Chapter 18 - The Enemy Inside My Own Blood
The word stayed in my mind.
Yourself.
For several seconds, I could not understand what my grandmother meant.
Not because it was complicated.
Because it was impossible.
I had spent six years searching for the person responsible.
I searched enemies.
Rivals.
Families who wanted power.
People who wanted the Moretti empire.
But now everyone was telling me the same thing.
The enemy was not outside.
It was closer.
Much closer.
I looked at my grandmother.
“What does that mean?”
She did not answer immediately.
That frightened me more than anything.
Margaret Moretti was never silent because she did not know what to say.
She was silent because she was deciding how much truth I could survive.
“You were not supposed to become a leader.”
My expression hardened.
“What?”
“You were supposed to become a weapon.”
The room became quiet.
Ewan looked at her.
“You knew.”
My grandmother looked at him.
“Yes.”
“You knew what would happen to him.”
“Yes.”
My hands tightened.
“You knew everything.”
She looked at me.
“Not everything.”
“Then explain.”
She walked toward the table.
For the first time, she looked older.
Not powerful.
Not untouchable.
Just old.
“I spent my entire life building this family.”
“No.”
My voice was cold.
“You spent your life controlling it.”
She accepted the accusation.
“Maybe.”
That answer surprised me.
Because people like her never admitted anything.
“I believed power was the only way to survive.”
She looked at Ewan.
“Your grandfather believed the same.”
Then at me.
“Your father tried to change it.”
I stared.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“He wanted to leave?”
“He wanted you and Ewan to have normal lives.”
I almost laughed.
“Normal?”
“Yes.”
She looked toward the old photographs.
“He wanted his sons to grow up without becoming monsters.”
The word stayed there.
Monsters.
Because suddenly I understood.
My father was not trying to create an empire.
He was trying to escape one.
---
Ewan walked closer.
“Then why did you stop him?”
My grandmother looked at him.
“Because I was afraid.”
The answer surprised all of us.
Afraid.
Not powerful.
Not cruel.
Afraid.
“I saw what happened to families who lost control.”
She looked at me.
“I saw enemies destroy everything they built.”
“So you destroyed us first?”
Her eyes lowered.
“Yes.”
The honesty was painful.
“I thought if Gabriel became strong enough, nobody could hurt him.”
I stared.
“You destroyed my brother to protect me?”
Her expression changed.
“No.”
A pause.
“I destroyed your brother because I believed I had no choice.”
Ewan’s face hardened.
“There is always a choice.”
My grandmother looked at him.
“You were always like your father.”
“And you hated that.”
“Yes.”
The answer was quiet.
“Because people like you remind people like me that power is not everything.”
---
A sound came from the hallway.
Everyone turned.
Security moved instantly.
Then a voice.
“Relax.”
Vincent stepped into the room.
Everyone raised their weapons.
I looked at him.
“You have some nerve.”
He stopped.
“I know.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“You betrayed Ewan.”
“Yes.”
“You worked with my grandmother.”
“Yes.”
The answers came without hesitation.
That made them worse.
“Then why are you here?”
Vincent looked at me.
“To finish what I should have finished six years ago.”
Ewan moved forward.
“You mean the truth.”
Vincent nodded.
“Yes.”
He placed a folder on the table.
Inside were documents.
Real documents.
Not altered.
Not hidden.
The final evidence.
“Adrian was not the mastermind.”
I looked at him.
“We know.”
“No.”
Vincent shook his head.
“You do not know.”
He opened the folder.
Inside was a photograph.
A man standing beside my father.
A man I recognized.
But I did not want to.
Because I had seen him every day.
He had advised me.
He had trained me.
He had protected me.
The photograph showed my father and...
Me.
Years younger.
But not as a child.
As an adult.
The date was six years ago.
The week before Pier 44.
I stared.
“That is impossible.”
Vincent looked at me.
“No.”
My hands shook slightly.
“What is this?”
“The truth.”
I looked at the photograph again.
I was there.
With my father.
Talking.
Arguing.
The memory was missing.
Gone.
“What happened?”
Vincent’s voice lowered.
“Your father discovered someone was manipulating you.”
“Who?”
He looked at me.
“You were.”
Silence.
Again.
“What?”
Vincent took a breath.
“Gabriel, before Pier 44, you found out about the corruption.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
“No.”
“You confronted your father.”
My mind began to hurt.
Fragments appeared.
A room.
Smoke.
My father’s face.
Ewan shouting.
A gunshot.
I grabbed the edge of the table.
“No.”
Vincent continued.
“You were manipulated.”
“By who?”
He looked toward Adrian’s empty chair.
“By Adrian.”
My breathing slowed.
“The doctor?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Adrian was using your memories.”
I stared.
“What?”
Vincent looked at me.
“He drugged you.”
The room disappeared.
“He convinced you that certain things happened.”
My heart raced.
“You erased my memory?”
“No.”
Vincent shook his head.
“He planted false ones.”
I closed my eyes.
For years I thought I was carrying memories.
But maybe...
I was carrying someone else’s lies.
---
Celeste stepped closer.
“Gabriel.”
I looked at her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her eyes filled.
“Because I did not know.”
I believed her.
And that was the worst part.
Because after everything...
I still believed her.
“What was I supposed to do?”
She whispered.
“Survive.”
The answer hurt.
Because that was what everyone had been doing.
Surviving.
Not living.
---
The final document inside the folder was a medical report.
My name.
My signature.
My father’s signature.
And Adrian Voss.
The title read:
MEMORY ALTERATION PROGRAM.
I stared.
A program.
Not an accident.
Not one decision.
A plan.
Someone had spent years studying my mind.
My fears.
My anger.
My loyalty.
They did not just want control of the empire.
They wanted control of me.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A voice spoke.
A voice I had not heard in years.
Adrian Voss.
“Gabriel.”
I froze.
“You should have listened to your grandmother.”
My grip tightened.
“Where are you?”
A quiet laugh.
“Closer than you think.”
The call ended.
Then every security screen turned on.
Adrian appeared.
Behind him was a room.
A familiar room.
My father’s old office.
The room nobody had entered since his death.
And sitting behind the desk...
Was the original ledger.
Adrian smiled.
“You spent six years looking for the truth.”
A pause.
“Now come and take it.”
The screen went black.
And I knew the final battle had begun.
Not for the empire.
May you like
Not for power.
For the truth of who I really was.
