Chapter 3: The Man Who Knew My Mother
The world became strangely quiet after those words.
Not peaceful.
Not calm.
Just quiet.
The kind of silence that comes right before something breaks.
“My mother died in a car accident,” I whispered.
Rico didn’t answer.
“Everyone knows that.””
“Everyone was told that.””
I stared at him.
The anger came before the fear.
“You expect me to believe my entire life is a lie?””
“I expect you to understand that Elena was trying to keep you alive.””
“By letting me believe she was gone?””
His jaw tightened.
“She had no choice.””
“Everyone has a choice.””
“Not when someone is hunting them.””
The room felt colder.
I looked around the massive house.
The guards outside.
The locked doors.
The man standing in front of me.
Suddenly, I understood something.
Ricardo Moretti wasn’t keeping me here because he wanted answers.
He was keeping me here because he was scared something would happen to me.
And that scared me more.
“Who is hunting me?””
He didn’t answer.
“Ricardo.””
He walked toward the window.
For several seconds, he just watched the darkness outside.
Then he spoke.
“Your mother was the only person who knew the truth about my family.””
“What truth?””
“That the Moretti empire wasn’t built the way people think.””
I crossed my arms.
“You’re telling me you’re secretly a good person?””
“No.””
The answer was immediate.
I blinked.
He turned around.
“I’ve done things I’m not proud of.””
At least he admitted it.
“But Elena believed people could change.””
I looked at the photograph.
“She believed that about you?””
“Yes.””
“And what happened?””
His expression changed.
“She paid for it.””
The pain in his voice made me look away.
Because suddenly I wasn’t seeing a monster.
I was seeing someone carrying a graveyard inside him.
Before I could ask another question, footsteps echoed from upstairs.
Dante appeared.
His face was serious.
“Boss.””
Rico immediately became alert.
“What?””
“We found something.””
Dante looked at me.
Then hesitated.
“What is it?””
Dante handed him a folder.
Rico opened it.
I watched his eyes move across the pages.
And then I saw something I had never expected.
Fear.
“What?”” I asked.
He closed the folder.
“Nothing.””
“That’s a lie.””
His eyes met mine.
“You really do have Elena’s personality.””
I almost laughed.
Almost.
“Is that supposed to comfort me?””
“No.””
A small silence.
“Because it means you’re going to keep asking questions until you get answers.””
“Correct.””
For the first time, something close to amusement appeared in his eyes.
Then it disappeared.
Dante stepped closer.
“Boss, we need to talk privately.””
“No.””
Dante looked surprised.
Rico continued.
“She deserves to know.””
I looked between them.
“Know what?””
Dante opened the folder.
Inside were documents.
Old ones.
Birth records.
Medical files.
And one photograph.
My hands went cold.
Because the photograph showed my mother.
Holding me.
But beside her was another person.
A man.
A man I had never seen before.
Dante spoke quietly.
“Your mother wasn’t running from Ricardo Moretti.””
I looked at him.
“She was protecting him.””
My eyes moved to Rico.
“From who?””
Nobody answered immediately.
Then Rico said:
“From your father.””
The words didn’t make sense.
“My father?””
The man I had been told abandoned me.
The man I had spent years believing never cared.
Rico nodded slowly.
“Your father wasn’t dead.””
My breathing stopped.
“What?””
“He was alive.””
“Where?””
Rico looked at the photograph.
Then at me.
“He has been watching you for years.””
A cold wave moved through my body.
“No.””
“Clara.””
“No.””
I backed away.
“My father left us.””
Rico’s voice softened.
“That’s what Elena wanted you to believe.””
“Why?””
Before he could answer, every light in the house suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
A second later, alarms began screaming.
Dante immediately pulled his weapon.
Rico moved in front of me without thinking.
Protecting me.
The man everyone feared was shielding me.
Then a voice came through the security speakers.
A voice I had never heard before.
But somehow felt familiar.
“Ricardo.””
Rico froze.
The voice continued.
“You finally found her.””
My heart pounded.
Rico whispered one word.
“No.””
The voice laughed softly.
Then said:
“Hello, Clara.””
I stopped breathing.
May you like
Because the voice belonged to the man who had been dead for twelve years.
My father.
