Chapter 11 - The Signature at Midnight
Lorena fired first.
The bullet struck the wall beside Elena.
Guests screamed and threw themselves behind furniture.
Elena returned fire, forcing Lorena through the basement doorway.
The door slammed shut.
Elena reached it and entered a code on the security panel.
Access denied.
She fired into the lock.
The reinforced mechanism held.
Behind her, Daniel fought through the crowd.
“Mara is securing the ballroom.”
“Lorena is downstairs.”
“Is Julian with her?”
“Yes.”
Daniel examined the lock.
“We need another entrance.”
Elena remembered the tunnel on Gabriel’s old drawings.
“The carriage house.”
They ran toward the rear terrace.
Below them, Lorena descended the basement stairs.
Victor had prepared Julian for the signing before the party. A clean white shirt concealed most of the bruises. His hair had been combed. His right hand remained free while the left was chained to the chair.
Efrain lay bound near the shelves, blood drying beside his ear.
Three bankers stood behind a portable biometric terminal.
Sebastián’s representative watched from the far wall.
“Begin,” Lorena ordered.
One banker looked uneasily at Julian.
“He appears injured.”
“He suffered a psychiatric episode.”
“He must provide conscious consent.”
Julian lifted his head.
“I consent.”
Efrain looked at him in shock.
Lorena smiled.
The banker activated the terminal.
“State your legal name.”
“Julian Gabriel Serrano.”
“Do you understand that you are authorizing transfer of control over Aurelia Nine?”
“Yes.”
“Place your right hand on the scanner.”
Julian did.
The machine read his fingerprints and pulse.
A retinal scanner moved before his eyes.
Identity confirmed.
The banker placed the documents before him.
Julian picked up the pen.
Lorena leaned close.
“After tonight, you will never frighten me again.”
Julian looked at her.
“When did I frighten you?”
“You were always given what belonged to others.”
“Like a name?”
Lorena’s smile weakened.
“You found the room.”
“I found your photograph.”
The banker cleared his throat.
“Mr. Serrano, please sign.”
Julian touched the pen to the paper.
Upstairs, the countdown began.
“Ten.”
The basement lights flickered.
“Nine.”
A low mechanical sound came from behind the rear wall.
“Eight.”
Lorena looked toward the tunnel entrance.
“Seven.”
Julian signed the first letter.
“Six.”
The terminal beeped.
“Secondary identity detected.”
Lorena turned toward the banker.
“What does that mean?”
“Five.”
The screen displayed two names.
Julian Gabriel Serrano.
Mateo Reyes.
“Four.”
Files began uploading.
Not to Lorena’s account.
To dozens of external servers.
“Stop it!” she shouted.
“Three.”
The banker entered commands.
“I can’t.”
“Two.”
Every screen in the ballroom upstairs suddenly changed.
Instead of the New Year’s countdown, the guests saw photographs of children in blue rooms.
Bank records followed.
Medical reports.
Names.
Dates.
“One.”
Fireworks exploded outside.
The mansion shook with light.
At the same moment, the hidden tunnel opened.
Three men in false federal uniforms entered the basement.
The lead intruder shot Victor in the shoulder.
Everything happened as Efrain’s phone recorded from behind the shelves.
But this time, Julian understood the plan.
The signature had not transferred Aurelia Nine.
It had released it.
The intruder grabbed Julian’s chain.
Real agents appeared at the staircase.
Gunfire struck concrete.
The woman in the white mask stood inside the tunnel holding three black folders.
Julian believed she was Isabella.
Then she moved into the light.
She was younger.
Her eyes were green.
Elena and Daniel entered from the far side of the passage.
The masked woman turned and ran.
“Elena!” Julian shouted.
Elena froze.
For eight years, he had dreamed of her voice.
Now she stood before him, alive.
The lead intruder pulled Julian backward.
Efrain grabbed Julian’s ankle.
An agent shot the intruder.
Julian’s head struck the threshold.
As darkness closed around him, he heard Elena scream his name.
May you like
Not Mateo.
Julian.
