CHAPTER NINETEEN
The Man Behind the Circle
Nobody moved.
The old man stood beneath the trees with his hands folded behind his back.
He looked nothing like the person Gila had imagined.
There was no obvious sign of violence about him.
No scar.
No weapon.
No threatening expression.
He looked like a respectable man who might have spent his life in universities, government offices, or expensive hotels.
That was what frightened her.
The most dangerous people did not always look dangerous.
Her mother stepped forward.
"You."
The old man's eyes moved toward her.
"Yes."
"You were supposed to be dead."
He smiled.
"So were you."
Rymus moved in front of Gila.
The old man laughed softly.
"You always were predictable."
Rymus's jaw tightened.
"Stay away from her."
"You still think you can protect her?"
"I can try."
"You tried once."
The old man's eyes narrowed.
"And failed."
Gila looked at Rymus.
"What is his name?"
Rymus didn't answer.
Her mother did.
"Adrian Vale."
The name meant nothing to Gila.
But Rymus reacted.
He knew him.
"Who is he?" Gila asked.
Her mother looked at the old man.
"The man who created the Circle."
Gila's stomach tightened.
Vale smiled.
"Created is such an ugly word."
"What would you call it?"
"A network."
"You trafficked people."
"We moved people."
"You destroyed families."
"I built an organization."
"You murdered people."
Vale's smile faded.
"People die."
Gila stepped forward.
"And you decided who?"
Vale studied her.
"You sound exactly like your mother."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
For the first time, his expression became genuinely interested.
"You have her courage."
"And her memories."
"Not all of them."
Gila held the wooden box against her chest.
"Enough."
Vale looked at it.
"The box."
"Yes."
"Give it to me."
"No."
He smiled.
"You think you have a choice."
Gila looked around.
Men surrounded them.
Rymus stood beside her.
Thelma and her mother were behind her.
There were too many.
Still, she refused to move.
"Why do you want it?"
Vale sighed.
"Because it contains something that could destroy everything I built."
"The names."
"Some of them."
Gila frowned.
"Some?"
"The box is only the key."
Rymus looked at him.
"Where is the rest?"
Vale smiled.
"Ask the girl."
Gila felt a chill.
"What does that mean?"
Vale stepped closer.
"You are the archive."
Silence.
Gila stared at him.
"The memories."
"Yes."
"You put them there."
"Your mother did."
Her mother shook her head.
"Not willingly."
Vale's expression hardened.
"You had no right to interfere."
"I had every right."
"You stole my work."
"I stole children from your network."
"You stole assets."
Gila stepped forward.
"People aren't assets."
Vale looked at her.
"That is where you misunderstand the world."
"No."
Gila's voice became steady.
"That is where you misunderstand me."
Vale's men raised their weapons.
Rymus immediately reached for his own.
"Lower them," Vale ordered.
The men obeyed.
Gila looked at him suspiciously.
"Why?"
"Because I want to speak to you."
"I'm not interested."
"You will be."
He turned toward the ruined station.
"Come."
Gila didn't move.
Vale smiled.
"If I wanted you dead, you would already be dead."
Rymus whispered:
"Don't go."
Gila looked at him.
"What other choice do we have?"
"Fight."
"We'd lose."
Rymus said nothing.
Gila looked at Vale.
"Fine."
She took one step forward.
"But they come with me."
Vale nodded.
"Of course."
They entered the ruined station.
Inside, the air smelled of dust, damp wood and old metal.
Vale walked toward a room at the rear.
Gila followed.
Her mother remained close.
Rymus and Thelma followed behind.
Vale stopped beside a wall.
He pressed his hand against a section of stone.
A hidden door opened.
Beyond it was a room Gila had never seen.
Unlike the ruined station outside, this room was perfectly preserved.
There were shelves.
Computers.
Maps.
Photographs.
Files.
And on the far wall were dozens of photographs of people.
Gila walked toward them.
Her heart stopped.
She recognized some.
People from the old records.
People from her recovered memories.
People she had thought were strangers.
Then she saw herself.
A photograph of Gila as a child.
Another as a teenager.
Another from only months earlier.
She stared.
"You've been watching me my entire life."
Vale didn't deny it.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you were important."
"I was a child."
"Exactly."
Gila turned toward him.
"What did you want from me?"
"Your memory."
"Why?"
"Because your mother discovered something she was never supposed to see."
"What?"
Vale walked to a locked cabinet.
He opened it.
Inside was a single file.
He removed it.
"This."
He handed it to Gila.
She opened the file.
There was a map.
Not of the Amazon.
Not of Belize.
A map of something much larger.
Routes crossed several countries.
At the center was a symbol.
The same symbol she had seen since childhood.
But beneath it was another mark.
A crown.
Gila looked at Vale.
"What is this?"
"The organization before the Circle."
Rymus stepped forward.
"The Dominion."
Vale smiled.
"So you remember."
Gila looked at him.
"What is the Dominion?"
Vale answered quietly.
"The organization that created the Circle."
The room seemed to shrink.
"How old is it?"
"Older than any of you can imagine."
"And you're its leader?"
Vale shook his head.
"No."
"Then who?"
He looked at the crown symbol.
"I was its servant."
Gila stared.
"Then who is above you?"
Vale smiled.
"You've been asking the wrong question."
He turned toward her mother.
"Tell her."
Her mother looked terrified.
"Tell me what?"
Her mother swallowed.
"The person above Adrian Vale..."
She paused.
"...is someone you already know."
Gila felt the blood leave her face.
"Who?"
Her mother looked at her.
"The person who taught you everything you know."
Gila's mind raced.
A teacher.
A mentor.
Someone from the university.
Someone from her childhood.
Someone she had trusted.
Then she remembered the first documents.
The professor.
The archive.
The person who had given them access.
Her eyes widened.
"The professor."
Vale smiled.
"No."
Gila froze.
"Then who?"
Vale looked at the door.
A voice came from behind them.
"Me."
Everyone turned.
The professor stood there.
Gila's heart dropped.
He looked at her sadly.
"I was hoping you wouldn't remember."
Rymus drew his weapon.
The professor looked at him.
"You were always the difficult one."
Gila stared at the man she had trusted.
"You."
The professor nodded.
"Yes."
"You gave us the files."
"I did."
"You helped us."
"I guided you."
"Why?"
"Because I needed to know how much you remembered."
Gila felt betrayed.
"You sent us to the river."
"Yes."
"You sent us to Rymus."
"Yes."
"You knew my mother was alive."
"Yes."
The answers came one after another.
No denial.
No excuses.
Gila's eyes filled with anger.
"Why?"
The professor looked at the box.
"Because you are the only person who can unlock the final archive."
He pointed toward the wall.
A hidden panel opened.
Behind it was a large metal door.
Gila stared.
"What is that?"
"The final archive."
Rymus's face changed.
"You found it."
The professor smiled.
"No."
He looked at Gila.
"She did."