Sarah said with that evil smile. "Vincent Senior always prepares his people for every situation."

I looked around at all the guns pointed at us. We were completely trapped.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"The same thing I've always wanted," Sarah said. "Your cooperation."

"We'll never work with you," I said firmly.

"Oh, but you will," Sarah said. "Because I have something you want."

She gestured to someone behind her. Another person stepped out of the shadows.

It was a woman in a doctor's coat, holding a small bundle in her arms.

My heart stopped.

"Maria?" I whispered.

"Looking for someone?" Sarah asked.

The woman pulled back the blanket, revealing a tiny baby with dark hair.

But it wasn't Maria.

"That's not my daughter," I said.

"No, it's not," Sarah agreed. "This is just a baby we borrowed from the hospital. Your real daughter is somewhere much more secure."

I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. "Where is she?"

"Safe," Sarah said. "For now."

"What did you do with Maria?" Tony demanded.

"Nothing harmful," Sarah replied. "Yet. But her safety depends on your choices."

I looked down at my empty arms. For the past hour, I thought I had been holding my baby. But somehow, they had switched her with another child.

"When?" I asked desperately. "When did you take her?"

"During the warehouse battle," Sarah said. "One of my agents grabbed her while you were distracted by the shooting."

I tried to remember the chaos in the warehouse. There had been so much noise and smoke. Someone could have taken Maria without me noticing.

"You're lying," I said. "I would have known if someone took my baby."

Sarah pulled out her phone and showed me a video.

It was security footage from the warehouse. In the video, I could see myself holding a baby during the gunfight. But when the smoke cleared, a different person was handing me a different baby.

I had been holding a stranger's child this whole time.

"No," I whispered. "This can't be real."

"Very real," Sarah said. "And very effective. You've been protecting the wrong baby while your real daughter has been with us."

Tony grabbed my hand. "Isabella, don't listen to her. This could be fake."

"The video is real," Sarah said. "Just like the baby in your arms was fake."

I looked down at the child I had been carrying. She was beautiful and innocent, but she wasn't mine.

"Whose baby is this?" I asked.

"Does it matter?" Sarah replied. "The point is, you've been fooled."

"Where's my real daughter?" I demanded.

"Somewhere you'll never find her," Sarah said. "Unless you do exactly what I say."

"What do you want us to do?" Tony asked.

"Simple," Sarah said. "I want you to call Vincent Russo and Marco Moretti."

"My father and Tony's father?" I asked, confused.

"That's right. Tell them to surrender themselves to Vincent Senior."

"But Vincent Senior is dead," I said.

Sarah laughed. "Vincent Senior has never been more alive. The helicopter crash was staged. He wanted you to think he was dead so you would let your guard down."

My heart sank. We had been celebrating our freedom while Vincent Senior was planning his next move.

"Why do you want our fathers to surrender?" Tony asked.

"Because Vincent Senior is tired of playing games," Sarah said. "He wants to end this war once and for all. Your fathers surrender, and everyone else lives."

"And if they don't surrender?" I asked.

Sarah showed me another video on her phone.

This one showed Maria in a small room, lying in a medical bed with machines around her. She looked so tiny and helpless.

"If your fathers don't surrender by midnight tonight," Sarah said, "we turn off the machines keeping your daughter alive."

I started crying. "She's just a baby. She never hurt anyone."

"She's leverage," Sarah said coldly. "The most effective kind."

Marcus stepped forward. "Let me make the call instead. Vincent and Marco trust me."

"No," Sarah said. "It has to be their children. They need to hear the desperation in your voices."

She handed me a phone. "Call your father first."

I took the phone with shaking hands. "What am I supposed to say?"

"Tell him the truth," Sarah said. "That his granddaughter will die unless he surrenders to Vincent Senior."

I dialed my father's number. He answered on the second ring.

"Isabella? Thank God you're alive."

"Papa," I said, trying not to cry. "I need you to listen very carefully."

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately.

"They have Maria," I said. "They have my baby."

"Who has her?"

"Vincent Senior's people," I said. "They want you to surrender yourself, or they'll kill her."

The phone was quiet for a long moment.

"Papa, are you there?"

"I'm here," he said quietly. "Where do they want me to go?"

"Don't tell him yet," Sarah whispered to me. "First, have Tony call his father."

I handed the phone to Tony. He dialed Marco's number.

"Dad, it's Tony."

"Son! Where are you? Are you safe?"

"No, Dad, none of us are safe," Tony said. "They have my daughter."

"Your daughter?" Marco asked, confused.

"Isabella had the baby," Tony explained. "A little girl. But Vincent Senior's people took her."

"What do they want?"

"They want you and Vincent Russo to surrender."

Marco was quiet for a moment. Then he said something that shocked me.

"Put Sarah Chen on the phone."

Tony looked confused. "How do you know Sarah Chen?"

"Just put her on the phone," Marco said firmly.

Tony handed the phone to Sarah. She looked surprised too.

"Hello, Marco," she said carefully.

"Sarah," Marco's voice came through the speaker. "I thought you were working for Vincent Senior."

"I am working for Vincent Senior," Sarah replied.

"No, you're not," Marco said. "Because Vincent Senior has been dead for six months."

The room went completely silent.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Vincent Senior died of cancer six months ago," Marco continued. "I was at his funeral. So whoever is giving you orders isn't Vincent Senior."

Sarah's face went white. "That's impossible."

"Check your facts, Sarah," Marco said. "Then ask yourself who's really been controlling you."

The phone went dead.

Sarah stared at the phone in shock. "This can't be right."

"Who have you been working for?" I asked her.

"Vincent Senior," she said uncertainly. "I get my orders directly from him."

"When was the last time you saw him in person?" Tony asked.

Sarah thought about it. "Six months ago. Since then, all my orders have come through phone calls and text messages."

"From someone pretending to be Vincent Senior," Marcus realized.

"But who?" Sarah asked desperately.

That's when we heard slow clapping from the back of the church.

Someone else was here.

A figure stepped out of the shadows near the door. It was a man in an expensive suit, but he was wearing a mask that covered his entire face.

"Congratulations," the masked man said. "You've figured out my little secret."

"Who are you?" Sarah demanded.

The man reached up and pulled off his mask.

I gasped when I saw his face.

It was my father.

Vincent Russo was standing in the church, smiling at all of us.

But that was impossible. I had just talked to him on the phone.

"Hello, princess," my father said to me. "Surprised to see me?"