Chapter 4 - The Man Behind the Curtain
I found my mother two days later.
Her name was Eleanor now.
She lived in a small town near Lancaster.
When she opened the door, I saw an older version of the woman I remembered.
Same eyes.
Same smile.
Different sorrow.
She pulled me into her arms.
I cried like a child.
For hours, we talked.
I learned why she left.
Victor had threatened my father's life.
Then my father discovered that Victor planned to use me as leverage.
My parents agreed that I would be sent to my aunt.
My mother disappeared.
My father continued the investigation.
Then he died.
But he had never stopped collecting evidence.
“He trusted Nico,” my mother said.
“Did he?”
“Yes.”
“Enough to put me with him?”
“Yes.”
I looked down.
“Then why did he warn me?”
“Because trust and safety are not the same.”
She explained that my father's last investigation centered on a hidden financial system.
Victor had been stealing money from the organization and blaming losses on rival groups.
He was preparing a coup.
But there was another secret.
Nico's father had discovered Victor's plan years ago.
Instead of killing him, he tried to expose him.
Victor retaliated by engineering the deaths of several witnesses.
Nico's father died shortly afterward.
Nico was twenty-one.
He inherited an empire he had never wanted.
He became hard because he believed weakness killed his father.
My mother touched my hand.
“You were the only part of his life that made him human.”
I almost laughed.
“He didn't seem to care.”
“He cared so much he was willing to make you hate him.”
That hurt.
It was becoming harder to separate Nico's cruelty from his fear.
I still didn't forgive him.
Not yet.
That evening, my mother gave me another box.
Inside was a USB drive.
“Your father wanted you to have this only when you were ready.”
I inserted it into my laptop.
There were videos.
Documents.
Bank records.
One file was labeled:
VALENTI SUCCESSION.
Another:
VICTOR VALENTI.
And the last:
NICO — PROTECTIVE PLAN.
I opened it.
My father's voice filled the room.
“Nico doesn't know I'm recording this.”
I sat motionless.
“He will probably hate me for what I'm about to do.”
The video showed my father speaking to someone off-camera.
“You're going to bring Clara into his life.”
A man's voice answered.
Nico.
“You're asking me to use her.”
“No. I'm asking you to protect her.”
“I don't know her.”
“You will.”
My heart pounded.
Then Nico said something that shattered everything I thought I knew.
“What if she doesn't want me?”
My father laughed softly.
“Then you leave her alone.”
The recording ended.
I replayed it.
Nico had known my name before we met.
But he had not known me.
Our first meeting had been arranged.
At least, the opportunity for it had been.
I couldn't breathe.
My mother watched me.
“You're angry.”
“Yes.”
“You have every right.”
I stared at the screen.
“I need to know what was real.”
She nodded.
“That is why your father left the files.”
Across the city, Nico was confronting Victor.
The warehouse smelled of oil and dust.
Victor sat at a metal table.
He was older now.
His hair gray.
His face expressionless.
“You loved her,” Victor said.
Nico stared.
“Don't speak about her.”
Victor smiled.
“That is exactly why I chose her.”
Nico's blood ran cold.
“You sent those threats.”
“Yes.”
“The photographs?”
“Yes.”
“The restaurant?”
“Yes.”
Nico's eyes became deadly.
“You tried to kill her.”
“I frightened her.”
“You poisoned her?”
“One of your rivals did that. I simply made sure you blamed yourself.”
Nico stepped forward.
Victor laughed.
“You always were predictable.”
“You used Clara to hurt me.”
“No.”
Victor leaned closer.
“I used Clara to expose you.”
Nico frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“You've spent years building a business empire while secretly maintaining control over the old organization.”
“Not anymore.”
“You think giving up the criminal side changes anything?”
“Yes.”
Victor smiled.
“Then why are your accounts still tied to the old families?”
Nico said nothing.
Victor slid a folder across the table.
Inside were transfers.
Several companies linked to Nico had been moving money without his knowledge.
Millions.
Arthur stared.
“They're framing us.”
Victor nodded.
“Now you're listening.”
“Who is working for you?”
Victor smiled.
“Look at the transfers.”
Nico read the names.
Then his face changed.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Arthur Hale.
Arthur saw it.
“No.”
Victor stood.
“Your lieutenant.”
Nico turned toward Arthur.
For a second, neither man moved.
Then Arthur said, “It's not what you think.”
Nico's hand moved toward his weapon.
Arthur raised both hands.
“I have worked for you for fifteen years. You know me.”
“I know what the records say.”
“Then ask why.”
Nico's voice went quiet.
“Why?”
Arthur looked at Victor.
“Because I was trying to find the money before he did.”
Victor laughed.
“Tell him.”
Arthur's jaw tightened.
“I've been running a parallel investigation.”
“Without telling me?”
“I couldn't.”
Nico looked betrayed.
Arthur finally said the words.
“Because someone in this room is recording everything.”
A red light blinked beneath the table.
They all froze.
Victor smiled.
“Too late.”
A gunshot shattered the warehouse windows.
Men stormed the building.
Arthur pulled Nico down.
The fight lasted less than a minute.
Victor vanished through a rear exit.
But Arthur grabbed the recording device.
“We have proof.”
Nico stared at him.
Then he asked one question.
“Did you know Clara was going to leave?”
Arthur shook his head.
“No.”
“Did you know who her parents were?”
“Yes.”
Nico looked at him.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because her father made me promise.”
Nico exhaled.
“You all knew.”
“Not everything.”
Nico looked broken.
For three years, he'd thought he was protecting me from his world.
He hadn't realized that everyone around him had been protecting secrets from him.
Meanwhile, I watched the final video from my father.
He said:
“If Nico ever hurts you without explanation, do not make excuses for him. Make him tell the truth.”
I closed the laptop.
Then I picked up my phone.
For the first time since leaving, I called Nico.
He answered on the first ring.
“Clara.”
I swallowed.
“I know.”
Silence.
“You know what?”
“That we were supposed to meet.”
His breathing changed.
“Who told you?”
“My father.”
Nico sat down.
“I wanted to tell you.”
“When?”
“When I knew how.”
“You had three years.”
“I know.”
I closed my eyes.
“Did you ever love me?”
His answer came immediately.
“Yes.”
“Before you met me?”
“No.”
“After?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you say I stayed because I was comfortable?”
He was silent.
Then he said, “Because I thought if you hated me, you would be safer.”
I whispered, “You don't get to decide how I love you.”
“I know.”
“Do you still want me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Another silence.
Then his voice broke.
“Because losing you has made me understand that I never owned your love.”
I closed my eyes.
“I need time.”
“I'll give you all the time you need.”
“Don't follow me.”
“I won't.”
“Don't send anyone.”
“I won't.”
“Then maybe someday we'll talk.”
He whispered, “Okay.”
I ended the call.
May you like
But for the first time, leaving no longer felt like running.
It felt like choosing.
