Chapter 39 In plain sight
Rafael
When we arrived, the guards Flora and Isabella had been left with were all standing outside, looking nervous.
What's going on? I had demanded, jumping out of the SUV.
"Sir, we don't know," one of them had said. "Miss Flora called us all out here about five minutes ago. Said to wait. Said you'd be here soon."
Dread had filled my stomach.
I had ran inside.
"Flora!" I had shouted. "Flora, where are you?"
There was no answer.
I had run towards the east wing. Towards the command center.
The door had been opened.
Inside, Isabella was tied to a chair, gagged. Her eyes were wide with fear.
Flora stood beside her.
And she was pointing a gun at Isabella's head.
"Flora?" I had stopped in the doorway. "What are you doing?"
Flora had looked at me and smiled, coldly.
"Hello, Rafael," she had said. "Or should I say... goodbye?”
My world stopped.
Flora stood there, pointing a gun at Isabella's head.
She looks different, her eyes had changed. They were now cold and deadly.
"Flora, what the hell are you doing?" I took a step forward.
"Don't." She cocked the gun. "Don't move, Rafael. Or I'll blow her brains out right here."
Isabella made muffled sounds behind the gag, her eyes pleading.
Marco pushed past me into the room. "Boss, what's…" He stopped. "Flora?"
"Hello, Marco." Flora's smile widened. "So good of you both to come. Right on time."
"Flora, you said you knew who the Architect was," I said slowly, my hand moving toward my gun. "You called me to come back."
"I did say that, didn't I?" She tilted her head. "And you came running. Just like I knew you would."
"What's going on?" Marco demanded. "Flora, put the gun down."
"Why would I do that?" Flora asked.
My heart hammered against my ribs. "You're not making any sense."
"Aren't I?" Flora gestured with the gun toward the computer. "Isabella and I found something interesting in Father Matthews's files. A confession. Do you want to know what it said?"
"Flora…"
"It said the Architect has been close to you from the beginning, Rafael. Someone you trust completely. Someone who's been building your prison brick by brick." She paused. "Someone named Marco."
The room went silent.
I looked at Marco. He looked genuinely shocked.
"What?" Marco's voice was sharp. "That's insane. Boss, you know me. You know I would never…"
"Do I?" I asked quietly. My mind was racing. "How well do I really know you, Marco?"
"We've been friends for fifteen years!"
"And you've been with me through everything," I said. The pieces were clicking together in my head. "You were there when I met Eva. You introduced us, didn't you? At that charity gala."
Marco's face went pale. "Boss, you can't seriously believe…"
"You were there when she died," I continued. "You're the one who handled all the arrangements."
"Because you were falling apart!" Marco shouted. "Because you needed me!"
"Or because you needed to control the narrative," Flora said softly. "To make sure no one looked too closely at Eva's death."
"This is crazy," Marco said. But sweat beaded on his forehead.
I pulled out my gun and pointed it at Marco. "Empty your pockets. Phone. Wallet. Everything. Now."
"Boss…"
"Now!"
Marco's hands shook as he pulled out his phone and wallet. He dropped them on the floor.
"Kick them over here," I ordered.
He did.
I picked up the phone with my free hand and unlocked it. Marco had never changed his passcode. I knew it by heart.
I scrolled through his messages.
And found... nothing.
Normal messages. Work-related conversations. Nothing suspicious.
I looked up at Marco. "Your phone is clean."
"Because I'm innocent!" Marco said desperately. "Boss, please. You know me. You know I would never betray you."
"Then explain the handwriting," Flora said. "Explain why the message on that wall matches yours exactly."
"What handwriting?" Marco looked confused. "What are you talking about?"
Flora pulled out her phone. Showed him the photo of Maria Martinez with the message on the wall.
Marco stared at it. Then his eyes widened.
"That's not my handwriting," he said. "Look closer. The letters are similar, but the pressure is different. The slant is off. Someone copied my style, but it's not mine."
I looked at the photo again. He was right.
"Then who?" I demanded. "Who would copy your handwriting?"
"Someone who wanted to frame me," Marco said. "Someone who knows us both well enough to…"
He stopped.
His face went white.
"Marco?" I asked. "What is it?"
"The guards," he whispered. "Flora, you said you sent all the guards outside. Why?"
Flora's smile faltered for the first time. "Because I needed them out of the way."
"But you didn't send them away," Marco said slowly. "Did you, Isabella?"
Isabella's eyes went wide behind the gag.
"What are you talking about?" Flora asked.
"Isabella can't answer," Marco said. "Because Flora gagged her. But before she was gagged, Isabella could have used the intercom system. Could have called the guards and told them to wait outside."
"So?" Flora asked.
"So the timing doesn't work," Marco said. "You said you called the guards outside five minutes before we arrived. But Flora, you were with Isabella the whole time. You said you tied her up and gagged her before we got here. So who called the guards?"
The room went silent.
I looked at Isabella.
She wasn't struggling anymore. She was just... sitting there. Watching us.
"Flora," I said quietly. "Untie Isabella."
Flora slowly reached for the ropes.
The moment her hand touched the knot, Isabella moved.
So fast.
When her hands came free, she grabbed Flora's wrist and twisted it. The gun clattered to the floor.
Isabella stood up, ripping off the gag herself.
And she was smiling.
"Clever boy, Marco," Isabella said. "Too clever for your own good."
She pulled out a gun from behind the chair. Must have hidden it there before we arrived.
Now she pointed it at all three of us.
"Isabella?" I breathed. "What are you doing?"
"What I've been doing for five years," Isabella said. "Cleaning up Eva's mess. Finishing what she started. Making sure you suffer like you made her suffer."
"You're the Architect," Flora whispered.
"Finally," Isabella said. "Someone gets it."