Chapter 19: The Thirteenth Chair
Chapter 19: The Thirteenth Chair
The rain had stopped by the time Alejandro's convoy reached the gates of the abandoned monastery.
The ancient stone walls stood high above the valley, wrapped in thick fog.
Once, it had been a place of prayer.
Now it felt like a fortress.
Alejandro looked at the weathered iron gate.
"This ends tonight."
Valeria stood beside him.
"Not if we rush in."
He turned toward her.
"They're expecting me."
"Exactly."
"They want you angry."
"They want you reckless."
Alejandro took a slow breath.
She was right.
Again.
He nodded.
"We do this carefully."
Javier unfolded a drone map of the monastery grounds.
"There are three entrances."
"The main gate."
"A collapsed tunnel beneath the east wall."
"And an old bell tower connected to the roof."
Alejandro studied the layout.
"The main gate is a trap."
Valeria pointed toward the tunnel.
"If Elena hid evidence for years..."
"She probably knew about this passage."
Alejandro smiled faintly.
"Then that's our way in."
Meanwhile, inside the monastery...
Twelve wooden chairs surrounded a long stone table.
Eleven were occupied.
The twelfth remained empty.
At the head of the table sat a man dressed entirely in black.
His face was hidden beneath a silver mask shaped like a phoenix.
No one spoke until he finally broke the silence.
"Ricardo is dead."
A woman seated to his left nodded.
"As expected."
"He became emotional."
Another man frowned.
"And Alejandro?"
The masked leader calmly folded his hands.
"He's already here."
Several members looked toward the heavy wooden doors.
One asked quietly,
"Should we prepare the welcome?"
The masked man smiled beneath the silver mask.
"Oh..."
"We already have."
Outside, Alejandro led a small team through the collapsed tunnel.
Only Valeria, Javier, and four trusted guards accompanied him.
The air inside was damp and cold.
Ancient stone walls surrounded them.
After nearly fifteen minutes, they reached a rusted iron ladder.
Javier climbed first.
He carefully lifted the trapdoor above.
"It's clear."
One by one, they entered the monastery's basement.
Dust covered the floor.
Broken wine barrels lined the walls.
No guards.
No cameras.
Almost too easy.
Valeria frowned.
"I don't like this."
Alejandro whispered,
"Neither do I."
As they quietly moved through the underground corridors, Mateo remained safely at the ranch under the protection of Doña Socorro and several loyal guards.
He sat beside the fireplace holding Elena's old photograph.
Suddenly...
He noticed something no one else had.
On the back of the photograph...
Hidden beneath the corner...
Was a tiny handwritten sentence.
He carried it to Doña Socorro.
She adjusted her glasses.
Then her face turned pale.
"What is it?" one of the guards asked.
She read the message aloud.
Never trust the empty chair.
Back inside the monastery, Alejandro's group reached a narrow hallway overlooking the meeting chamber.
Through a crack in the old wooden wall, they could finally see the Phoenix Circle.
Eleven members.
Just as Ricardo had described.
All wore black.
All hid their faces.
Except one.
Alejandro's breath caught.
Among the seated members...
He recognized a man from television.
A respected federal judge.
Another was one of the country's wealthiest businessmen.
A third was a retired military general.
Valeria whispered,
"This organization is everywhere."
Javier quietly activated a miniature camera.
"We're recording everything."
Alejandro looked toward the head of the table.
The silver-masked leader slowly stood.
"My friends..."
"Our guest has arrived."
Alejandro froze.
He hadn't moved.
He hadn't made a sound.
Yet somehow...
The man knew exactly where he was.
The masked leader calmly turned toward the hidden passage.
"You may come out now, Alejandro."
Silence.
No one moved.
The leader chuckled.
"You've always been curious."
"Just like your father."
Alejandro stepped into the chamber.
His weapon remained lowered.
Valeria and the others followed.
The eleven masked members watched without fear.
Without surprise.
As though this meeting had been planned for years.
The silver-masked leader gestured toward the empty chair.
"The thirteenth chair."
"It belongs to you."
Alejandro's voice remained steady.
"I'd rather burn this place to the ground."
The leader laughed softly.
"So did your father."
Alejandro's jaw tightened.
"You murdered him."
"No."
"He murdered himself."
"He chose weakness."
Valeria stepped forward.
"You murdered Elena."
For the first time...
The leader's smile disappeared.
"Elena was unfortunate."
"She refused to stop searching."
Alejandro raised his pistol.
"You ordered it."
The leader slowly nodded.
"I approved it."
Every guard raised their weapons.
The members of the Phoenix Circle remained seated.
Completely calm.
As if none of this concerned them.
Then the leader asked one quiet question.
"Have you wondered..."
"...why your security team found us so easily?"
Alejandro's heart sank.
He slowly looked behind him.
One of his own guards.
The youngest.
The one who had insisted on joining the mission.
Quietly lowered his rifle.
Then turned it...
Toward Javier.
"Drop your weapons," the guard ordered.
Valeria stared in disbelief.
Another traitor.
The masked leader smiled once more.
"I told you."
"Trust is such a fragile thing."
Before anyone could react, the monastery bells suddenly rang.
Not once.
But thirteen times.
The stone floor beneath the meeting chamber began to shake violently.
Javier looked down.
"Oh no..."
The ancient floor was moving.
It wasn't a floor at all.
It was a massive hidden platform.
Slowly...
The entire chamber began descending into darkness beneath the monastery.
As ancient gears groaned to life, the leader calmly looked at Alejandro.
"Welcome..."
"...to the real Phoenix Lodge."
The doors above slammed shut.
Sunlight disappeared.
The platform continued sinking into the earth.
And somewhere deep below...
A second set of doors slowly opened.
Revealing an underground hall far larger than the monastery itself.
Rows of computer servers.
Vaults.
Security monitors.
And dozens of armed men waiting in complete silence.
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The Phoenix Circle's true headquarters had never been the monastery.
It had always been hidden beneath it.
