Chapter 18 – The Woman Above the Storm
The helicopter hovered over the cliff like a predator.
Its blades whipped the sea into white foam.
Dust and gravel swirled around Julian's family.
The silver-haired woman standing inside the open cabin lowered the microphone.
She didn't shout again.
She didn't need to.
The dozens of commandos surrounding the cliff had already aimed their rifles.
Every laser sight converged on Julian, Elena, Emily, and the newborn.
Julian instinctively shifted his son beneath his jacket, shielding the infant's face from the wind.
The baby's cries softened.
Almost as if he could sense his father's heartbeat.
The woman studied Julian with unsettling calm.
"So..."
"You really do look like Antonio."
Julian narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you?"
She smiled faintly.
"The only person your father never managed to expose."
Isabella stared upward.
Then her knees nearly gave out.
"No..."
She whispered.
"It can't be."
The woman looked down at her.
"You've aged well, Isabella."
Julian turned sharply.
"You know her?"
Isabella's lips trembled.
"I thought she died..."
"...thirty years ago."
The woman laughed.
"So did everyone else."
She removed a black leather glove.
On the back of her right hand was an identical crescent-shaped birthmark.
Elena gasped.
"That's impossible."
The woman nodded.
"It should be."
She slowly spoke her name.
"My name..."
"...is Catherine Rossi."
Julian felt every muscle in his body freeze.
Rossi.
His own family name.
Gabriel, barely conscious, struggled to lift his head.
"No..."
His voice cracked.
"Catherine..."
She looked at him without emotion.
"Hello, Father."
Julian's mind went blank.
Father?
He stared at Gabriel.
"You have another child?"
Gabriel closed his eyes in shame.
"I believed..."
"...she died with her mother."
Catherine's smile disappeared.
"You believed exactly what they wanted you to believe."
She looked at Julian.
"I am your aunt."
"The daughter Gabriel Rossi abandoned."
Silence swept across the cliff.
Even the commandos seemed to pause.
Julian felt as though every truth he had learned that night was being torn apart.
First Adrian.
Now Catherine.
How many hidden members of his family existed?
Catherine stepped out of the helicopter.
Her boots touched the cliff with quiet confidence.
No one tried to stop her.
Every armed operative instinctively moved aside.
She wasn't merely their commander.
She was the one they obeyed.
She stopped only a few feet from Julian.
Her eyes settled on the newborn.
"He has Antonio's eyes."
Julian tightened his grip.
"You'll never touch him."
She sighed softly.
"I've heard those words before."
She looked toward Gabriel.
"So did my brother."
"So did Antonio."
"And now..."
"...you."
Marco's voice suddenly crackled through Julian's earpiece again.
Weak.
Distorted.
"Boss..."
Julian discreetly touched the receiver.
"I'm here."
"We found..."
"...the central server."
Static interrupted him.
Then:
"I've uploaded everything."
Julian frowned.
"Everything?"
"The recordings."
"The contracts."
"The DNA files."
"They're public now."
Julian's heartbeat quickened.
"What?"
"They're everywhere."
"The media."
"Interpol."
"European prosecutors."
"No one can bury the truth anymore."
The line went silent.
Catherine heard enough.
Her expression changed for the first time.
"What did he say?"
Julian smiled.
"The game's over."
She stared at him.
"It isn't."
He slowly reached into his pocket and held up Adrian's encrypted data chip.
"I have the final evidence."
Catherine's eyes narrowed.
"So..."
"He trusted you."
She raised one hand.
Immediately, every commando chambered a round.
Julian remained perfectly still.
"If I die..."
"...the files are released automatically."
It was a bluff.
But Catherine didn't know that.
For several tense seconds...
Neither of them moved.
Then...
Sirens echoed across the sea.
Not one.
Not two.
Dozens.
Blue emergency lights appeared on the horizon.
Coast Guard vessels.
Italian police.
Military helicopters.
And behind them—
Two helicopters bearing the unmistakable insignia of Interpol.
One of Catherine's men looked panicked.
"Ma'am..."
"They're surrounding the island."
Another operative shouted,
"Our communications are compromised!"
"The servers have been breached!"
Catherine slowly looked toward the burning hospital in the distance.
Smoke rose into the night sky.
Thirty years of secrecy...
Had begun collapsing in a single night.
Julian thought it was over.
He was wrong.
Without warning, Catherine drew a compact pistol from beneath her coat.
In one smooth motion, she fired.
Julian moved instinctively.
The bullet wasn't aimed at him.
It struck Gabriel squarely in the chest.
The old man collapsed onto the rocks.
"Grandfather!"
Julian rushed toward him.
Gabriel coughed violently, blood staining his shirt.
With trembling hands, he pulled a tiny brass key from around his neck.
He pressed it into Julian's palm.
His voice was barely audible.
"The key..."
"...opens..."
Julian leaned closer.
"What does it open?"
Gabriel smiled faintly.
"Not..."
"...a vault."
He looked lovingly at the sleeping baby.
"A future..."
His hand fell limp.
Gabriel Rossi was gone.
Julian lowered his head.
Another member of his family had died protecting the next generation.
He closed Gabriel's eyes with shaking fingers.
When he looked back up...
Catherine was already retreating toward her helicopter.
She met Julian's gaze one final time.
"This isn't over."
She stepped into the aircraft.
The helicopter lifted into the stormy sky.
Julian watched helplessly as it disappeared into the darkness.
Then Marco's voice returned one last time.
Clearer than before.
"Boss..."
Julian grabbed the earpiece.
"Marco?"
"I found the file Adrian wanted you to see."
Julian's pulse quickened.
"Open it."
Marco took a long breath.
Then said the words that changed everything again.
"The organization has only one leader left..."
May you like
"...and according to the file..."
"...that leader has been living under your own roof."
