CHAPTER 47

CHAPTER 47

AS USUAL, THE NEWSPAPERS — which came from all over the world — were delivered to the headquarters of the General Secretariat. They were the most important periodicals and came from both the Americas and the Caucasus. As soon as the presses released the first copies, they were dispatched by plane.

At the General Secretariat, a hundred men versed in one or more languages, in addition to the headquarters officer, examined each copy in its entirety, meticulously collecting all the information that somehow aroused their interest. Once translated and turned into reviews, this information was handed over to a guard.

Aware of the dignity of his uniform, designed more than five centuries ago by Michelangelo, the guard solemnly marched towards an ancient building of the General Secretariat. To get there, he passed through a large hall decorated with dozens of works of art such as busts, statues and bas-reliefs, whose mere mention of their names would multiply by millions the price that would be reached for them in any of the most sophisticated art auctions. of the world.

As he passed through the portico worked in northern Italian marble, with his cadenced step, the soldier entered an even more sumptuous and illuminated environment. There, he found another soldier, a little older, whose insignia attests to his superiority in the corporation's hierarchy. The young man salutes and hands him the folder with the information. He immediately turns around and returns to his post in the outer courtyard. After following the younger man's departure with his eyes, the soldier turns and knocks on the door he was guarding.

— Come in — someone said from inside.

— The news of the day, Signore!

— Thanks, Miguel — said the old man, who was examining a manuscript — can you leave it on the table, please!

The soldier nodded, placing the folder on the table, then silently as he had entered, withdrew returning to his post.

Fifteen minutes later, after completing the letter he had written, Joseph Messina, Secretary General of the Vatican, got up from his desk and, taking the briefcase brought by the soldier, settled himself comfortably in an armchair near the window overlooking the castle of Santo Angelo. When looking at the first pages, the colors of his face disappeared, and livid, he scrolled through the striking phrase just below the drawing that had completely disturbed him:

KIDNAPPED BOY IS DEAD IN SATANIC RITUAL

Joseph Messina looked once more at the figure, there was no doubt, it was himself! With a shudder, he picked up the phone, there was nothing else to do.