Chapter 3 - The Woman in the Locked House
The next morning, Dante showed Isabella the file.
It contained photographs, dates, surveillance reports, and old handwritten notes.
At the center was one image.
A woman standing outside a country house.
Isabella recognized her immediately.
"Your mother."
"Yes."
"Where is she?"
"She lives there."
"Then why is she hidden?"
Dante looked exhausted.
"Because she witnessed something twenty years ago."
"What?"
He slid another photograph across the desk.
A younger Stefano Moretti.
Standing beside a young Marco Bianchi.
Isabella's stomach tightened.
"Marco?"
"My security chief."
"Your Marco?"
"Yes."
She looked up.
"How long have you suspected him?"
"Years."
"And Valentina knows?"
"She suspected him."
"Then why is she wearing your shirt?"
Dante almost smiled.
"Because she's terrible at choosing clothes."
Isabella stared at him.
He finally laughed.
It was the first time all night.
But the laughter disappeared quickly.
The investigation accelerated.
Valentina decrypted the memory card.
The files showed payments between several companies.
At first, nothing tied directly to Marco.
Then Sofia found something.
A repeated code.
M-17.
"It appears in every transfer," she said.
Dante frowned.
"My mother used that code."
Isabella looked at him.
"Could it mean something personal?"
Valentina nodded.
"It might be a location code."
They tracked it to a warehouse.
But before they went, Dante insisted Isabella stay behind.
She refused.
"You're not leaving me again."
"Bella."
"No."
"This is dangerous."
"So is being kept ignorant."
Valentina smiled faintly.
"I like her."
Dante gave her a warning look.
"Don't."
"Sorry."
They went to the warehouse.
It was abandoned.
Too abandoned.
Dante realized the trap seconds before the explosion.
He pushed Isabella behind a concrete barrier.
Glass shattered.
Smoke filled the building.
Valentina screamed.
They regrouped outside.
Nobody was seriously hurt.
But the warehouse contained a hidden room.
Inside was an old tape recorder.
Dante pressed play.
A woman's voice emerged.
His mother.
"If you found this, it means Marco has finally moved."
Dante stopped breathing.
Her voice continued.
"He thinks Stefano is the mastermind."
"But Stefano is only a piece."
Dante looked at Isabella.
"Who is she talking about?"
Then the answer came.
"My son."
The room froze.
Dante's face went white.
The recording continued.
"Dante, if you're listening, forgive me."
"My silence was meant to protect you."
"You were sixteen when you saw your father killed."
Isabella looked at him.
He had never told her that.
"You were told he died in a car accident."
Another pause.
"He did not."
Dante closed his eyes.
"Marco killed him."
The recording went on.
"But not because he wanted control."
"Someone paid him."
"And the person who paid him was..."
The tape cut out.
"Damn it!" Dante shouted.
Valentina stared at the recorder.
"Someone erased the rest."
Isabella touched Dante's arm.
He shook.
"Are you okay?"
"No."
He looked at her.
"My whole life is a lie."
She held his face.
"Not your whole life."
"What if it is?"
"You chose me."
He closed his eyes.
"That's the one thing I'm certain of."
They returned to the estate.
That evening, Isabella secretly broke Dante's security perimeter for the first time.
She entered the restricted archive room.
She wasn't looking for money.
She wanted answers.
In an old locked drawer, she found a file.
M-17.
Inside was a photograph.
Dante's father.
Marco.
And a fourth man.
The face was partly obscured.
But Isabella knew him.
She had seen him at the estate many times.
Her breath caught.
Richard.
Her former manager.
The man who had once worked for Dante's family.
She dropped the photograph.
Someone appeared behind her.
Valentina.
"You found him."
Isabella turned.
"You knew?"
"Not his identity."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I wasn't sure."
Isabella looked at the picture.
"Richard is involved."
Valentina nodded.
"And if he's involved, your husband isn't just being attacked from outside."
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"What do you mean?"
"The enemy is already inside your life."
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