Chapter 7 – The Doctor Who Ran
Dr. Victor Haines gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.
The interstate stretched endlessly before him.
For the first time in twelve years, he had abandoned everything—his practice, his home, his reputation.
None of it mattered anymore.
Because the Raven Society had only one rule.
Failure was punished by death.
He glanced into the rearview mirror.
A black SUV remained three hundred yards behind him.
It hadn't changed lanes.
It hadn't tried to pass.
It was simply... following.
Victor pressed harder on the accelerator.
Back at the Duca estate, Marco assembled an emergency meeting.
Alessandro, Sophia, and the head of security sat around the conference table.
A map of the city filled the large monitor.
Marco pointed to three locations.
"Dr. Haines owned a clinic here."
"An apartment here."
"And a cabin near Lake Ashton."
Alessandro looked up.
"Which one would he run to?"
"None of them."
Marco folded his arms.
"He knows we'll check those first."
Sophia remained unusually quiet.
She kept thinking about Daniel's final days.
Then something surfaced in her memory.
"He mentioned a church."
Marco looked toward her.
"What church?"
"I don't remember the name."
"He said if anything ever happened..."
"...someone there could be trusted."
Marco immediately leaned forward.
"Did he say who?"
Sophia closed her eyes.
"No."
"But..."
"He kept repeating one name."
"What name?"
"Father Michael."
Within minutes, Marco had located the church.
A small stone chapel on the outskirts of the city.
It had served the same neighborhood for nearly sixty years.
Alessandro stood.
"We're going."
Meanwhile...
Dr. Haines turned off the highway onto a narrow country road.
The black SUV followed.
His breathing grew heavier.
He reached into his pocket and removed an old flip phone.
Only one number remained saved.
Father Michael.
Victor pressed Call.
The priest answered almost immediately.
"Victor?"
"They know."
Silence.
"How long?"
"Not long."
"I need to see you."
Father Michael sighed.
"I'll be waiting."
The chapel stood quietly among towering oak trees.
Its stained-glass windows glowed beneath the afternoon sun.
Father Michael, now in his seventies, waited on the front steps.
When Victor stumbled from his car, the elderly priest immediately knew something was wrong.
"You look terrified."
"I am."
Victor handed him a sealed envelope.
"If I don't survive today..."
"...give this to Alessandro Duca."
Father Michael frowned.
"What is it?"
"The truth."
Before the priest could ask another question—
The black SUV turned into the church parking lot.
Victor's face drained of color.
"They found me."
Three men stepped out.
Black suits.
Black gloves.
No masks.
They didn't need them.
The tallest man spoke calmly.
"Doctor."
Victor stepped backward.
"I did everything you asked."
"You failed."
"I tried to kill Duca."
"You failed."
"I can fix it."
"No."
The man's voice remained emotionless.
"You can't."
At that exact moment, another convoy entered the parking lot.
Marco slammed the brakes.
"Move!"
Security officers poured from the vehicles.
The three strangers immediately reached beneath their jackets.
Gunfire shattered the peaceful silence of the chapel.
Father Michael pulled Victor behind a stone pillar.
Bullets chipped away at the ancient walls.
Marco returned fire from behind his SUV.
One attacker fell instantly.
The other two retreated toward the woods.
Alessandro sprinted across the courtyard.
"Victor!"
The doctor looked up.
Their eyes met.
"I never wanted this," Victor whispered.
Then—
A single gunshot echoed from the tree line.
Victor staggered.
A crimson stain spread across his white shirt.
A sniper.
Hidden hundreds of yards away.
Victor collapsed into Alessandro's arms.
Chaos erupted.
Marco shouted into his radio.
"Find the shooter!"
Security teams rushed into the forest.
But by the time they reached the hillside...
The sniper was gone.
Only empty shell casings remained.
Professional.
Precise.
Planned.
Victor struggled to breathe.
Blood filled his lungs.
Alessandro knelt beside him.
"Stay with me."
Victor managed a weak smile.
"I don't deserve that."
"Who leads the Raven Society?"
Victor coughed violently.
"I've... never met them."
"Then who gives the orders?"
Victor's eyes searched desperately for Father Michael.
"The envelope..."
The priest quickly handed it to Alessandro.
Victor grabbed Alessandro's wrist.
His voice had become little more than a whisper.
"Don't trust..."
He coughed again.
"...anyone..."
His eyes filled with fear.
"Especially..."
He tried to say one final name.
But no sound came out.
His hand slipped from Alessandro's grip.
Dr. Victor Haines was dead.
The ambulance arrived minutes later.
Too late.
Father Michael quietly crossed himself.
"I'm sorry."
Alessandro stared silently at the doctor's body.
Marco approached holding Victor's wallet.
Inside was a small family photograph.
A wife.
A young son.
On the back, Victor had written a sentence years earlier:
"I joined them to save my family... and lost them anyway."
Marco looked at Alessandro.
"He wasn't born a monster."
Alessandro nodded sadly.
"No."
"He became one."
As the sun began to set, Alessandro finally opened the sealed envelope.
Inside were dozens of handwritten pages.
The first page contained only one sentence.
If you are reading this, someone inside your own family is working for the Raven Society.
Alessandro felt the blood drain from his face.
Because he only had three living relatives.
His younger brother...
His cousin...
May you like
And his aunt.
One of them had been betraying the Duca family for years.
