Chapter 3 - The Powerful Man Who Couldn't Decide Whether to Protect Me or Arrest MeThe attack lasted seven minutes.
It felt like an hour.
Alessandro moved me through a hidden corridor behind the library.
I never knew the room had a secret passage.
He did.
Of course he did.
We entered an underground command room.
Monitors filled the walls.
Security feeds.
Maps.
Vehicle trackers.
Every camera on the estate.
I looked around.
“How many people work for you?”
“Too many.”
“How many are armed?”
“Most.”
“You live like you're expecting war.”
“I am.”
I turned toward him.
“Because of me?”
“No.”
“Then why now?”
He stared at the surveillance screens.
“Because someone has waited twenty-three years.”
“For what?”
“For you.”
I swallowed.
“Why?”
“We don't know yet.”
Dominic entered.
“Boss.”
He was bleeding.
“Are you hurt?”
“Scratch.”
Alessandro ignored it.
“Report.”
“Three intruders dead.”
“Captures?”
“One.”
“Bring him.”
Dominic nodded.
Before leaving, he looked at me.
Not suspicious.
Concerned.
That worried me.
“Why does everyone know who I am except me?”
Nobody answered.
We waited.
The captured man was dragged into the room.
He was older.
Gray hair.
Blood on his shirt.
Alessandro stood before him.
“Who sent you?”
The man smiled.
“No one.”
Alessandro pulled a chair forward.
“Try again.”
“Vale.”
“What does he want?”
“You.”
“Why?”
The man laughed.
“Not you.”
His eyes moved to me.
“Her.”
I felt cold.
“Why?”
“Because her father left something.”
“The box?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“The girl.”
I frowned.
Alessandro's expression darkened.
The man suddenly bit something between his teeth.
Dominic reacted too late.
The man collapsed.
Dead.
I stared.
“Poison.”
Dominic nodded.
Alessandro looked at me.
“Welcome to the Moretti family.”
I almost laughed.
“I don't want to be part of your family.”
“I know.”
“Then let me leave.”
“No.”
I glared.
“You kidnapped me?”
“I protected you.”
“You locked me in a library.”
“To keep assassins from reaching you.”
“You think I should thank you?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I need answers.”
I shook my head.
“So do I.”
He studied me.
Then:
“Let's start with your grandmother.”
We drove to the hospital.
Security surrounded the building.
My grandmother's room was empty.
The bed was made.
The oxygen machine was disconnected.
My world stopped.
“No.”
I ran inside.
“Grandma!”
Nothing.
Alessandro grabbed my shoulder.
“Don't.”
I fought him.
“Let me go!”
“Look.”
A note lay on the pillow.
I picked it up.
Elena,
I am sorry.
I should have told you everything.
Your father was alive after the warehouse fire.
He came to me once.
He told me to hide you.
My hands shook.
The note continued.
He said Alessandro would eventually find you.
I looked at Alessandro.
My grandmother knew he would come.
The final line:
Trust him when he tells you the truth.
I stared.
“Where is she?”
Alessandro's face tightened.
“She was taken.”
“By whom?”
“Vale.”
“Then find her.”
“I will.”
“Now.”
He nodded.
We left.
In the car, I opened the black box again.
The brass key was still there.
So was the photograph.
The letter remained sealed.
I stared at the key.
“What does this open?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why did my father leave it?”
“Because he wanted you to find it.”
I looked at him.
“Why me?”
“Because you're his daughter.”
“That doesn't answer anything.”
“It might.”
I looked at the photograph again.
Three men.
My father.
Alessandro's father.
Theodore Vale.
On the back was a date.
Twenty-four years earlier.
And one word.
BLOOD.
I touched it.
The photograph slid apart.
A hidden compartment appeared.
Inside was a tiny memory card.
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
“What is it?”
“I don't know.”
He inserted it.
A video appeared.
My father's face filled the screen.
I stopped breathing.
“Hello, Elena.”
Tears came instantly.
“I don't know how old you'll be when you see this.”
“But if you are seeing it, then my worst fears came true.”
He looked exhausted.
“Your mother is gone.”
“She chose to leave.”
“Not because she didn't love you.”
“Because she wanted to keep you alive.”
I covered my mouth.
“My daughter, there are people who believe our family owns too much.”
“They are wrong.”
“Our greatest inheritance isn't money.”
“It is information.”
He looked directly at the camera.
“The black box contains the key to everything.”
Alessandro leaned closer.
“Do not trust Theodore Vale.”
“He has been using the Moretti family for decades.”
“Alessandro may not know the truth.”
“Do not blame him.”
Then my father said something that made my heart stop.
“Your future depends on him.”
The video ended.
Silence.
I looked at Alessandro.
“What did he mean?”
He didn't answer.
“Tell me.”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I wish I were.”
A phone rang.
Dominic answered.
His face changed.
He looked at us.
“We found your grandmother.”
My heart jumped.
“Where?”
“Dead.”
Everything inside me went still.
“She was moved from the hospital.”
“Where?”
“A warehouse.”
Alessandro looked at me.
“I’m coming with you.”
“You shouldn't.”
“You're not going alone.”
He stared.
“I said I'm coming.”
I nodded.
Then looked at the black box.
For the first time, I understood why the experts had failed.
They had tried to open an object.
My father had created a story.
May you like
A story meant for one person.
Me.
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