Chapter 75: Crossroads of Fate
Mr. Cardios sat behind his heavy wooden desk. The dim glow of the desk lamp only illuminated his wrinkled hands. In front of him, a man in a gray suit stood with his head bowed. The room was deathly quiet, save for the rhythmic ticking of the grandfather clock.
"Say it one more time," Cardios ordered. His voice was low but heavy with authority.
"Mr. Luigi has cleared out Hans's laboratory, sir. He took all the DNA test records. Hans was also taken by force by his private security team," Marco answered, his voice shaking slightly.
Cardios took a long breath. He leaned back into his chair. "So he knows. Luigi finally has proof that the child is still alive."
"Yes, sir. And the latest reports say that Mr. Luigi is moving his men toward the outskirts of Italy. He is looking for a man named Silas."
Cardios tapped his index finger on the desk. "Luigi is always reckless when his emotions are involved. He thinks that by capturing Silas, he can control everything. He has no idea that Silas is a hard man to pin down."
"Should we stop him, sir? If Mr. Luigi goes any further, Agatha's life could be in danger."
Cardios shook his head slowly. "Do not interfere with Luigi for now. Let him feel like he is winning. I want to see how far Xavier Calestiano Valois can go to protect his wife without my help. Just send a surveillance team. Do not do a single thing unless I give you a direct order."
"Understood, sir."
The man bowed and walked out with silent steps. Cardios turned back to the dark window. His mind drifted to several decades ago, to an accident that was supposed to have cut off Leonard's bloodline.
Meanwhile, in the basement of the Valois estate, darkness still covered the training room. Agatha gripped Xavier's hand tightly. Her heart pounded against her chest. The sound of the clanking iron approaching the stairs grew louder. Xavier raised his pistol, aiming it exactly at the source of the noise.
"Who is there?" Xavier shouted, his voice booming.
The clanking sound suddenly stopped. Silence took over for several long seconds. Suddenly, the red emergency lights flickered on in the corner. The dim light showed a security guard slumped near the stairs. His leg was tangled in a large iron chain that had broken loose from the heavy machinery in the corner.
"Sir, it is me," another man said, appearing from behind the door. It was Xavier's head of security.
Xavier did not lower his gun. "Explain why the power went out and what that noise was."
"There was a glitch in the main panel, sir. Someone sabotaged the outer cables. This guard tried to fix the manual pulley, but the chain snapped and dragged him down. We are restoring the power now," the head of security explained, breathing hard.
Xavier lowered his gun slowly. He turned to Agatha, who was still on guard with a dagger in her hand. The main lights suddenly buzzed back on, blinding them both for a moment.
"Just a technical glitch?" Agatha asked. Her voice sounded full of disbelief.
Xavier walked toward the injured guard to check on him. "Get him to the clinic. Check the entire perimeter again. I do not want any more excuses about technical glitches after this."
The guards moved quickly to clear the area. Agatha stood still in the middle of the room. She stared at the iron chain that had made that terrifying sound. It felt too convenient for all of this to happen right after they received the box with the black rose.
"Are you okay?" Xavier asked, approaching Agatha. He tried to touch her shoulder.
Agatha stepped back slightly. She looked at Xavier with a questioning gaze. "Why did Marco D'Angelo send a black rose?"
Xavier sighed. "I am not sure yet, Agatha."
"Silas," Agatha muttered suddenly.
"What does this have to do with Silas?"
"That bracelet was the only thing left when his wife died. He kept it for a long time before it went missing when Silas's house was robbed a few years ago. If Marco has it, it means Marco was the one who robbed Silas back then. Or he bought it from someone," Agatha explained.
Xavier stayed quiet. He thought about the report he just received regarding Luigi looking for Silas. "Agatha, listen to me. We cannot stay here anymore."
"Why? You said this house was safe."
"The situation has changed. Marco is not the only one looking for you. There is another party, someone far more dangerous, who is heading toward Silas right now," Xavier said.
Agatha frowned. "Another party? Who? I do not have any enemies other than the people I fought as a mercenary. And Silas is just an old man who does not know anything except gambling."
Xavier grabbed both of Agatha's shoulders. This time he made sure she did not pull away. "This is not about your enemies. This is about who you really are. I cannot explain it right now. We have to get to Silas before anyone else finds him."
"You are hiding something from me," Agatha accused. Her eyes narrowed. "Who is chasing Silas? Does this have something to do with the Volskey family?"
Xavier looked shocked to hear that name from Agatha. "What makes you think that?"
"I am not stupid, Xavier. Since we got married, you have been keeping tabs on their news. Now you say a dangerous person is looking for Silas. Who else has that kind of power besides them or the Valois family?"
"We will talk about this on the plane. Now, go grab whatever you need. We leave in an hour," Xavier said, avoiding her question.
Agatha wanted to argue, but she saw the look in Xavier's eyes. She knew her husband was not joking. Agatha ran upstairs to her room. She grabbed a small bag and packed a few spare weapons and her passport. Her mind was a mess. She kept thinking about Silas. That old man was the only family she had left after her orphanage was destroyed, even though he ended up selling her. Silas was the one who gave her a name and taught her how to survive, even if it was the wrong way.
In the living room, Xavier was on the phone. His voice was loud and full of command.
"Get the jet ready now. I do not want any delays. Make sure the flight path to northern Italy is clear of Volskey surveillance," Xavier ordered.
Agatha, who had just come downstairs, heard that name again. She stopped on the last step. "Volskey? So it is true. Luigi Volskey is going after Silas?"
Xavier hung up and turned around. He looked at Agatha for a moment. "Yes. He is hunting Silas because he thinks Silas is holding onto something very valuable that belongs to his family."
"What does Silas have? He only has debts!" Agatha shouted in frustration.
"He has information about you, Agatha. Information that could destroy Luigi's position in that company," Xavier answered in a low voice.
Agatha let out a bitter laugh. "Me? What information? I am just an orphan picked up from the streets. I have no connection to a wealthy family like them."
Xavier walked over and took her hand. "That is what you have believed all this time. But the world is not that simple."
Suddenly, a small explosion sounded from outside the front gate. Car alarms started blaring. Xavier immediately pulled Agatha behind him. He pulled out his phone and checked the security monitors.
"They are here," Xavier whispered.
"Who? Marco?" Agatha asked.
"No. It is the retrieval team from Switzerland. Luigi is not going to wait until we get to Italy. He wants to pick you up right now," Xavier said as he pulled Agatha toward the back door leading to the underground garage.
"Why does he want me? I am nobody to him!" Agatha screamed as she ran to keep up with Xavier.
Xavier stopped for a second in front of his armored car. He looked at Agatha with an intense gaze, as if it was the last time he would see his wife in a moment of peace.
"Because you are the only person who can kick him out of the Volskey leadership chair, Agatha," Xavier said.
Agatha froze. "What do you mean?"
Xavier opened the car door for her. "Get in. I will tell you everything once we are in the air. But right now, you need to stay alive."
Agatha got into the car, her mind spinning. The car sped out of the garage through a secret tunnel that led to the woods behind the mansion. As they emerged from the tunnel, Agatha saw several black SUVs trying to ram the front gate of their home.
"Who am I really, Xavier?" Agatha asked with a trembling voice as their car reached the empty highway.
"Where are you taking me?" Agatha asked hoarsely.
The man smiled coldly. "To the place you should have been twenty three years ago. Six feet under."