Chapter 4 - The Father Who Returned From The Dead
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The only sound inside Maria Rossi’s old bedroom was the heavy rain hitting the windows.
Leo stood frozen.
The man in the doorway was impossible.
A ghost from the past.
A face he had seen inside old photographs.
A man he had buried in his memories.
His father.
Victor Rossi.
“You…”
Leo’s voice cracked.
“You’re dead.”
Victor smiled.
A cold, emotionless smile.
“Apparently, I’m not.”
Clare stood behind Leo, confused and terrified.
She had heard stories about the Rossi family.
Everyone had.
But nobody ever mentioned this.
Nobody said the former head of the Rossi empire was alive.
Leo slowly stepped forward.
“How long?”
Victor tilted his head.
“How long what?”
“How long have you been alive?”
Victor looked around the room.
“The same amount of time your mother has been.”
Leo felt his heart stop.
“You know where she is?”
Victor didn’t answer.
And that silence was worse than any confession.
“You know.”
Leo’s voice became darker.
“You knew she was alive.”
Victor looked at his son.
“You always were too emotional.”
“And you always asked questions you couldn’t handle.”
Clare watched the two men.
The hatred between them was not new.
It had been growing for years.
Leo clenched his fists.
“You let me believe she was dead.”
Victor sighed.
“I protected you.”
“You stole my mother from me.”
“I saved you from the truth.”
Leo laughed bitterly.
“The truth?”
“The truth is that you are a liar.”
Victor’s expression changed slightly.
The first sign of anger.
“Be careful.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Leo stepped closer.
“I know enough.”
“My mother wrote me a letter.”
For the first time, Victor looked worried.
Only for a second.
But Leo saw it.
And that was enough.
“You’re afraid.”
Victor said nothing.
“You’re afraid because she left proof.”
The room became colder.
Then Victor looked at Clare.
“And who is this?”
Leo immediately stepped between them.
“She helped me find the truth.”
Victor studied her.
A poor housekeeper.
Simple clothes.
Someone who should never have been involved in the Rossi family’s secrets.
Then Victor smiled.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“My wife spent years hiding from powerful people.”
“And now the person who found her is someone nobody would notice.”
Clare felt uncomfortable.
“What does that mean?”
Victor ignored her.
“Leo.”
“You don’t understand what you’re opening.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“No.”
Victor shook his head.
“You think this is about your mother.”
“It isn’t.”
“Then what is it about?”
Victor looked directly at him.
“It’s about the people who wanted her gone.”
Leo froze.
“Who?”
Victor walked away.
“You’re not ready.”
Leo followed.
“You don’t get to disappear again.”
But Victor stopped at the doorway.
Before leaving, he said one thing.
“Ask yourself why your mother trusted a stranger more than her own family.”
Then he disappeared.
Later that night, Leo sat in his office.
The letter from his mother remained open on the desk.
Clare stood nearby.
“Do you believe him?”
Leo stared at the paper.
“No.”
Then he paused.
“But I believe he knows something.”
Clare looked down.
“Leo.”
“Yes?”
“What if your mother really is alive?”
Leo didn’t answer.
Because that question hurt more than anything.
Hope was dangerous.
Especially after twenty years of grief.
Suddenly, Daniel rushed into the room.
“Leo.”
“What happened?”
“We found something.”
Daniel placed a file on the table.
“It’s about your mother.”
Leo opened it.
Inside was a recent photograph.
An elderly woman sitting in a small house.
Alive.
Leo stared.
His breathing stopped.
Because underneath the photograph was a name.
Not Maria Rossi.
A different name.
A fake identity.
And below it was a location.
Boston.
The same city where Clare found her.
Leo looked at Clare.
“She’s there.”
But neither of them noticed the shadow outside the office.
Someone listening.
Someone who heard everything.
Someone who immediately picked up a phone.
“The boy knows.”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“He found the woman.”
Another pause.
May you like
Then the voice answered:
“Then finish what we started twenty years ago.”
