Chapter 8 - Chapter 8: The Face of Betrayal

The darkness of the laboratory closed around Andrea and Giulia like a vice, the silence broken only by the sound of their ragged breaths and the frantic pounding of their hearts. The voice from the other side of the door—"I know you're in there. You have nowhere left to hide"—echoed in their minds, a cold knife slicing through any illusion of safety. Andrea clutched the backpack with the evidence to his chest, the weight of Moretti's notebooks and the container with the plant pulling at his shoulder, an anchor tethering him to reality despite the terror gripping his chest. Beside him, Giulia stood motionless, the screwdriver gripped tightly in her right hand, her knuckles white with tension, her wide eyes seeking his in the dark."Move," Andrea whispered, his voice hoarse and broken, a command that was more of a plea. He turned toward the back of the room, where a dirt-encrusted window offered a chance of escape, a sliver of gray light filtering through the cracked glass. The footsteps in the hallway grew closer, slow and heavy, an unrelenting rhythm that seemed to count down the time they had left. He grabbed Giulia's arm, pulling her toward the window with a strength he didn't know he had, his muscles protesting from accumulated exhaustion.Giulia broke free from his grasp, darting to the table to grab a test tube with the analyzed soil sample, a swift gesture that betrayed her determination not to leave anything in their pursuers' hands. "We can't lose everything," she murmured, slipping the tube into the backpack as she rejoined Andrea. He nodded, his heart hammering in his chest, and climbed onto a stack of dusty crates to reach the window. The wood creaked loudly beneath his feet, a sound that made him grit his teeth, but there was no time for caution.He pushed the glass with force, the rusted hinges giving way with a sharp groan that echoed through the room like a scream. The window opened just enough, a narrow gap that almost seemed to mock them, but it was sufficient. "You first," he said to Giulia, helping her up with one arm while holding the backpack with the other. She climbed with agility, her slender frame slipping through the opening, her feet hitting the damp ground on the other side with a muffled thud.Andrea followed, his heart in his throat as he squeezed through the tight space, the jagged edge of the broken glass scraping his jacket and tearing a strip of fabric. He landed beside Giulia, the late afternoon fog enveloping them like a shroud, muffling sounds and turning the world into a tangle of blurred shadows. "Run," he whispered, grabbing her hand and dragging her toward the woods beyond the chemistry building, dry branches scratching their legs as they bolted into their escape.Behind them, a sharp noise—the kick against the laboratory door—made them jump. The voice returned, closer now, laced with controlled rage: "They've gone out! This way!" Andrea felt the blood freeze in his veins, fear burning in his lungs as he ran, the slippery ground beneath his feet causing him to stumble with every step. Giulia was beside him, her breath short but steady, an anchor of calm in that chaos of panic.The woods were a labyrinth of bare trunks and thorny bushes, an entanglement that hid them but slowed their escape. The fog seeped between the trees, a gray veil that turned every shadow into a potential threat. Andrea glanced back for a moment, his eyes scanning the darkness behind them. Two beams of light danced among the trees, distant but approaching, accompanied by the sound of snapping branches and heavy footsteps. "They're chasing us," he gasped, gripping Giulia's hand tighter. "We can't stop.""To the river," she said, her voice broken but resolute. "We can lose them there." She pointed left, where the ground sloped slightly toward the stream that cut through the campus, swollen from recent rains and flowing fast and loud. Andrea nodded, veering in that direction without hesitation, his lungs burning with effort as he ran.They reached the river after minutes that felt like hours, the sound of the water drowning out the noise of their steps. The ground was muddy, slick, and Andrea lost his balance, falling to one knee with a grunt of pain. Giulia helped him up, her cold, wet hands grabbing his arm. "Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes full of concern."Yeah," he lied, pain throbbing in his leg as he stood. "We have to cross." The river was only a few meters wide, but the current was strong, the water foaming against the rocks. Without overthinking it, they waded in, the cold biting at their legs through their jeans, a chill that stole their breath. Giulia stumbled, but Andrea steadied her, the two clinging to each other as they forded the stream, the water reaching their thighs.They reached the opposite bank, soaked and shivering, but alive. They crouched behind a large fallen log, the rotting wood giving off a smell of earth and decay. Andrea held his breath, his eyes fixed on the far shore. The beams of light were closer now, dancing across the water's surface, and two figures emerged from the fog—tall, clad in dark coats, their faces hidden in shadow. "I can't see them anymore," said the raspy voice, the same one that had threatened them in the lab. "They've got to be close.""We don't have much time," replied the other voice, higher-pitched and nervous. "If they get to De Santis with that evidence…" The sentence was lost in the river's roar, but it was enough to make Andrea's blood run cold. De Santis. That name again, a red thread running through every danger they'd faced."They're not crossing," Giulia whispered, her breath fogging in front of her face. "Not yet. We need to move." Andrea nodded, his body trembling from cold and adrenaline, and they rose, resuming their run through the woods, away from the river and the lights hunting them.The woods seemed endless, a tangle of shadows and silences closing around them like a trap. Andrea and Giulia ran aimlessly, branches scratching their arms and legs, the muddy ground sucking at their boots with every step. The river water had soaked them to the bone, and the cold seeped beneath their skin, a chill that made every movement agony. Andrea felt his lungs burning, his breath escaping in broken gasps, but he didn't dare slow down. The backpack weighed heavily on his back, a burden containing everything they'd risked their lives for, and he couldn't afford to lose it.Giulia was beside him, her face pale and taut, her wet hair clinging to her face like a dark veil. Despite her exhaustion, she moved with fierce determination, her eyes scanning the woods for a refuge, an escape. "There," she said suddenly, pointing to a barely visible structure among the trees—an old abandoned greenhouse, its glass walls cracked and covered in moss, its roof half-collapsed. "We can hide there."Andrea nodded, too exhausted to reply, and they veered toward the greenhouse with a final burst of energy. They stumbled inside, pushing open the rusted metal door that creaked sharply. The interior was a chaos of dead plants and overturned pots, the air thick with the smell of damp earth and decay. They collapsed behind a rotting wooden table, crouching in the dark, their bodies trembling from cold and fear."Do you think they saw us?" Giulia whispered, her voice low and shaky as she hugged her arms to her chest for warmth. Her teeth chattered slightly, a sound that pierced the greenhouse's silence.Andrea shook his head, straining to hear beyond the sound of his own breathing. "I don't know," he said, his voice rough. "But we can't stay here long. If they find us…" He didn't finish the sentence, but the image of those dark figures, their cold, menacing voices, filled his mind—an inescapable nightmare.Giulia nodded, pulling her phone from her pocket with trembling hands. The screen lit up briefly, showing no signal. "No service," she muttered, turning it off with a frustrated gesture. "We're on our own."Andrea ran a hand over his face, water dripping from his hair and stinging his eyes. "We have the evidence," he said, tapping the backpack. "The soil, the notebooks. We just need to figure out how to use them. But first, we have to survive this night."They sat in silence for a moment, their breathing mingling with the drip of water from a crack in the roof. Andrea closed his eyes, trying to calm his racing heart, but memories overwhelmed him. He thought of Moretti, of a lecture months ago when the professor had called him into his office after a failed experiment. "Never give up, Andrea," he'd said, placing a hand on his shoulder with a kind smile. "Science is built on mistakes, but they're what lead us to the truth." The words had seemed trite then, but now they rang like a warning, a legacy urging him to keep going."You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Giulia asked, breaking his thoughts. Her voice was soft, a contrast to the harshness of their surroundings.Andrea nodded, opening his eyes to meet hers. "I can't stop," he admitted. "Every time I think we're about to give up, I see him—his smile, the way he talked about plants like they were alive. I can't let him die in vain.""We won't," Giulia said, placing a hand on his arm. "But we need to be smart. Those guys… they mentioned De Santis. Do you think he's the one pulling the strings?""Maybe," Andrea replied, his mind racing. "But he's not alone. 'If they get to De Santis before us'… there's someone else, someone who wants the catalyst. A company, a funder. Moretti must have figured it out, and that's why they killed him."Giulia nodded, but before she could respond, a noise made them jump—a branch snapping, too close. Andrea held his breath, his eyes scanning the darkness beyond the cracked glass walls. A faint light danced between the trees, a beam growing closer. "They're here," he whispered, his heart leaping into his throat."We need to move," Giulia said, rising quickly. But before they could take a step, a figure emerged from the fog—not from the direction of the lights, but from an opposite corner of the greenhouse. She was short, slender, wrapped in a dark jacket, approaching with silent steps, one hand raised in a gesture of peace."Don't move," said a female voice, low but firm. "I'm not with them."Andrea and Giulia froze, their hearts pounding as they stared at the figure before them. The dim light filtering through the greenhouse's cracks barely illuminated her face—a woman, perhaps in her thirties, with short dark hair falling over her eyes, her expression tense but calm. She wore a dark jacket, hands in her pockets, and carried herself with the assurance of someone who knew exactly what she was doing. "I'm not with them," she repeated, her voice low but urgent. "But if you don't move now, they'll find you.""Who are you?" Andrea asked, his voice rough with exhaustion and suspicion. He stood slowly, stepping in front of Giulia in an instinctive protective move, the backpack still clutched to his chest. His mind raced, trying to determine if this was a trap, another danger disguised as help."My name's Elena," the woman said, taking a cautious step forward. "I worked with Moretti. I know what you've found, and I know who's chasing you." Her eyes flicked to the greenhouse door, where the beams of their pursuers' lights grew closer, dancing between the trees like predators on the hunt.Giulia stood, the screwdriver still in hand, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "How do we trust you?" she asked sharply. "You could be one of them, sent to catch us."Elena shook her head, pulling a small notebook from her jacket pocket. She opened it, revealing a page with Moretti's messy handwriting—the same they'd seen in the notebooks in Andrea's backpack. "This was his," she said, handing it to them. "He gave it to me two days before he died. Told me to keep it safe, not to trust anyone at the university. I didn't know what it meant then, but I do now."Andrea took the notebook with trembling hands, flipping through it quickly. There were sketches of plants, chemical formulas, and a scribbled note at the bottom: "Elena—if something happens, find the samples. Don't let them fall into the wrong hands." His heart jumped. "It's you," he murmured, looking up at her. "But why are you here? How did you find us?""I've been following you since yesterday," Elena admitted, her voice dropping to a whisper as the footsteps in the woods grew nearer. "I saw what happened at the underground lab. I knew you were in danger, but I couldn't step in earlier—not without risking being seen. When I saw you escape from the river, I knew you had something important."Giulia stared at her, suspicion warring with the need to believe. "And why should we trust you now?" she asked. "You could be here to take what we have."Elena nodded, as if expecting the question. "I'm not asking you to trust me blindly," she said. "But I'm offering you a way out. I know a safe place, off campus, where we can hide and figure out what to do with what you've found. If I stay here, they'll find you anyway—and they'll find me too."A sharp noise—another branch snapping—cut through the conversation. The beams of light were just dozens of meters from the greenhouse, and their pursuers' voices grew clearer. "Check in there," said the raspy voice. "They can't have gone far.""We don't have a choice," Andrea whispered to Giulia, his eyes seeking hers in the dark. "If they catch us, it's over."Giulia hesitated, then nodded, lowering the screwdriver. "Fine," she said to Elena. "But if you betray us…""I won't," Elena replied, a shadow of pain crossing her face. "Moretti was my friend. I want justice for him as much as you do.""Let's move," Andrea said, slipping Elena's notebook into the backpack with the others. Elena led them to a back door in the greenhouse, an exit hidden by a tangle of dry vines. She pushed it carefully, the wood creaking softly, and motioned for them to follow. They slipped out into the woods, moving silently as the lights of their pursuers illuminated the greenhouse behind them.Elena guided them through a narrow path, away from the main trails, the ground sloping toward a denser cluster of trees. "There's a shed a kilometer from here," she whispered as they walked. "It was an old storage for farming tools, abandoned for years. We can hide there until morning."Andrea nodded, the cold biting at his hands and face as he followed Elena, the backpack thumping against his back with every step. Giulia was beside him, her breath short but controlled, her eyes scanning the darkness for any movement. Their trust in Elena was fragile, a thin thread that could snap at any moment, but it was the only hope they had.They reached the shed after about twenty minutes, a dilapidated wooden structure with a moss-covered roof and cracked walls. Elena opened the door with a key she pulled from her pocket, a gesture suggesting this place wasn't random. The interior was bare, with a table, a chair, and an old sleeping bag piled in a corner. "It's not much," she said, closing the door behind them, "but it's safe. For now."Andrea collapsed onto the floor, exhaustion crashing over him like a wave. "Who are you really?" he asked, looking at Elena with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. "And what do you know about Moretti that we don't?"Elena sat on the table, crossing her arms. "I was his research assistant," she said, her voice calm but heavy with emotion. "We worked on the catalyst project together for two years. But there's more—something he didn't write in the notebooks. Something that scared him to death."The shed was a precarious refuge, a wooden shell creaking under the weight of the wind blowing through the trees. The air inside was cold and damp, steeped in the smell of mold and earth, but for Andrea and Giulia, it was a sanctuary, a moment of reprieve after hours of flight and terror. Andrea sat against the wall, legs bent, the backpack beside him, its contents seeming to pulse with a life of their own. Giulia crouched near the door, the screwdriver still in hand, her eyes flicking between Elena and the outside, ready to react to any threat.Elena leaned against the table, her face lit by the faint glow of a battery-powered lamp she'd pulled from a worn bag. Her eyes were tired, marked by deep shadows, but there was a strength in her, a determination that struck them. "Moretti wasn't just a botanist," she began, her voice low but clear, a thread unraveling in the silence. "He was a visionary. He believed the catalyst could change the world—not just agriculture, but everything. He thought it could solve hunger, reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers. But he didn't trust the people funding him.""Who was funding him?" Andrea asked, his voice rough with fatigue. He leaned forward, his heart racing as he hung on her every word.Elena hesitated, running a hand through her short hair. "A company called AgroNova," she said finally. "A multinational that produces seeds and agricultural chemicals. Moretti took their money early on, years ago, when the project was just an idea. But then he found something—something that changed him.""What?" Giulia asked sharply. "What did he find?"Elena took a deep breath, her eyes staring into the void as if reliving that moment. "He found evidence that AgroNova was secretly testing the catalyst without his consent. Not on experimental fields, but on real land, in remote villages in Africa and South America. They were using his formulas to create modified crops, but there was a problem—the catalyst wasn't as stable as he thought. In some areas, plants grew too fast, depleting the soil and leaving deserts behind. In others, it caused mutations, plants producing toxic fruit. Moretti stumbled onto it by chance, analyzing samples sent by his international contacts."Andrea felt a chill run down his spine. "And De Santis?" he asked. "Where does he fit in?""De Santis was the link," Elena said, her voice hardening. "He was the one dealing with AgroNova, bringing their money to the university. Moretti trusted him at first, but then he realized De Santis had a different agenda. He wanted to sell the catalyst, turn it into a commercial product, even knowing the risks. Moretti opposed it—he threatened to go public, expose AgroNova and the university. That's when things fell apart."Giulia stood, pacing the small space of the shed. "So they killed him to silence him," she said, her voice thick with anger. "And now they're after us because we have the evidence.""Not just that," Elena said, pulling a small device from her pocket—a digital recorder. "Moretti gave me this, along with the notebook. It's a conversation he recorded with De Santis, a week before he died." She pressed a button, and Moretti's voice filled the shed, shaky but resolute: "I can't let you do this, Carlo. If you sell the catalyst now, it'll be a disaster. I have proof—the reports from the villages, the contaminated samples. I'll tell everyone." De Santis's voice replied, cold and cutting: "You're naive, Enrico. You don't understand what's at stake. If you don't cooperate, they'll find a way to shut you up."The recorder clicked off, and silence returned, heavy as a boulder. Andrea stared at Elena, his mind racing. "So De Santis betrayed him," he said. "And AgroNova sent those men to retrieve everything."Elena nodded. "Moretti told me to hide, to protect the evidence. But I couldn't save him. When I heard about his death, I knew it wasn't an accident. I tried to investigate, but they're too powerful. Then I saw you—and realized you'd found something.""We need to use this," Giulia said, pointing to the recorder. "With the notebooks, the soil, and this recording, we can destroy them.""It won't be easy," Elena said. "AgroNova has resources—money, men, influence. And De Santis is still out there, covering his tracks. But there's a way. I know someone, a journalist who could help us go public."Andrea nodded, but a sudden noise made him jump—a rustle, too close to the shed. Elena switched off the lamp with a swift motion, darkness enveloping them again. "They're still looking," she whispered. "We need to move at dawn."The shed was shrouded in darkness, a tense silence broken only by the sound of their breathing and the rustle of wind through the trees. Andrea, Giulia, and Elena crouched near the door, their eyes fixed outside, where shadows moved like ghosts in the fog. Elena's revelation had changed everything—the catalyst wasn't just a scientific breakthrough, but a double-edged weapon, a secret AgroNova and De Santis had killed to protect. The evidence they had—the notebooks, the soil, the recording—was a ticking bomb, but only if they survived long enough to use it."We need to reach that journalist," Andrea said, his voice low but firm. "If we go public, they can't touch us anymore."Elena nodded, pulling a crumpled map from her bag. "His name's Luca Rinaldi," she said. "He works for an independent paper in Bari. I contacted him months ago, when Moretti was still alive, but I didn't have enough evidence then. Now I do. He's an hour from here—we can get there by dawn if we make it off campus."Giulia leaned over to study the map, the light from Elena's flashlight illuminating hand-drawn lines. "And how do we get there?" she asked. "We don't have a car, and they're still out there.""There's an old van behind the shed," Elena said. "I used it to bring samples to Moretti when we worked together. It's beat-up, but it runs. We can use it to escape."Andrea nodded, but before they could flesh out the plan, a noise made them jump—a heavy thud, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps. "They're here," Elena whispered, switching off the flashlight. Darkness swallowed them again, a shroud that hid them but left them vulnerable.The shed door burst open, wood splintering under a violent kick. Two figures stormed in, their flashlights cutting through the dark like blades. "Find them!" shouted the raspy voice, the same one that had hunted them all day. Andrea grabbed the backpack, pulling Giulia toward the back of the shed, while Elena lunged at one of the figures, striking him with a piece of wood from the floor."Run!" Elena yelled as the man fell with a grunt. Andrea and Giulia bolted out the back door, the night's cold hitting them like a fist. The van was there, a rusted shape hidden among the trees. Elena caught up, her face bloodied but her eyes blazing. "Get in!" she said, yanking open the driver's door and throwing herself behind the wheel.Andrea and Giulia scrambled into the back seat, the engine roaring as Elena turned the key. The headlights flared, illuminating the figures running toward them, their flashlights dancing in the dark. "Hold on," Elena said, slamming the accelerator. The van lurched forward, crashing through a bush as it barreled down the dirt path.A shot rang out—a bullet striking the back of the van, rattling the metal. Andrea ducked, pulling Giulia down with him, his heart pounding. "They've got a gun!" he shouted, his voice cracking with panic."They don't give up easily," Elena said, swerving sharply to avoid a tree. The van skidded, tires slipping on the muddy ground, but she kept control, driving with fierce determination. "Stay low—we're almost out of the woods."The shots continued, a second bullet shattering the rear window, sending glass fragments across the seat. Giulia covered her head, her breath short and rapid, but her eyes burned with anger. "We have to make it," she said, gripping Andrea's hand. "For Moretti."Andrea nodded, his face streaked with sweat and fear. The van finally broke out of the woods, hitting a dirt road leading off campus. The lights of their pursuers faded into the fog, but the danger lingered, a shadow trailing them silently."We made it," Elena said, her voice shaky but relieved. "For now. But it's not over. We need to reach Rinaldi—it's our only shot."Andrea looked out the broken window, the night's darkness stretching before them like an abyss. They had the evidence, they had an ally, but the road to the truth was still long and shadowed. The reckoning had begun, and there was no turning back.!