Phoenix Heart: The Last Heir

CHAPTER 7: The Truth revealed

Gabriel looked down at his hands and flexed his fingers. 

He saw the amber light glowing under his skin and he felt power running through him like electricity. For the first time since Siegel had shot him, he felt something other than pain and fear.

He needed to see Vera and make sure she was okay. He needed to tell her everything that had happened and figure out what to do next.

His whole world had been turned upside down and Vera was the only stable thing left in it.

The motel was across town and Gabriel took off running again. The city blurred around him and he covered miles in what felt like minutes.

His body felt alive in ways it never had before.

The motel appeared ahead and Gabriel slowed down and walked to the room he had rented.

He was surprised to hear voices and laughter coming from inside and his heart lifted because Vera was okay. She was laughing which meant that she felt much better.

A small smile spread across his lips as he knocked on the door and the laughter stopped.

Footsteps came closer and the door opened. Gabriel’s eyes landed on Vera and the first thing he noticed was that she looked perfectly healthy.

She was wearing clothes that looked expensive and new, unlike the old ones she wore before.

"Gabriel?" Vera said, her face growing pale. "You're supposed to be dead."

The words hit Gabriel like a punch and before he could respond, someone else appeared behind Vera.

It was a man Gabriel had never seen before. He had tattoos covering his arms and a smile that looked cruel.

"Well this is awkward." The man said, his wide smile exposing his pearly white teeth.

Gabriel pushed past Vera into the room and saw money spread out on the bed. There were designer bags in the corner and champagne bottles on the table.

His head instantly shot to them and the man pulled Vera back against him like he owned her.

"What's going on?" Gabriel asked, his voice sounding strange in his own ears.

Vera looked at the man and then back at Gabriel, and in that moment, something changed in her face. The fear disappeared and was replaced by something cold.

"This is Austin," she said. "My boyfriend."

The word boyfriend hit Gabriel harder than any bullet Siegel had put in him and he stood there trying to make sense of what he was seeing and hearing.

"Your what?"

Vera laughed and it was a sound Gabriel had never heard from her before. It was cruel and mocking and nothing like the girl he thought he knew.

"Oh Gabriel," she said, walking over to the bed and sitting down on Austin's lap. "Did you really think I was sick? Did you really think I loved you?"

Gabriel couldn't breathe. The room began spinning and Vera was still talking.

"The blood was fake," she continued, counting money like Gabriel wasn't even there. 

"Pig's blood from the butcher shop. The coughing was easy. The weakness was just acting. You fell for all of it because you're so desperate to be loved that you'll believe anything."

"Why?" Gabriel asked, the word coming out broken.

"Money," Austin said, wrapping his arm around Vera's waist. "My father identified you as the best thief in Chicago and we needed someone stupid enough to steal from the Siegels. Vera here is very good at making men do stupid things."

Vera smiled and kissed Austin's cheek, and Gabriel felt something break inside him that had nothing to do with bullets or drowning.

"Every time you touched me I wanted to throw up," Vera said, her voice was vicious now. "Every time you kissed me, I had to pretend you weren't disgusting. But ten million dollars made it worth it and now that you're dead we can finally enjoy it."

"I'm not dead," Gabriel croaked out, his hands balling into fists by his sides.

"You should be. Stealing from Ian Siegel is basically a suicide mission. I have no clue why you’re still standing," Austin spat, standing up and pulling a gun from his waistband. "Guess we need to finish the job."

Austin aimed the gun at Gabriel's chest and pulled the trigger. The bullet flew across the room and hit him right where his heart was and should have killed him instantly.

But the Phoenix Heart was there and the bullet melted before it could penetrate. It fell to the floor as molten metal, and Gabriel felt heat building in his chest and spreading through his whole body.

Austin's eyes went wide as he fired again and again, each bullet melting and falling. Vera screamed and scrambled backward on the bed.

"What are you?!" Austin yelled, his eyes wide as saucers, his skin pale as a sheet.

Gabriel looked at his hands and saw flames dancing across his skin. His eyes glowed so bright, they lit up the whole room and the rage he felt was so intense that the Phoenix Heart responded to it.

It fed it and made it grow.

"I was the man who loved her," Gabriel growled and his voice didn't sound human anymore. It sounded guttural and animalistic. "Now I'm something else."

He took a step forward and Austin backed up and kept firing until the gun clicked empty. Gabriel was still standing and the flames were getting brighter and hotter.

Vera was crying now and trying to crawl toward the window. She kept apologizing and telling him how much she still loved him but Gabriel could see the lies now.

The Phoenix Heart showed him the truth of her and it was ugly and rotten all the way through.

He couldn’t believe how stupid and naive he was. He wasn’t a good judge of character and he needed the Phoenix Heart to tell him how evil she was.

Austin tried to run for the door, but Gabriel moved faster than lightning and appeared in front of him,

He grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground with Austin's feet kicking in the air.

"Please," Austin gasped. "My father will pay you. Whatever you want."

"I want the last two years of my life back," Gabriel growled, his eyes glowing amber. "I want every sacrifice I made to mean something. I want her to actually be the person I thought she was."

He threw Austin through the window and glass exploded outward. Austin's scream faded as he fell and hit the parking lot below with a sound that made Vera scream louder.

Gabriel turned to face Vera. She was pressed against the wall and shaking violently with tears streaming down her face.

The girl who had manipulated him for two years was gone and all that was left was someone who realized too late that she had made a terrible mistake.

"Gabriel please," Vera begged. "I'm sorry. It was all Austin's idea. He made me do it."

Lies. All lies.

Gabriel walked toward her and flames spread from his hands to the money on the bed. It caught fire and burned and Vera screamed, trying to grab it but the heat was too intense.

"No!" she cried. "That's our money!"

"It was never yours." Gabriel said softly, his heart shattering in his chest.

He burned all of it and watched Vera fall to her knees and sob, trying to save even a single bill but the fire consumed everything and left nothing but ash.

When it was done, Gabriel walked to the door. He stopped and looked back at Vera one last time.

"You wanted me dead," He whispered. "But I came back and now you get to live with nothing just like I did. Enjoy the rest of your life."

He left her there crying in a room full of ash and broken glass and walked out into the Chicago night.

He felt the Phoenix Heart burning steadily in his chest and for the first time in years, Gabriel Hale knew exactly who he was and exactly what he needed to do.

A black car pulled up next to him and the window rolled down. An old man with silver hair looked out at him with tears in his eyes.

"Master Gabriel," the old man said. "I've been searching for you for nineteen years.”