Chapter 5 - The Secret Inside Lucia's BraceletWe hid in an old countryside estate.
It had once belonged to my father.
No one knew I still owned it.
For the first time in years, I slept without armed guards outside my bedroom.
But sleep wouldn't come.
Elena sat across from me.
Lucia slept upstairs.
I watched Elena's face in the candlelight.
“How did you survive?”
“The explosion threw me into a drainage tunnel.”
“And the baby?”
“She was already born.”
I stared at her.
“You had her before the explosion?”
Elena nodded.
“Lucia was six months old.”
My chest tightened.
“You lied to me.”
“I had no choice.”
She pulled a photograph from her pocket.
“You were supposed to meet us that night.”
“I remember.”
“But Moretti knew.”
She explained everything.
Moretti had discovered that Elena was preparing to expose him.
He planted the bomb.
He intended to kill all three of us.
Elena escaped with Lucia.
But she was badly injured.
Ricardo found her.
Together, they created the illusion of death.
They hid Lucia.
They waited.
For eight years.
“You should have trusted me.”
“I did.”
“Then why?”
“Because I knew you.”
She smiled sadly.
“You would have declared war on the entire city.”
“I would have.”
“And Moretti would have won.”
I looked away.
She was right.
Then Lucia appeared at the stairs.
“Daddy?”
I turned.
She held the bracelet.
“Mommy says you need to see this.”
Elena's face changed.
“Lucia, no.”
The girl pulled the bracelet off.
Inside the metal clasp was a tiny memory card.
I stared.
“How?”
“Elena had it made before the explosion.”
We inserted it into a secure laptop.
A video appeared.
Moretti stood in a dark room.
Beside him were several politicians.
Then my father appeared.
I froze.
My father had been dead for fifteen years.
But the video was dated nine years ago.
Impossible.
He wasn't dead.
He was alive.
And he was speaking to Moretti.
“The boy is ready,” my father said.
“Adriano?”
“Yes.”
“He believes he's building his own empire.”
Moretti laughed.
“Let him believe it.”
The video ended.
I couldn't move.
Elena touched my shoulder.
“Your father was involved.”
My voice was barely audible.
“He was supposed to be dead.”
“He disappeared.”
“And you've known?”
“I discovered it six years ago.”
I stood.
“Where is he?”
Elena looked at me.
“In a private hospital outside the country.”
I stared at the screen.
For eight years, I had blamed Ricardo.
For eight years, I had believed Elena was dead.
But the truth was much worse.
My father had built the empire.
Moretti had controlled it.
And I had spent my life believing I was the king.
I was only a piece.
Then the house alarm screamed.
Victor ran inside.
“Boss!”
“What?”
“We have company.”
“How many?”
He looked through the window.
“Too many.”
Then every light in the estate went out.
A voice came through the darkness.
“Adriano.”
I recognized it.
May you like
My father's voice.
“Come outside, son.”
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