CHAPTER 83

CHAPTER 83

ANTOINE RETURNED TO Victoria's suite.

— See! Look what's down there for you — he said as he handed the woman the envelope.

— It's from the Vatican — Victoria said, noticing the seal with two intertwined keys.

Nicole was the first to approach her.

— Open the envelope, let's see what's inside!

With a spatula reached by Antoine, the woman opened the envelope taking out its contents.

— It's authorization for us to take pictures in the Vatican premises — said the woman after reading the contents of the thin sheet with the Vatican's watermark.

— It's a safe-conduct — concluded Green.

— I didn't think the Secretary General of the Vatican was going to give us that authorization — continued the woman — I thought he would forget.

— It was just a pretext for the other cardinal not to suspect the content of our conversation.

— Well, since he decided to give us that authorization, why not use it? It would be very interesting for the magazine to portray the wonderful works of art that are found within the walls of the Vatican — said Green.

— Perhaps we will do that, Father Green, but at another time. What concerns me now is the fate we will give to the Golden Book. Your words are still in my mind, Father. We continue in an attempt to unlock this secret map. Although tempting, it doesn't seem like the most suitable option. What would we do if we found the Tree of Life?

— You're right, Victoria, humanity simply wouldn't be able to appreciate a treasure like this. For starters, where would we put it? At the British Museum?

— Perhaps it would be wiser to hand over the Golden Book to Vatican custody — Green argued — with no one better than Cardinal Joseph Messina to keep it safe from the Brotherhood of the Serpent.

The suite phone unexpectedly rang, interrupting the decision on the fate of the golden piece. Antoine walked over and answered. Then, putting the handset back on the hook, he turned to the small group.

— Hotel concierge said Mr. Evans is back.

— It's about time.

— GREG, HOW ARE THE investigations going on the kid's murder? — We saw in the newspapers that the police managed to identify one of the kidnappers.

— Yes, Victoria — answered the policeman who had already installed himself next to the hostess — we identified one of the kidnappers as a former Vatican guard.

— An ex-Swiss Guard? Nicole was surprised.

— Yes, I confess that I was also surprised, but this was not the biggest surprise; I was really perplexed to have confirmation of this identification by the Secretary General of the Vatican himself, the Cardinal...

— Joseph Messina — ended Roman Green.

— Exactly.

— It's not just us who have new knowledge of the Serpent Brotherhood, Green. Apparently, Greg is investigating the kidnapping of the boy who was sacrificed by this secret society.

— Yes, Victoria — Greg confirmed — and it was thanks to you that I started investigating them. We suspected that the kidnapping of the boy involved some kind of satanic sacrifice, but we never imagined the existence of an ancient Luciferian secret society. Nor did the extent of influence of this demonic sect in the most important sectors of modern society.

Roman Green looked at Victoria and also at Nicole who, at that moment, had joined the group.

— What do you mean by the influence of this sect in modern society? — Asked the priest.

— I know this sounds strange to you, Roman, but that's exactly what I found out. We started investigating the boy's whereabouts and ended up discovering much more than we expected to find. A gigantic conspiracy involving some of the most powerful families on the planet and which has roots in the formation of the European Union itself.

— Involving the European Union itself? — Victoria was surprised. At that he glanced quickly at his daughter.

— The statue of Nebuchadnezzar — confirmed the young woman — do you remember what I said when we arrived?

The woman nodded.

— A conspiracy that involves finances — continued the Italian policeman — politics and, it may even change the existing balance of power in the world, replacing it with a world dictatorship unparalleled in history.

— A world dictatorship, unparalleled in history? — Asked Roman Green.

— That's what our investigations point out — confirmed Greg. — When I was in the Vatican, Cardinal Joseph Messina revealed to me the name of the ex-Swiss Guard allegedly responsible for the boy's abduction.

— It's strange that a kidnapper would be working for the Vatican — Nicole said.

— That's what my investigations pointed out — Greg confirmed. — Now, what surprised me most was discovering that he, while still in the service of the Vatican, stole one of the most important relics in the Catholic collection: one of the three parts of the Book of Destiny.

— Book of Destiny? — Nicole asked.

— That's what they call the golden book of Atlantis.

— According to some beliefs, not fully understood, whoever possesses it will hold the fate of the world in their hands. The story tells us that Adolf Hitler worked hard to own it.

— But what connection can there be between the Book of Destiny and the boy's kidnapping? — Asked the young woman, trying to find lessons — he seems to me such a normal and unimportant boy.

— Remember that your grandfather moved heaven and earth so that he was promptly attended to in the best hospital in the world, with maximum security.

It had never crossed their minds that one thing would lead to another.

Greg turned to Nicole.

— Usually people see two events in isolation. Few, very few, including police officers, immediately look for a connection between facts that don't seem to match — continued Gregory Evans — on the basis of the Cardinal's information we have followed the trail of the kidnapper, whose clues have led us to investigate a powerful family in Florence. With the help of Interpol, we discovered this important family's connections to industrialists, bankers and media moguls around the world. All this would be normal, after all, in the world of business and finance good relationships are of vital importance. Now, what caught our attention was that these relationships narrowed down to the family level.

— Familiar? — Victoria asked in surprise.

— That's what we discovered — continued the policeman —, as incredible as it may seem, there is a very large group of people linked together by blood ties, in the most varied degrees, such as cousins, brothers, etc. scattered across different parts of the world. All incredibly rich and powerful, controlling everything from diamond mines in South Africa to financial conglomerates in New York.

— Sort of like an international mafia — Nicole said.

— To be more accurate — continued Greg — what we found resembles a gigantic octopus with dozens of tentacles spread across the world. The impression one has is that, unlike the mafia, which has a criminal aspect, this giant octopus is structured in a legal way.

— Not to say that it is they, through their immense power, who dictate the very rules of legality.

Greg nodded.

— This is surprising — Green confessed — you're saying that while investigating the kidnapping of a boy, you were turned off for similar reasons to assist us in the search for the Book of Destiny and ended up discovering a gigantic power structure infiltrated throughout the world and, linked by blood ties.

— That's why I'm here — Greg said awkwardly.