Chapter 13 - Standing
Luca did not stand gracefully.
There was no cinematic strength in it.
His knees shook violently.
His shoulders carried most of his weight.
His back screamed.
But he stood.
Elena covered her mouth.
Dominic stared at him as though seeing a ghost.
Maya smiled through tears.
“I knew it.”
Luca almost fell.
Marcus caught his elbow.
“Enough.”
“No.”
Luca took one step.
His left foot dragged.
He took another.
Pain climbed through both legs.
Rachel would have killed him for attempting this.
Arthur might actually kill him if he did not.
That made the decision simple.
Marcus guided Luca along the bars until they reached the service corridor.
Dominic found the manual release.
The door opened.
Cold air rose from below.
They descended slowly.
Luca returned to the chair for the stairs.
He hated it less now.
The wheelchair was no longer a sentence.
It was equipment.
That distinction changed something.
Below the clinic, they found Arthur’s temporary command room.
Monitors showed the estate.
The legal office.
The Costello headquarters.
And Maya’s school.
Elena stared at the screens.
“He has been watching her.”
Dominic looked away.
Arthur appeared from behind a glass partition.
He held no weapon.
That made Marcus hesitate.
Arthur pressed a button.
A video started playing.
Antonio Costello appeared on-screen.
Luca’s father.
The recording was thirteen years old.
Antonio looked directly into the camera.
“If Luca has a child, the empire transfers.”
Luca stared.
Antonio continued.
“Not because Luca is weak.”
“Because I was.”
Luca had never heard his father speak that way.
“I built this organization using men who confused fear with loyalty.”
“I will not leave that poison to another generation.”
Maya looked at Luca.
The word poison sounded different now.
Antonio continued.
“The beneficiary receives controlling authority at twelve.”
“Until eighteen, the child’s biological parents exercise joint protective control.”
Elena froze.
Arthur smiled behind the glass.
“There.”
“That is the part everyone missed.”
Luca understood immediately.
It was not enough for Maya to exist.
Luca and Elena had to survive.
Arthur pressed another button.
A countdown appeared on the monitor.
00:09:58.
Marcus raised his weapon.
“What happens when that reaches zero?”
May you like
Arthur smiled.
“The clinic burns.”
