Chapter 3 - I Opened My Wife's Secret Box and Found a Photograph of My Supposedly Dead Father Standing Beside the Man Who Had Been Feeding My Son PoisonThe photograph changed everything.
It showed my father standing outside an old farmhouse.
He looked exactly as I remembered him.
Gray hair.
Black coat.
Cold eyes.
But he wasn't alone.
Standing beside him was Dr. Bennett.
Leo's pediatric specialist.
I stared at the photograph.
Clara watched me.
“Where did you get this?”
“Your wife gave it to me.”
“When?”
“The night before she died.”
I turned the photograph over.
There was a handwritten message.
Lorenzo, if you ever see this, do not trust the doctors.
My stomach twisted.
I thought about every specialist who had treated Leo.
Every diagnosis.
Every medication.
Every bottle.
Every feeding tube.
I called Marcus.
“Seal the medical wing.”
He immediately understood.
“Why?”
“Because nobody leaves.”
Within minutes, armed security surrounded the private floor.
Dr. Bennett protested.
“This is outrageous.”
I looked at him.
“Where did you meet my father?”
His face went pale.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
I put the photograph on the table.
He stared at it.
Then looked at me.
“I can explain.”
“You'd better.”
He sat down.
“I met your father years ago.”
“When?”
“Before his supposed death.”
“What was he doing?”
“Building something.”
“What?”
“A private network.”
“For what?”
“To protect the Rossi family.”
I laughed bitterly.
“My father built a criminal empire.”
“He also built a protection network.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew someone inside the family would eventually betray you.”
I looked at Clara.
She nodded.
Dr. Bennett continued.
“Your father discovered that your brother's death wasn't what it appeared to be.”
“Matteo.”
“Yes.”
“He was murdered.”
“No.”
The room became silent.
“He disappeared.”
I stared at him.
“Then whose body did I bury?”
“I don't know.”
Dr. Bennett looked at Clara.
“But I know who arranged the funeral.”
“Who?”
He hesitated.
“Your uncle.”
My father's younger brother.
Salvatore Rossi.
A man I had trusted my entire life.
A man who had comforted me after Matteo's death.
A man who had stood beside me at the funeral.
A man who had helped me take control of the family.
My hands shook.
“Why?”
Dr. Bennett said:
“Because Salvatore believed your father had hidden something.”
“What?”
“A fortune.”
I frowned.
“Money?”
“Not money.”
“Then what?”
“A ledger.”
“What kind of ledger?”
“One containing names.”
“Whose names?”
“Politicians.”
“That's normal.”
“Judges.”
“Also normal.”
“Police officials.”
I stared.
“Not unusual.”
Dr. Bennett looked at me.
“Foreign intelligence officers.”
My expression changed.
“And businessmen who financed criminal organizations.”
Clara whispered:
“Your father had evidence capable of destroying half the country's underground economy.”
I looked at the photograph again.
“Why didn't he use it?”
“Because he wanted to protect his family.”
“And Salvatore?”
“He wanted it.”
“Where is the ledger?”
Dr. Bennett shook his head.
“Your father never told me.”
“Then why help him?”
“Because I believed your father was trying to stop something worse.”
“What?”
He hesitated.
“Human trafficking.”
The words hit hard.
My family had always been involved in crime.
But there were lines even we didn't cross.
Or so I thought.
Dr. Bennett explained that my father had discovered several shipping companies being used to move vulnerable people through ports controlled by Rossi associates.
Salvatore had been involved.
Matteo had discovered it.
That was why Matteo disappeared.
That was why my father disappeared.
And that was why Isabella had become a target.
Because she had found the evidence.
I thought about Leo.
“Why is my son sick?”
Dr. Bennett lowered his head.
“Someone altered his medication.”
My blood froze.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Who had access?”
“Several people.”
“Names.”
He gave me five.
A nurse.
A pharmacist.
Two guards.
And Salvatore.
I stared at the list.
Then I noticed something.
“Why isn't your name there?”
He looked at me.
“Because I didn't alter anything.”
“You prescribed the medication.”
“Yes.”
“And someone poisoned it.”
“Yes.”
“So either you're incompetent…”
I leaned closer.
“…or you're lying.”
He swallowed.
“I was forced.”
“By whom?”
He whispered:
“Your father.”
I stared at him.
“My father forced you?”
“He threatened me.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew what was coming.”
“What was coming?”
Dr. Bennett looked toward Leo's room.
“The birth of your son.”
May you like
He paused.
“Your father believed Leo's existence would trigger a war.”
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