Chapter 46 Bloodline
Flora
I stared at Antonio in shock.
The head of security who'd supposedly been kidnapped. Who we thought was being held hostage.
But here he was, holding a gun to Helena Vasquez's head.
"Antonio?" Rafael's voice was filled with disbelief. "What are you doing?"
"What I've been doing for the last ten years," Antonio said calmly. "My job."
"Your job?" Rafael stood up slowly. "Your job is to protect this family."
"No," Antonio corrected. "My job is to protect the family's secrets. There's a difference."
My heart hammered. "You killed Dr. Vasquez. Irina, I mean."
"I did," Antonio admitted without shame. "She was going to expose everything. I couldn't let that happen."
"And Eva?" Rafael asked. His voice was deadly quiet. "Did you kill Eva too?"
Antonio's smile faded. "Eva's death was... unfortunate. But necessary."
"You son of a bitch!" Rafael lunged forward.
Marco grabbed him, holding him back.
"Let him go," Antonio said. "I want Rafael to understand. I want him to know why this had to happen."
"There's no good enough reason," Rafael snarled.
"Isn't there?" Antonio asked. "What if I told you Eva was going to destroy everything your family built? What if I told you she was going to expose secrets that would have brought down not just the Valserro empire, but dozens of other families as well?"
"I don't care about the empire," Rafael said.
"I know," Antonio said. "That's why you could never be trusted with the truth. You're too emotional. Too weak!"
"Weak?" Rafael laughed bitterly. "I'm weak because I loved my wife?"
"You're weak because you let that love blind you," Antonio said. "Eva was a threat. I eliminated her. Just like I eliminated Dr. Vasquez. Just like I'll eliminate anyone else who threatens the family."
"I'm not family," I said. "Why did you kidnap me? Why bring me into this?"
"Because you were insurance," Antonio said. "If Rafael ever discovered the truth about Eva's death, I needed something to control him with. Someone he cared about enough to keep quiet for."
"So this whole time," Rafael said slowly, "you've been manipulating everything. The investigation. The clues. All of it."
"Not all of it," Antonio admitted. "Catherine and Isabella acted on their own. That was... unexpected. But I adapted. I used their revenge plot to further my own goals."
"Which are?" Marco asked.
"To keep the Valserro family secrets buried," Antonio said. "Forever."
"What secrets?" I demanded. "What's so important that you'd kill for it?"
Antonio looked at me with something like pity. "You really don't know, do you? You really have no idea what you are."
"I'm Eva's twin," I said. "Created from the same embryo. I know that."
"That's what you were told," Antonio said. "But it's not the whole truth."
Rafael took a step forward. "What are you talking about?"
"The embryo that became Eva and Lucia," Antonio said, "didn't come from just anyone. It came from the Morelli family. Your enemies, Rafael. Your rivals."
My blood turned to ice.
"That's impossible," Rafael said.
"Is it?" Antonio asked. "Your marriage to Eva wasn't coincidental. It was arranged by me."
"Why?" Rafael said. "To bring peace?"
"Partially," Antonio agreed. "But also because Eva was leverage. A way to control the Morellis. If they ever stepped out of line, the truth could be exposed. That their precious daughter was married to a Valserro. Their bloodline was compromised."
"But Eva didn't know," I whispered.
"No," Antonio confirmed. "Neither did the Morellis. Only a handful of people knew the truth. And we intended to keep it that way."
"Until Eva started digging," Helena said, speaking for the first time since Antonio grabbed her. "Until she discovered the truth about her own origins."
"Exactly," Antonio said. "Eva found out she was a Morelli. She found out the whole marriage was a manipulation. And she was going to expose everything to start a war."
"So you killed her," Rafael said.
"I protected the family," Antonio corrected. "I did what your father would have done if he were still alive."
"But you're just a guard. You have no right…"
"No right to what?" Antonio interrupted. "Your father trained me to be your guard. I was supposed to be your second-in-command. But Marco came around."
Rafael looked like he'd been punched.
"You're lying," he said.
"I wish I was," Antonio said.
"What happens now?" Marco asked.
"Now I clean up this mess," Antonio said. "Dr. Vasquez dies. You all die. And the secrets stay buried."
"You'll never get away with this," I said.
"Won't I?" Antonio asked. "I've gotten away with it for five years. I've covered up murders. Manipulated investigations. Controlled every aspect of this situation. Why would tonight be any different?"
"Because I recorded everything," Marco said.
Antonio's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Body cam," Marco said. "Everything you just confessed is being broadcast right now."
"To who?" Antonio demanded.
"To someone who'll know what to do with it," Marco said.
Antonio's grip tightened on Helena. "You're bluffing."
"Am I?" Marco asked.
For the first time, Antonio looked uncertain.
Then his phone buzzed.
He glanced at it. His face went pale.
"What is it?" I asked.
"A message," Antonio said quietly. "From the Morelli family. They know everything."
"Good," Rafael said. "Then they'll be coming for you."
"They'll be coming for all of us," Antonio said. "Don't you understand? Once they know Eva was their daughter, once they know she was killed by Valserro security, they'll want blood. Your blood, Rafael. Everyone's blood."
"Then we'll fight them," Rafael said.
"You can't fight them," Antonio said. "They outnumber you ten to one. They'll destroy everything."
"Then that's on you," Rafael said. "You're the one who pulled the trigger."
Antonio looked at Rafael for a long moment.
Then he did something I didn't expect.
He let Helena go and lowered his gun.
"You're right," he said quietly. "This is on me. All of it."
He raised the gun to his own head.
"Antonio, don't…" Rafael started.
But it was too late.
The gunshot echoed through the warehouse.
Antonio's body hit the ground.