Chapter 8 - THE FIRST VICTIM
The kitchen fell silent.
Luca stared at Mrs. Vale.
“Me?”
She nodded.
“You were six.”
Mara looked at her mother.
Her mother closed her eyes.
“I never wanted you to know.”
Luca stepped forward.
“What did they do to me?”
“Your father believed you needed to be hardened.”
Mara's stomach turned.
“That's insane.”
“He exposed you to low levels.”
Luca's hand trembled.
“All those childhood headaches.”
“Yes.”
“The fainting.”
“Yes.”
“My mother told me I was sensitive.”
“She was trying to protect you.”
Luca looked toward Mara's mother.
“You knew?”
“I knew after the first exposure.”
“And you did nothing?”
“I tried to stop it.”
“But you stayed.”
“Because I needed access to Mercer.”
Mara's mother began crying.
“I stayed because I needed evidence.”
Luca looked away.
He seemed unable to process the truth.
Mara approached him.
“You were a child.”
“I know.”
“No. You don't.”
She took his hand.
“You didn't choose any of this.”
He looked at her.
“And neither did you.”
Her mother stepped forward.
“I am sorry.”
Luca's voice broke.
“You should have told me.”
“I wanted you to have one childhood memory that wasn't about them.”
He looked at her.
Then slowly nodded.
Mrs. Vale closed the suitcase.
“There is one more thing.”
“What?”
“Mercer isn't running.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Where is he?”
“He's going to the Varelli clinic.”
Luca froze.
“What clinic?”
“Your family's private medical facility.”
Daniel immediately reached for his phone.
“No signal.”
Mara looked toward the windows.
The mansion's security system had gone offline again.
“They're coming.”
Mrs. Vale nodded.
“Mercer wants the antidote.”
“What antidote?”
“Your mother created it.”
Mara looked at her mother.
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“Then where is it?”
Her mother shook her head.
“Mercer took the research.”
Luca's eyes hardened.
“Then we take it back.”
They reached the clinic through a private entrance.
The building looked abandoned.
But the lights were on.
Daniel checked the hallway.
Clear.
They entered the laboratory.
Mercer stood beside a computer.
Two men guarded him.
On the table was a small refrigerated case.
Mara's mother whispered:
“The antidote.”
Mercer smiled.
“You always were stubborn.”
Mara stepped forward.
“You destroyed my family.”
Mercer looked at her.
“No.”
He smiled.
“Your family destroyed itself.”
Luca raised his weapon.
“Give us the antidote.”
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
“You're not the only one who needs it.”
Mercer opened the case.
Inside were dozens of vials.
“People all over Chicago were exposed.”
Mara's eyes widened.
“How many?”
“Three hundred and twelve.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“You poisoned hundreds of people?”
“I treated them.”
“You made them sick.”
“And I made them dependent on me.”
Mercer smiled.
“Do you understand how much power that gives a doctor?”
Mara's mother stepped forward.
“You were always a monster.”
Mercer looked at her.
“And you helped me become one.”
Her mother lowered her head.
“Yes.”
The room went silent.
Then Mercer pressed a button.
A screen came alive.
Mara saw photographs.
Hospitals.
Patients.
Businessmen.
Politicians.
Judges.
All exposed.
All controlled.
Mercer had built an empire.
Not with guns.
With sickness.
Luca stared at him.
“You're finished.”
Mercer laughed.
“No.”
He pulled a gun.
Daniel fired first.
Mercer's weapon flew from his hand.
The guards surrendered.
Police stormed the clinic.
For several minutes, everything became noise.
Orders.
Footsteps.
Handcuffs.
Cameras.
Medical teams.
Mara finally saw Mercer being dragged away.
He looked at her.
“You think you've won.”
She walked toward him.
“No.”
She looked him directly in the eyes.
“You've lost.”
Mercer smiled.
“You'll never know what happened to your mother.”
Mara stopped.
“What?”
Mercer laughed.
“Ask her.”
Mara turned.
Her mother was standing behind her.
But she was holding something.
A second photograph.
Mara took it.
It showed a woman.
Young.
Standing outside a hospital.
Beside her was an infant.
Mara stared.
“Who is this?”
Her mother whispered:
“Your sister.”
Mara's heart stopped.
“What sister?”
The photograph slipped from her fingers.
Her mother looked devastated.
“I thought she died.”
Mara whispered:
“You thought?”
May you like
Then her mother said:
“She's alive.”
