PART 13 – The Final Word
The headlights of the real police cars completely blinded the mercenary. With an oath, he grabbed his eyes and jumped into the false agent's black car, which sped away toward the Swiss border with screeching and smoking tires. I ran to my father. He lay on his side in the mud, pressing his hands against his shoulder where a red stain was rapidly spreading through his coat.
"Dad! Dad, no, please..." I sobbed, kneeling beside him on the ground and pressing my hands onto the wound to stem the bleeding. He slowly opened his eyes. A weak, warm smile appeared on his face. "I'm still alive, Emma... Don't worry... it's just a graze..." The sirens approached at full speed. Within moments, officers and ambulances surrounded us.
The chaos of lights, blankets, flashlights, and voices washed over me, but for the first time in my life, I felt no more fear. Two weeks later, calm had somewhat returned to the city. The international operation against the Zurich holding, led by the data on the USB drive and the dossier from the chapel, had led to the arrest of dozens of kingpins in the financial world and underworld.
Protocol Omega was dismantled for good. The store where I once worked had since been closed for a thorough judicial investigation. Elena had found a new job at an art gallery, and we still drank coffee together every Tuesday in that same small café around the corner. On a sunny afternoon, I stood on the platform of the central station in Milan. The air was clear, the sky bright blue.
Next to me stood an old suitcase. And beside the suitcase stood a man with gray hair and a calm smile. My father. "Are you ready?" he asked softly, showing his train ticket. We were leaving for a small, quiet coastal village where no one knew our last name and where we could finally begin a new life. I looked out at the horizon, where the sun was slowly beginning to set, and thought back to that single afternoon three weeks ago when a sharp beep on a POS screen turned my entire world upside down.
The declined bank card hadn't been a mistake. It was destiny that brought us back together. "Yes, Dad," I replied, taking his hand. "I'm ready." The train blew its horn. We boarded, and as the doors closed, I knew the shadows of the past were behind us for good.
