Chapter 4 - Victor Wasn't Acting Alone—Sophia's Drawing Showed a Second Man Who Had Access to My Family's Private Rooms After MidnightI asked Sophia to draw the man again.
She did.
Brown hair.
Tall.
Silver watch.
Black jacket.
A ring on his right hand.
I looked at the drawing.
Something about the ring bothered me.
I had seen it.
My uncle's ring.
My uncle had been dead for eight years.
Another ghost.
I asked Gabriel to pull archival security footage.
Months of video.
Hours.
Days.
Then we found something.
A man entering through a service door.
Face hidden.
Same ring.
Same watch.
Same height.
He had accessed the basement.
The medical room.
And Victor's office.
Whoever he was, he knew my house.
I called the family archives.
My uncle's personal items had supposedly been auctioned after his death.
But one item was missing.
His watch.
His ring.
And his private key set.
I stared at the records.
“Someone in the family took them.”
Gabriel nodded.
“That seems likely.”
I called Victor.
He answered.
“Alessandro.”
“Where are you?”
“Meeting.”
“With whom?”
He laughed.
“Why are you asking?”
I looked at the false medication on my desk.
“Because I think I deserve to know.”
Silence.
Then:
“About what?”
“The pill.”
A longer silence.
“You shouldn't listen to rumors.”
“I don't.”
“Good.”
“Then tell me.”
He sighed.
“I was protecting you.”
“From what?”
“Your heart.”
I laughed.
“You replaced my medication.”
“No.”
“Then explain the chemical analysis.”
Another silence.
Finally:
“You don't know what you're asking.”
“Tell me.”
“Not over the phone.”
“Come home.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the house isn't safe.”
I hung up.
That answer told me more than any confession.
Victor was afraid.
Not of me.
Of someone else.
I called Sophia.
She was coloring.
“Do you know that man?”
“No.”
“Have you seen him with Victor?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Outside the blue room.”
I froze.
The blue room was my private family archive.
Nobody entered.
I hadn't opened it since my brother died.
I went upstairs.
The door was locked.
I used my key.
Inside, everything looked untouched.
Family photographs.
Old documents.
Furniture.
A portrait of my grandfather.
I noticed a drawer open.
Inside was a folder.
My name.
Victor's name.
And one sentence:
ALessandro must not know.
I turned the page.
A medical report.
Someone had been evaluating my condition.
The purpose:
Long-term dependency strategy.
Not murder.
Control.
They wanted me alive.
Dependent.
Predictable.
Until the right moment.
Then I found the final document.
A contract.
Signed by Victor.
And by a second person.
The signature was hidden behind a layer of tape.
I pulled it away.
The name appeared.
Matteo Moretti.
My father.
Dead for twelve years.
I stared.
If Victor had been acting on my father's instructions, then the betrayal had been planned before my father's death.
Perhaps even before Victor became my closest friend.
The final line read:
When the time comes, remove Alessandro and transfer control to Matteo's chosen heir.
I didn't know who the heir was.
May you like
But someone was coming for my empire.
And my death was simply the final step.
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