Chapter 4 - The Traitor Was Sitting at the Dinner Table, and My Daughter Knew His Name
The villa went into complete lockdown.
Alessandro's guards moved through every corridor.
Phones were confiscated.
Windows sealed.
Vehicles checked.
No one was permitted to leave.
I held Emma in my arms.
She had become unusually quiet.
“Sweetheart.”
She whispered:
“Daddy said not to trust the man with the silver watch.”
I looked around.
The twelve families all wore expensive watches.
But only one man had a silver watch with a dark blue face.
Don Ricci.
My heart skipped.
I looked toward him.
He noticed.
“What?”
Alessandro followed my gaze.
“Ricci.”
The old boss stared.
“I've been sitting here all evening.”
Alessandro stepped toward him.
“Take off your watch.”
Ricci's expression darkened.
“You suspect me?”
“I suspect everyone.”
Ricci removed it.
Matteo examined it.
Nothing.
Emma shook her head.
“Not him.”
Everyone turned.
“Then who?” Alessandro asked.
She looked around.
Then pointed at a man standing behind the family representatives.
Matteo.
I froze.
Alessandro froze too.
His security chief.
His most trusted man.
Matteo slowly raised both hands.
“Boss…”
Emma clutched my shirt.
“His watch.”
Matteo looked down.
He wore no watch.
She pointed to his wrist.
“Inside.”
The room became silent.
Alessandro stepped forward.
“Matteo.”
The man stared at him.
“You know me.”
“Yes.”
“I've protected you for fifteen years.”
“Yes.”
“Then you know I would die before betraying you.”
Alessandro looked at the child.
“I know.”
Matteo removed his jacket.
A tiny tracking device was sewn into the inside seam.
He stared at it.
“I didn't know.”
Alessandro's expression hardened.
“Then someone planted it.”
“Probably.”
“Who had access to your office?”
Matteo thought.
“Vivian.”
Vivian shook her head.
“Only because I used your files for wedding planning.”
“Anyone else?”
“Raffaele's old assistant.”
The name made everyone stiffen.
“Lucia?”
Matteo nodded.
“She disappeared ten years ago.”
Vivian whispered:
“She wasn't the traitor.”
“Then who?”
Matteo checked the device.
A code appeared.
“It's transmitting from within the villa.”
Alessandro looked toward the walls.
“Find it.”
They tore through the house.
Behind a painting in the dining room, they found a concealed listening device.
The signal led downstairs.
To an old wine cellar.
Alessandro pulled open a stone door.
A narrow tunnel extended beneath the villa.
My stomach dropped.
“Where does it lead?”
Matteo answered:
“Outside the original Moretti estate.”
Alessandro drew his gun.
“I'll go.”
I grabbed his arm.
“I'm coming.”
“No.”
“Daniel is in this.”
“So are you.”
“I need answers.”
He looked at me.
“You have a child.”
“I also have a husband I thought was dead.”
That stopped him.
He nodded.
“Stay beside me.”
We entered the tunnel.
The stone walls were damp.
Emma's blue rabbit was in Matteo's evidence case.
She cried for it.
“Mommy, Mr. Bunny is scared.”
I turned.
“How do you know?”
“He knows where Daddy went.”
The words sent a chill through me.
We reached a hidden room.
Inside were dozens of documents.
Photos.
Maps.
Surveillance records.
And one photograph of me.
At work.
Walking Emma.
Entering my apartment.
Leaving the hospital.
I felt sick.
“Someone has been watching me.”
Alessandro's expression hardened.
“For years.”
Matteo found another file.
“Boss.”
He opened it.
Inside was a birth certificate.
My name.
Lena Claire Bennett.
Mother:
Eleanor Vale.
Father:
Unknown.
I stared.
“That's impossible.”
Alessandro looked at me.
“You told me you were an orphan.”
“I was raised by foster families.”
“Your mother?”
“Dead, I was told.”
He stared at the certificate.
“Eleanor Vale was my aunt.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“She was my father's older sister.”
The room went silent.
I wasn't just connected to his empire through Daniel.
I was connected by blood.
Alessandro looked at me.
“We're family.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He held up the document.
“You share Moretti blood.”
“I don't understand.”
A hidden recording suddenly played.
My husband's voice filled the room.
“Lena, if you're hearing this, they found the file.”
My heart shattered.
Daniel.
Alive.
His voice.
I covered my mouth.
He continued.
“I had no choice but to disappear.”
A second voice followed.
Mine.
But younger.
From an old recording.
I sounded frightened.
Daniel said:
“She doesn't remember.”
My own voice whispered:
“Then keep her that way.”
I stared.
“What is this?”
Alessandro looked stunned.
The recording continued.
Daniel said:
“She can't know what happened to her family.”
Then a woman spoke.
My mother.
“If Lena remembers, the Morettis will come for her.”
My knees nearly gave out.
My life had been built on a lie.
Then the recording changed.
Daniel's voice became urgent.
“And if I disappear, give Emma the rabbit.”
He paused.
“Because when she is old enough, she will lead Lena to the king.”
Alessandro looked at me.
“Me.”
I nodded slowly.
Then the final line of the recording played.
“The traitor is not a Moretti.”
Daniel whispered:
“The traitor is the woman Lena calls her best friend.”
I went cold.
My best friend.
There was only one person who had known every detail of my life.
Every secret.
Every weakness.
My best friend, Sofia.
Alessandro's phone rang.
He answered.
A guard spoke.
“Boss, we've found the second traitor.”
“Who?”
The guard hesitated.
“Your fiancée's assistant.”
Alessandro looked at Vivian.
Vivian's face went pale.
Then Emma screamed.
She pointed behind us.
“Mommy!”
We turned.
A figure stood in the tunnel.
Sofia.
May you like
My best friend.
Holding a gun.
Related Stories
