Chapter 4 - The Mother Behind the Secret
I drove to my mother's mansion before dawn.
Nobody stopped me.
They knew better.
The gates opened.
I entered alone.
My mother's security chief approached.
“Sir, your mother is asleep.”
“She won't be for long.”
I walked into the house.
The hall smelled like roses.
The same perfume my mother had worn when I buried Adrian.
That memory suddenly felt poisoned.
I found her in the library.
Sophia DeLuca stood by the window wearing a silk robe.
She wasn't surprised to see me.
“You look like Adrian.”
I froze.
“What did you say?”
She turned.
“He looked like you when he was angry.”
“Where is Elena?”
Her face changed.
“Who?”
“My daughter isn't missing.”
She blinked.
“Then why did you come here?”
“To ask about Adrian.”
Silence.
My mother sat down.
“You've been digging where you shouldn't.”
“I've spent six years digging in graves.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Matteo…”
“Tell me the truth.”
She looked toward the fireplace.
“I wanted to protect you.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You let me think my brother was dead.”
“Yes.”
“You knew he was alive.”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
The answer hit harder than a bullet.
“Why?”
“Because Adrian asked me to.”
“Why would he ask you?”
“He believed you would destroy yourself trying to find him.”
“I destroyed myself because you told me he was dead.”
“I know.”
I walked away.
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“Where is Claire?”
“I don't know.”
“Elena?”
“I don't know.”
I turned.
“Then tell me something you do know.”
Her face broke.
“Vittorio was trying to protect you.”
I stared at her.
“He told me.”
My mother looked shocked.
“He told you?”
“He told me Adrian contacted him.”
She lowered her head.
“He did.”
“Who took Adrian?”
She hesitated.
Then whispered one name.
“Silas.”
I had heard the name once.
An accountant.
A financier.
A ghost.
He had no family.
No territory.
No obvious empire.
Yet every family owed him money.
Every port had a contract touched by him.
Every major casino had accounts he could access.
“Silas who?”
“Silas Mercer.”
I remembered.
A man who had attended Adrian's funeral.
A quiet man in a gray suit.
A man I barely noticed.
My mother continued.
“Silas wanted the blue book.”
“What was in it?”
“Everything.”
“What everything?”
“Every payment. Every betrayal. Every hidden alliance. Every death that had been arranged.”
I looked at her.
“And Adrian had it?”
“No. Claire did.”
“Why did Silas want Claire?”
“Because she discovered the last part.”
“What last part?”
My mother trembled.
“The war between you and the Carusos was never real.”
I already knew that.
But hearing it from her made it worse.
“Who started it?”
She looked at me.
“Silas.”
“Why?”
“To remove Adrian.”
“Why Adrian?”
“Because your brother wanted out.”
I said nothing.
My mother continued.
“He wanted to take the legal businesses and leave the criminal ones behind. He believed you could do the same.”
I laughed bitterly.
“I became exactly what he hated.”
“He knew.”
“How?”
“He told me.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying again.”
“I swear.”
My phone vibrated.
A video arrived.
Elena sat on a chair.
Claire was beside her.
Both were alive.
A masked man stood behind them.
Then Silas Mercer stepped into the frame.
Older than I remembered.
Calm.
Elegant.
Almost kind.
“Matteo,” he said.
I watched.
“You've spent six years believing power belongs to the man with the biggest army.”
He smiled.
“It doesn't.”
“It belongs to the man who knows what everyone fears losing.”
He looked at Elena.
“I think you understand now.”
He placed a hand on Claire's shoulder.
“Bring the blue book.”
I leaned toward the screen.
Silas smiled.
“You have twenty-four hours.”
The video ended.
My mother whispered.
“You cannot fight him.”
“I don't need to.”
She looked at me.
“Then what will you do?”
I picked up my coat.
“I'll make him believe I am still the man he thinks I am.”
My mother grabbed my wrist.
“Matteo.”
I stopped.
“I lied to you,” she whispered.
“I know.”
“But I never betrayed you.”
I looked at her.
“Not yet.”
I left.
Outside, Vittorio stood beside the car.
“How much did you hear?”
“Enough.”
“Silas?”
He nodded.
“I knew he was involved.”
“You knew everything?”
“No.”
“Did Adrian survive?”
Vittorio looked toward the road.
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
I grabbed his shoulder.
“Then find him.”
He looked at me.
“You still trust me?”
“No.”
He nodded slowly.
“That may be enough.”
We drove toward the old courthouse.
Because Silas had made one mistake.
He believed the blue book was a physical ledger.
But Claire had found the truth.
The book had been copied.
And there was one person besides Claire who knew where the copy was.
Elena.
May you like
Because her mother had hidden it inside the one thing nobody would ever search.
A child's bedtime storybook.
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