Chapter 3: The Secret Her Father Took to His Grave
Luca Costello had spent twelve years believing his greatest enemy was the weakness of his own body.
He was wrong.
His enemy had been sitting beside him.
Eating at his table.
Managing his company.
Calling himself a friend.
The message on his phone remained on the screen long after the call ended.
*Ask your maid what her husband knew before he died.*
A normal person might have dismissed it.
A cruel joke.
A threat from a rival.
An attempt to create suspicion.
But Luca had built his fortune by understanding one simple truth:
People rarely reveal information they don’t want discovered.
Someone wanted him to ask about Daniel Reyes.
The question was why.
Across the desk, Ethan watched him carefully.
“Luca.””
No response.
“Luca.””
He finally looked up.
“Find everything on Daniel Reyes.””
Ethan frowned.
“Amelia’s father?””
“Yes.””
“You think the maid’s husband is connected?””
“I think someone wants me to think he is.””
Ethan crossed his arms.
“And that bothers you?””
“It means whoever is behind this is still watching.””
The old Luca would have attacked immediately.
He would have gathered his lawyers, security team, investigators, and destroyed anyone standing in his way.
But twelve years in a wheelchair had taught him patience.
Pain had a way of changing people.
Some became bitter.
Some became afraid.
Luca became observant.
He learned to wait.
To watch.
To let people reveal themselves.
“Quietly,” Luca said.
“No official records. No company resources.””
Ethan nodded.
“Why?””
“Because if Victor has been hiding something for twelve years, he knows exactly how I investigate.””
A shadow crossed Ethan’s face.
“You really believe Victor is involved?””
Luca looked at the window.
Outside, Amelia was sitting on the grass near the hedge, drawing something with a piece of chalk she had found.
The same child who had walked into his world without fear.
The same child who had asked questions everyone else avoided.
“I believe,” Luca said slowly, “that I no longer know who I can trust.””
Mrs. Reyes found him later that afternoon in the garden.
Not because he called for her.
Because Amelia had left her drawing behind.
A small paper rested on the ground beside the baseball field.
Luca picked it up.
It showed a person sitting in a wheelchair.
Above the person was a sun.
Above the sun was a question mark.
He stared at it longer than he expected.
Then he heard footsteps.
“Mr. Costello?””
He turned.
Mrs. Reyes stood at the edge of the garden.
Her expression changed when she saw the drawing.
“I’m sorry.””
“Why?””
“She shouldn’t draw things like that.””
“Like what?””
She walked closer.
“Things she doesn’t understand.””
Luca held up the paper.
“Do you understand?””
Mrs. Reyes stopped.
The silence answered before she did.
“Yes,” she whispered.
That single word changed everything.
Luca looked at her.
“You know something.””
She immediately shook her head.
“No.””
“You do.””
“I don’t.””
“You’re a terrible liar.””
The woman looked almost offended.
“I’m not lying.””
“You looked afraid yesterday when I mentioned my legs.””
She lowered her eyes.
“Because Amelia talks too much.””
“That’s not the reason.””
Mrs. Reyes said nothing.
Luca moved closer.
“Who was Daniel Reyes?””
Her face went pale.
The reaction was immediate.
Like he had opened a door she had spent years keeping locked.
“How do you know that name?””
“So you admit there’s something to know.””
She looked around nervously.
“Mr. Costello, you should not ask questions about my husband.””
“Why?””
“Because people who asked questions before…”
She stopped.
Luca noticed.
“Before what?””
Her fingers tightened around the edge of her apron.
“Before they disappeared.””
The words were quiet.
But they carried weight.
“Who disappeared?””
Mrs. Reyes looked at him.
“You really don’t remember.””
The sentence made his stomach tighten.
“What don’t I remember?””
She shook her head.
“I shouldn’t have said anything.””
She turned away.
“Wait.””
She stopped.
“Mrs. Reyes.””
Slowly, she looked back.
“Tell me the truth.””
Her eyes became wet.
“Mr. Costello, my husband died because he tried to tell you the truth.””
The garden went silent.
Luca felt the air leave his lungs.
“What?””
“Daniel worked here.””
“I know he was employed by my company.””
“No.””
Her voice trembled.
“He didn’t work for your company.””
She looked toward the house.
“He worked for your father.””
That evening, Luca asked Ethan to meet him in the old family archive room.
A place he had not entered since before the accident.
The room smelled like dust and old paper.
His father had collected everything.
Contracts.
Letters.
Photographs.
Private records.
Luca remembered being a child and seeing his father spend hours inside.
He used to joke that the room contained more secrets than the family itself.
Now Luca wondered if that had been true.
Ethan placed a file box on the table.
“Daniel Reyes.””
Luca opened it.
Inside was an employee record.
Not from Costello Maritime.
From his father’s private staff.
“Security assistant?”” Luca asked.
“Officially.””
“Unofficially?””
Ethan looked at the documents.
“Your father trusted him.””
Luca continued reading.
Daniel Reyes had worked for the family for fifteen years.
He had access to properties.
Vehicles.
Private meetings.
Sensitive information.
Then Luca saw the date.
The final year Daniel worked for them.
The year of the accident.
“Why did I never know about him?””
Ethan hesitated.
“Because after your father died, most of his personal records were transferred.””
“To Victor?””
“Yes.””
Luca closed his eyes.
Another connection.
Another piece.
Victor had controlled everything after his father’s death.
The company.
The records.
The investigation.
His recovery.
Everything.
“What happened to Daniel?””
Ethan looked uncomfortable.
“He resigned six months before your accident.””
“Why?””
“No official reason.””
Luca looked at the file.
“And unofficially?””
Ethan turned the page.
“There’s a report.””
Luca read it.
A security incident.
A disagreement between Daniel Reyes and Victor Moretti.
No details.
Only one line.
*Reyes claimed the accident investigation had been manipulated.*
Luca’s hands went still.
“He knew.””
“Yes.””
“He knew.””
Ethan nodded.
“Apparently.””
Luca looked at the report.
For twelve years, everyone had told him the same thing.
The crash was random.
A tragic accident.
But Daniel Reyes had believed otherwise.
And he had tried to say something.
“Find out how he died.””
Ethan’s expression changed.
“Luca.””
“Find out.””
“Are you sure?””
Luca looked at him.
“No.””
A pause.
“I’m terrified.””
Ethan was surprised.
Luca Costello did not admit fear.
Not publicly.
Not privately.
But now he did.
“Because if this is true…”
He looked at his useless legs.
“If someone did this to me, then I spent twelve years mourning a life I was never supposed to lose.””
The next morning, Luca found Amelia sitting outside the kitchen.
She was eating cereal from a small plastic bowl.
When she saw him, she smiled.
“You’re early.””
Luca stopped.
“Early for what?””
“Being sad.””
He stared at her.
“You always talk like that?””
“Yes.””
“Does your mother know?””
“Yes.””
“Does she like it?””
Amelia thought.
“Sometimes.””
Luca sat across from her.
“Amelia.””
She looked up.
“Did your father know me?””
The girl stopped eating.
Not dramatically.
Not like an adult hiding something.
Like a child remembering something.
“Yes.””
Luca leaned forward.
“How?””
“He talked about you.””
“What did he say?””
She looked down.
“He said you were different before.””
“Before what?””
“Before you stopped walking.””
The answer hurt more than he expected.
“What else?””
Amelia traced a circle on the table.
“He said you used to look at people.””
Luca frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“He said after the accident, you only looked at problems.””
The words were painful because they were true.
Then Amelia reached into her pocket.
“I have something.””
She pulled out a small metal object.
Old.
Scratched.
A tiny key.
Luca stared.
“Where did you get that?””
“My dad gave it to me.””
“When?””
“Before he died.””
Luca’s heartbeat changed.
“What did he tell you?””
Amelia looked toward the hallway.
Then whispered.
“He said if the man in the wheelchair ever asked about him…”
She placed the key in Luca’s hand.
“I should give this back.””
Luca stared at the key.
His fingers tightened around it.
“What does it open?””
Amelia shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“Your father never told you?””
“No.””
“Why?””
She looked at him.
“Because he said the wrong people were listening.””
A cold feeling moved through Luca.
Then Amelia said something that made his entire body freeze.
“He also said…”
She lowered her voice.
“Your accident happened because you found the same thing he found.””
Luca looked at the little girl.
“What thing?””
Amelia opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, the kitchen lights suddenly flickered.
The security alarm screamed.
Every employee in the house froze.
Ethan’s voice came through Luca’s earpiece.
“Luca.””
The urgency in his tone was unmistakable.
“What happened?””
A pause.
Then Ethan answered.
“Someone broke into the archive room.””
Luca’s grip tightened around the key.
“Did they steal anything?””
Another pause.
“Yes.””
“What?””
Ethan’s voice dropped.
“Daniel Reyes’ file.””
Luca looked at Amelia.
The girl’s face had gone pale.
Then Ethan added one more sentence.
“The intruder left something behind.””
“What?””
A long silence.
Then:
“A photograph.””
Luca felt his blood run cold.
“Of what?””
Ethan answered quietly.
“Of you.””
May you like
A pause.
“Taken the night of the accident.””
