Chapter 4 - Marello Took Us to a Hidden Estate and Told Leo the Truth About His Father—But That Night, Someone Broke Into the Nursery Without Touching a Single LockThe safe estate was hidden in the mountains.
Leo loved it.
He found horses.
Trees.
A small lake.
For the first time, I watched my son behave like an ordinary seven-year-old.
Marello watched him.
He didn't know what to do.
One afternoon, Leo asked:
“Do you know how to fish?”
Marello shook his head.
“No.”
“I'll teach you.”
That was the beginning.
They became close quickly.
Too quickly.
I think Marello was trying to recover seven years in seven days.
He learned Leo's favorite food.
His fears.
His favorite stories.
The way he slept with one foot outside the blanket.
One night, Leo asked:
“Why did you leave?”
Marello looked at me.
I shook my head.
“You don't have to.”
But Marello answered.
“I didn't leave.”
Leo frowned.
“I was told you were gone.”
“Who?”
“People who lied.”
Leo looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because they were afraid.”
“Of you?”
“No.”
He smiled.
“Of you.”
Leo didn't understand.
Maybe he didn't need to.
That night, someone entered the nursery.
No alarms.
No broken windows.
No forced lock.
They simply appeared.
The camera showed a figure wearing a maid's uniform.
The woman approached Leo's bed.
Then stopped.
Someone else entered.
The lights went out.
When the backup system returned, both figures were gone.
Leo was still asleep.
Nothing had been taken.
Except one thing.
His favorite stuffed wolf.
Marello stared at the footage.
“Why take a toy?”
I asked.
“Because it contains a tracker.”
He was right.
The wolf had a small tracking device hidden inside.
Someone had been following us.
Marello's face hardened.
“They found us.”
We evacuated before dawn.
The wolf was destroyed.
But the tracker had transmitted for seventeen minutes.
Enough.
The chase began.
Three vehicles followed us down the mountain.
Marello's men blocked them.
We escaped.
But one attacker was captured.
He refused to talk.
Until Marello showed him Leo's photograph.
“You have five seconds.”
The man laughed.
“Your son was never the target.”
Marello froze.
“Then who?”
“You.”
“Why?”
“Because everyone wants the empire.”
The man smiled.
“Leo simply proves you have something to lose.”
Marello killed the lights.
The man's body stiffened.
“What?”
He had been carrying an encrypted phone.
Inside were messages.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Vittorio.
Marello stared.
May you like
His uncle was alive.
And he was directing the entire operation.
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