Chapter 5 - The Dead Man Who Called Me Daughter Was Hiding Beneath the CityThe next clue came from Sophia.
She drew a map.
Three circles.
A river.
A warehouse.
A blue door.
I recognized the street.
My father's old workplace.
A shipping warehouse near the river.
We went there before dawn.
Alessandro brought six men.
I stayed with Sophia in the car.
Then the warehouse lights came on.
A man walked out.
I recognized him.
My father.
Not alive.
Not exactly.
A recording projected onto a wall.
His face appeared.
His voice filled the building.
“Mara, if you are seeing this, then everything went wrong.”
I cried.
He continued.
“I didn't abandon you.”
“I disappeared to protect you.”
“Your mother believed Tobias could help us.”
“He could.”
“But Marco found out.”
The screen changed.
Marco.
Standing beside my father.
Alessandro's face hardened.
My father continued.
“Marco has been stealing from both families.”
“He caused the accident that killed Tobias's cover.”
“He believed Tobias was dead.”
“He believed me dead.”
“He was wrong.”
The message ended.
A door opened.
Tobias stepped out.
Alive.
Older.
Scarred.
He looked at me.
“Mara.”
I couldn't move.
“You knew my father.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me grow up?”
“No.”
He looked down.
“I watched from far away.”
“Why?”
“Because anyone close to me became a target.”
“What happened to my father?”
“He escaped.”
“He's alive?”
Tobias shook his head.
“No.”
My heart cracked.
“He died protecting you.”
I closed my eyes.
Sophia hugged my leg.
Alessandro stood beside Tobias.
For the first time, the brothers faced each other after seven years.
“You should have come home,” Alessandro whispered.
“I tried.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“I needed you to think that.”
“Why?”
“Because Marco was watching you.”
Alessandro looked at me.
“And now?”
“Now he knows.”
Tobias handed me a folder.
“Your mother left this.”
Inside was a letter.
My darling Mara,
You will one day learn that powerful families protect themselves by hiding the truth.
Do not become like them.
If Leon ever finds you, trust him.
I frowned.
“Who's Leon?”
Tobias looked at Alessandro.
Alessandro answered:
“My younger brother.”
I froze.
“You had another brother?”
“Yes.”
“He died before you were born.”
The family tree was becoming impossible.
But then I saw the photograph.
A young man.
My mother.
And a baby.
Sophia's father.
My husband.
I stared.
“He was Leon?”
Alessandro nodded.
“Leon was the reason your father tried to leave.”
I felt sick.
My husband wasn't merely connected to the Moretti family.
He had been protecting me from it.
Even after his death.
The next page contained a name.
Evelyn Mason.
I knew it.
Alessandro did too.
His aunt.
The woman who had managed the family foundation for years.
“She isn't my aunt,” he said.
“What?”
“She was my father's partner.”
“And Marco?”
“Tied to her.”
We returned to the estate.
But it was too late.
Evelyn was waiting.
She stood in the foyer.
Elegant.
Calm.
Smiling.
“You found Tobias.”
Alessandro raised his weapon.
She didn't flinch.
“You killed my brother.”
“No.”
“You helped Marco.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked at me.
“Because your father stole something.”
“What?”
“My future.”
She explained everything.
The old empire.
The missing money.
The trafficking network.
The betrayals.
But one thing surprised me.
Evelyn hadn't wanted the empire.
She had wanted revenge.
My father had exposed her brother.
She wanted his family destroyed.
And Marco had promised to help.
I looked at Alessandro.
“She's lying.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Then ask your sister.”
Alessandro froze.
“My sister?”
May you like
Evelyn pointed upstairs.
Sophia was gone.
Related Stories
