CHAPTER 7 — THE LAST HUNT
CHAPTER 7 — THE LAST HUNT
The man waiting inside the Ricci estate's security office looked nothing like the monster I had imagined.
He was nearly seventy.
His hands shook constantly.
His gray beard was untrimmed, and exhaustion had carved deep lines across his face.
When I entered with Alessandro and two security officers, he slowly stood.
Then, unexpectedly...
He fell to his knees.
"I'm sorry."
The words echoed through the room.
"I've waited twenty-five years to say them."
I stared at him.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Rafael Ortega."
Alessandro's face darkened.
"I remember that name."
"You should."
Rafael lowered his head.
"I drove one of the cars the night your father's family was murdered."
Silence filled the room.
My heart pounded.
"You helped kill them?"
"I helped them escape."
He looked directly at me.
"Your father saved my son's life years before that night."
"So when I realized what was happening..."
His voice cracked.
"...I betrayed the men who hired me."
He reached into his jacket very slowly.
Security immediately drew their weapons.
"Don't!"
Rafael raised both hands.
"I came to surrender."
He removed a small flash drive.
"This contains every document I stole before I disappeared."
Alessandro carefully took it.
Rafael continued.
"The man who ordered the massacre..."
He swallowed.
"...knows you're alive."
I already knew.
"But now he knows you have your father's evidence."
"How?"
"Marco."
The room froze.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"What?"
Rafael nodded sadly.
"Your ex-husband tried to sell information."
Alessandro looked horrified.
"To whom?"
"To Victor Salazar."
The name hit the room like thunder.
Victor Salazar.
Spain's celebrated billionaire philanthropist.
Owner of one of Europe's largest banking groups.
A man who had received medals from presidents.
The same man whose signature appeared inside my father's hidden file.
"He didn't know what he was selling," Rafael explained.
"He only knew someone offered him five million euros for information about the Ricci family."
I closed my eyes.
Marco...
Even after everything...
He had still chosen money.
That afternoon, national prosecutors arrived at the estate.
For six hours they examined every document from Vault 17.
Every photograph.
Every bank transfer.
Every witness statement.
When they finally stood to leave, the lead prosecutor shook my hand.
"Mrs. Ricci..."
He spoke carefully.
"...this is the largest corruption case we've ever seen."
"Were my parents telling the truth?"
"They were."
He closed the final folder.
"And because your father preserved this evidence..."
He smiled.
"...the people responsible will finally answer for it."
Marco never received the five million euros.
Instead...
He received a summons.
The authorities arrested him at his office before sunset.
News cameras captured every second.
The same reporters who had once called him a devoted husband now shouted different questions.
"Mr. Vega!"
"Did you sell confidential information?"
"Were you connected to Victor Salazar?"
"Did you knowingly obstruct a murder investigation?"
Marco covered his face.
For the first time...
There was nowhere left to hide.
That evening, labor pains finally began.
Real ones.
The contractions stole my breath.
The doctor smiled.
"I think your son has decided he's waited long enough."
Alessandro looked terrified.
"I have negotiated billion-euro mergers."
He nervously adjusted his tie.
"I have no idea how to help with childbirth."
Despite everything...
I laughed.
Hours later...
As dawn painted the Madrid sky gold...
A tiny cry filled the delivery room.
The nurse placed my son against my chest.
He opened his eyes.
Dark brown.
Exactly like my mother's.
I kissed his forehead.
"Welcome home, Mateo."
Tears rolled silently down my face.
Not from sadness.
From gratitude.
The first thing my son ever knew...
Was safety.
Not betrayal.
Not fear.
May you like
Not lies.
Only love.
