Chapter 14 - The Confession
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Elena's father—Carlos Vasquez—talked.
For three hours. Names. Dates. Locations. Everything.
The Circle wasn't just twelve people. It was dozens. Hundreds. A network that spanned the globe.
They controlled governments. Banks. Media.
And they'd been doing it for decades.
"Why are you telling us this?" I asked.
"Because I'm dying anyway." He coughed. Blood on his lips. "Cancer. Six months. Maybe less."
"So you're what? Clearing your conscience?"
"Something like that."
Elena stood by the window. Silent. Watching.
"Your father was a good man," Carlos said. "He tried to get out. Like me. But they wouldn't let him."
"They killed him."
"Yes."
"And you helped."
"I didn't have a choice."
"There's always a choice."
He laughed. Weak. Sad.
"You're naive, Maya. Just like your father."
"He wasn't naive. He was brave."
"He was foolish. He thought he could change the system from the inside. He was wrong."
"Maybe. But he tried."
Carlos looked at me. Really looked. For the first time, I saw something human in his eyes.
"He talked about you. Your father. He said you were the smart one. The strong one. The one who would survive."
"He said that?"
"He said you'd finish what he started."
I didn't know what to say.
Carlos closed his eyes. "The ledgers. They're in a vault. In Zurich. I'll give you the code."
"Why should we trust you?"
"You shouldn't. But it's the truth."
He gave us the code. Then he died.
Just like that. Gone.
Elena didn't cry. Didn't react. Just stood there. Staring at her father's body.
"What now?" I asked.
"Now we go to Zurich. We find the ledgers. We expose them all."
"And then?"
"Then we live. Or we die. But either way, we fight."
I looked at her. At Tom. At Rachel.
"Okay."
We left the warehouse. Left the bodies. Left everything.
We were going to Zurich.
We were going to war.
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