CHAPTER 7 — THE MAN WHO CALLED HIMSELF MY FATHER
CHAPTER 7 — THE MAN WHO CALLED HIMSELF MY FATHER
The blast door shuddered with every explosion.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
The computerized countdown continued.
"...Vault breach in sixty seconds."
No one spoke.
No one breathed.
Only Alessandro's voice echoed through the Sanctuary.
"Mia."
"You've spent twenty-three years searching for the truth."
"I'm standing right outside."
"Come ask me yourself."
I looked at Victoria.
She shook her head immediately.
"Don't listen to him."
Mr. Romano stepped between me and the door.
"He lies as naturally as he breathes."
But my mother's final message replayed in my mind.
Come meet your real father.
The words wouldn't leave me alone.
"I need answers," I whispered.
The heir grabbed my wrist.
"You need to stay alive."
"Those aren't the same thing."
Another explosion.
The blast door bent inward.
Then...
A hidden speaker crackled.
It wasn't Alessandro.
It was my mother's recorded voice.
"Mia..."
"If Alessandro ever tells you he is your father..."
"...he is lying."
Everyone froze.
The recording continued.
"Your father died protecting you."
"He died before you spoke your first word."
A long silence followed.
"I promised him I would never let our daughter become a weapon."
Tears blurred my vision.
"Our daughter."
Not "the child."
Not "the baby."
Our daughter.
She had chosen me.
Not by blood.
By love.
The final lock shattered.
The blast door exploded inward.
Smoke flooded the chamber.
Dozens of armed men stormed inside.
At their center walked Alessandro Cavalari.
Elegant.
Unhurried.
Almost smiling.
He looked exactly like the heir—only older and colder.
His gaze settled on me.
"So..."
"There you are."
He looked disappointed.
"Elena filled your head with fairy tales."
I stepped forward despite everyone trying to stop me.
"You killed her."
He laughed softly.
"No."
"I loved Elena."
"She simply chose the wrong side."
"You poisoned Victoria."
"To prove a point."
"You murdered dozens of people."
"They were collateral."
Every answer came without guilt.
Without hesitation.
Then he smiled.
"You want to know who your parents were?"
He tossed a thick folder onto the floor.
Birth certificates.
DNA reports.
Photographs.
Everything looked authentic.
"My brother was your father."
"Victoria is your aunt."
"And that stubborn fool standing beside you..."
He pointed at the heir.
"...is your cousin."
Silence.
The heir stared at the documents.
His face slowly hardened.
"They're fake."
Alessandro shrugged.
"Prove it."
Before anyone moved, he pulled a small silver vial from his pocket.
"The last sample."
"The poison Elena failed to destroy."
He held it above the marble floor.
"If I can't have the formula..."
"...no one will."
His finger loosened.
The vial slipped.
I reacted before I could think.
I dove.
The heir dove with me.
The vial struck the floor—
But landed inside my hands instead of shattering.
A single drop leaked onto my wrist.
The skin instantly burned.
Sofia shouted,
"Don't touch it!"
I stared at the liquid.
Then something impossible happened.
The burning stopped.
The poison changed color.
From black...
...to perfectly clear.
Mr. Romano gasped.
"It neutralized..."
Victoria whispered,
"Her blood..."
Alessandro's smile vanished.
For the first time in his life...
He looked afraid.
"My God..."
"It really worked."
He wasn't looking at the poison.
He was looking at me.
May you like
"You aren't the key to the formula."
"You ARE the formula."
