Chapter 10 - The Final Hunt
The moment Mateo said those words, everything inside me went silent.
Not because I was calm.
Because something inside me had broken.
Richard Hale had taken my brother.
He had taken my niece.
And this time, there would be no negotiations.
No deals.
No mercy.
I walked out of the chapel without saying another word.
Eleanor called my name.
I stopped.
But I didn’t turn around.
“Sebastian…”
Her voice trembled.
“I know what I did cannot be forgiven.”
I looked over my shoulder.
“You’re right.”
Pain crossed her face.
“But if Luca is alive…”
I stared at her.
“Then you have one chance.”
She looked at me.
“One chance to help me bring him home.”
For the first time in years, my mother didn’t look like the powerful woman who controlled every room she entered.
She looked like a mother.
A mother who had lost both sons because she was too afraid to fight.
“I know where Richard will take them.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Where?”
She whispered:
“The original Vale facility.”
---
The original Vale facility had been erased from every company record.
Built before Vale Global became a public empire.
It was hidden beneath thousands of acres of private land.
A place created by the first generation of Vales.
A place where the family kept its darkest secrets.
Richard had not chosen it randomly.
He chose it because he believed nobody would ever look there.
He was wrong.
Because he forgot one thing.
Luca knew every secret of the Vale family.
And Luca had trusted me to find him.
---
The rescue team was assembled within hours.
Mateo.
Daniel.
Adrian.
And me.
Four men connected by the same bloodline and the same betrayal.
Before leaving, Clara stopped me.
She held Emma’s old drawing.
The two wolves.
“Bring them back.”
I looked at her.
“I will.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Both of them.”
I nodded.
“Both.”
Then I left.
---
The underground facility was buried beneath an abandoned research building.
From the outside, it looked empty.
Forgotten.
But beneath the surface was something else.
A fortress.
Security systems.
Armed guards.
Biometric locks.
Richard had turned a family vault into a prison.
Mateo studied the building plans.
“Three entrances.”
I looked at the screen.
“No.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“There are four.”
Daniel looked at me.
“How do you know?”
I pointed at the old blueprint.
“Luca showed me this when we were kids.”
I smiled sadly.
“He said every Vale building had a secret exit.”
Adrian looked at me.
“You remember.”
I looked back.
“I remember everything about my brother.”
---
We entered through the hidden passage.
Silent.
Fast.
The first guards never knew we were there.
The second group did.
The alarm activated.
Red lights flashed.
Gunfire filled the halls.
But this time, I wasn’t fighting for the company.
I wasn’t fighting for money.
I was fighting for my family.
We reached the central chamber.
And there he was.
Luca.
Sitting behind a glass wall.
Alive.
My brother looked up.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then he whispered:
“Sebastian.”
I couldn’t breathe.
Thirteen years.
Thirteen years of wondering.
Thirteen years of anger.
Thirteen years of grief.
And now he was standing in front of me.
I walked closer.
“Luca.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I’m sorry.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
I touched the glass.
“Don’t apologize.”
His voice cracked.
“I should have come home.”
“You tried.”
He looked away.
“I failed.”
I shook my head harder.
“You protected your daughter.”
A painful smile appeared.
“You found her.”
I looked at him.
“She found me.”
For the first time in years…
My brother smiled.
---
Then a slow clap echoed through the room.
Richard Hale stepped from the shadows.
“Beautiful.”
Everyone turned.
Richard smiled.
“The reunion I’ve been waiting thirteen years to see.”
My weapon lifted.
“You’re finished.”
Richard laughed.
“No.”
He looked at Luca.
“Your brother still doesn’t understand.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Understand what?”
Richard walked closer.
“The Vale family was never destroyed by betrayal.”
He smiled.
“It was destroyed by weakness.”
Luca’s expression changed.
“Richard…”
“You always believed love made you stronger.”
Richard looked at him.
“I proved it made you vulnerable.”
Then he pressed a button.
The entire facility began shaking.
Daniel looked at the control panel.
“What did you do?”
Richard smiled.
May you like
“The end of the Vale bloodline.”
---
