CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The Father’s Kingdom
The journey deeper into the Amazon lasted two days.
They traveled mostly at night.
During the day, they hid among narrow waterways and abandoned settlements.
Rymus refused to use the main routes.
He knew the Dominion's network too well.
Every time they approached a larger settlement, he changed direction.
Gila spent the journey studying the map.
The six green locations were spread across the region.
Each contained part of the original archive.
But one location was different.
The red marker.
The first station.
The place where her mother had disappeared.
The place where Gabriel had been.
The place where her memories had been erased.
She couldn't stop thinking about it.
On the second night, Rymus finally spoke.
"You need to know something before we reach him."
Gila looked up.
"What?"
"Gabriel won't try to kill you."
"How do you know?"
"Because he believes you belong to him."
Gila's expression hardened.
"I don't belong to anyone."
"Good."
Rymus looked toward the river.
"Remember that."
Thelma sat nearby.
"Why did he let everyone believe he was dead?"
Rymus answered:
"Because disappearing was the only way to control the network without being seen."
Gila looked at him.
"And you?"
"I thought he was dead."
"You worked for him."
"Yes."
"Did you know he was my father?"
Rymus hesitated.
"Not at first."
"When did you find out?"
"Years later."
"And you never told me."
"No."
Gila stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because your mother asked me not to."
Gila looked toward her mother.
She was asleep.
"Everyone knew except me."
Rymus didn't answer.
Gila turned away.
The boat moved through the darkness.
Eventually, the trees opened.
A massive structure appeared in the distance.
It stood on a hill overlooking the river.
Stone walls.
Tall towers.
Lights burning along the perimeter.
It looked like a fortress.
Gila stared.
"What is that?"
Rymus's face became serious.
"Gabriel's estate."
"Here?"
"Yes."
"In the middle of the Amazon?"
"Exactly where he wanted it."
They approached slowly.
No guards appeared.
No boats followed.
The gates opened before they reached them.
Gila looked at Rymus.
"Is that normal?"
"No."
The boat entered the private dock.
They stepped ashore.
A man was waiting.
He wore a white shirt.
No weapon.
He looked directly at Gila.
"Your father is waiting."
Gila followed him.
The estate was enormous.
Its halls were lined with photographs.
Maps covered the walls.
Books filled the shelves.
It didn't look like a criminal headquarters.
It looked like a private museum.
Then Gila saw something that stopped her.
A photograph.
Her father.
Her mother.
And Gila as a child.
They were standing beside the river.
Happy.
Gila stared at it.
"I remember this."
Her mother stopped.
"You do?"
"Yes."
She touched the photograph.
"We were happy."
Her mother smiled sadly.
"For a little while."
They continued.
The man led them into a large room.
A fireplace burned at the far end.
Someone stood beside it.
Older.
Gray hair.
Tall.
His back was turned.
Gila's heart began racing.
The man turned.
Gabriel.
Her father.
He looked at her for several seconds.
Then he smiled.
"Gila."
She couldn't speak.
He walked toward her.
"You've grown."
She stared at him.
"You know who I am."
"I've known every day."
"Then why did you let me believe you were dead?"
Gabriel stopped.
"Because I needed you to survive."
"That's what everyone says."
His expression softened.
"Your mother told you."
"She told me enough."
Gabriel looked toward her mother.
"You were never good at telling the whole story."
Her mother stepped forward.
"You don't get to speak to her like that."
Gabriel ignored her.
He looked at Gila.
"You have the box."
"Yes."
"Give it to me."
"No."
He smiled.
"Good."
Gila frowned.
"What?"
"If you had given it to me, I would have known you weren't ready."
"Ready for what?"
"To know the truth."
Gila's voice became angry.
"I've had enough of people deciding when I'm ready."
Gabriel nodded.
"Then ask."
"Why did you build the Dominion?"
He looked toward the river.
"Because I believed the world was controlled by people more powerful than governments."
"And you wanted power."
"No."
He turned toward her.
"I wanted to fight them."
Gila stared.
"By becoming one of them?"
"At first, I believed I could control the system from inside."
"What happened?"
"I discovered the system was older than me."
"The Dominion."
Gabriel nodded.
"Older than any living person knows."
"And you became its leader."
"No."
His expression darkened.
"I became its prisoner."
Gila didn't understand.
Gabriel continued.
"Every generation believes it controls the Dominion."
"But?"
"But the Dominion controls every generation."
Gila looked toward the walls.
"Then who controls it now?"
Gabriel smiled faintly.
"That's why I brought you here."
He walked to a table.
A map was spread across it.
At its center was the crown symbol.
But beneath the crown was another symbol.
One Gila had never seen before.
A black circle surrounding a single eye.
Gabriel pointed to it.
"This is the real enemy."
Gila stared.
"Who?"
Gabriel looked directly at her.
"The people who created the Dominion."
"And where are they?"
"Everywhere."
He touched the map.
"In governments."
He moved his finger.
"In corporations."
Another point.
"In universities."
Another.
"In the organizations that claim to fight crime."
Then he looked at Gila.
"And in families."
Gila felt a chill.
"Families?"
Gabriel nodded.
"The Dominion was never an organization."
He paused.
"It was an inheritance."
Gila stared at him.
"An inheritance?"
"Passed from parent to child."
She understood.
"That's why you wanted me."
Gabriel's expression softened.
"Yes."
"To inherit it."
"Yes."
Gila stepped backward.
"No."
Gabriel looked hurt.
"You don't understand."
"I understand perfectly."
"I wanted to give you the power to destroy it."
"Then why did you erase my memories?"
"Because if you remembered everything, they would find you."
"And now?"
Gabriel looked toward the window.
"They already have."
A distant explosion shook the estate.
Everyone turned.
Another followed.
Then another.
The lights went out.
The guards began shouting outside.
Gabriel looked at Gila.
"They found us."
Rymus drew his weapon.
"Who?"
Gabriel's expression changed.
"The Dominion."
He looked at his daughter.
"And this time, they're not here for the archive."
He reached for her hand.
"They're here for you."
Outside, hundreds of lights appeared among the trees.
The estate was surrounded.
Gila looked at her father.
For the first time, she saw fear in his eyes.
Not fear for himself.
Fear for her.
And she realized something terrifying.
If Gabriel was afraid of them...
then the enemy coming through the forest was far more powerful than anything they had faced before.