Chapter 10 - THE FILE DANIEL HID FOR YEARS
The message appeared on every screen in the Moretti estate.
THE TRUTH WILL DESTROY THE MORETTI FAMILY.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Even the security team standing outside looked uncertain.
Because this wasn’t a normal threat.
It was personal.
Someone wanted the Morettis to know they were being watched.
Lorenzo stared at the screen.
His face had changed.
The confidence.
The control.
The powerful image everyone knew.
It was gone.
For the first time, I saw the man behind the name.
A man who was afraid.
“Who sent this?” I asked.
Nobody answered.
I looked at Lorenzo.
“You know.”
His eyes remained on the screen.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
A long silence followed.
Then he said:
“Someone who was supposed to be dead.”
The words made everyone turn.
Isabella stepped forward.
“That’s impossible.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
“You know it isn’t.”
Her face became pale.
“Don’t say his name.”
I felt a chill.
“Whose name?”
Lorenzo closed his eyes.
“Matteo.”
The room became silent.
I looked at Isabella.
“Who is Matteo?”
She hesitated.
Then answered:
“The oldest Moretti brother.”
My heart tightened.
“Another brother?”
“Yes.”
“Daniel never mentioned him.”
Lorenzo looked down.
“Because Matteo disappeared fifteen years ago.”
Victor laughed quietly.
“Disappeared?”
Everyone looked at him.
Victor shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at Lorenzo.
“You buried him.”
The accusation hit the room like a storm.
I looked at Lorenzo.
“Is that true?”
His jaw tightened.
“Not the way Victor wants you to believe.”
“Then explain.”
But before Lorenzo could answer, the alarm sounded again.
This time, not from outside.
From inside.
Someone had entered the archive room.
The archive room was located beneath the west wing.
A place I didn’t even know existed.
When we entered, old documents covered the tables.
Boxes were opened.
Files were scattered everywhere.
Someone had been searching for something.
Isabella walked toward one specific cabinet.
Her hands trembled.
“No…”
“What?” I asked.
She opened it.
Empty.
“What was inside?”
She looked at me.
“The Daniel file.”
My heart stopped.
“The file about his disappearance?”
“Yes.”
Lorenzo moved closer.
“Someone took it.”
Victor stared at the empty cabinet.
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
He whispered:
“They didn’t take it.”
A pause.
“They found it.”
That night, nobody slept.
The estate had become a place full of locked doors and hidden truths.
But the biggest question remained.
Why was Mia involved?
Why did Daniel leave messages for a child who was too young to understand them?
I sat beside Mia’s bed.
She was drawing.
A house.
A family.
And four people standing outside.
I looked at the picture.
“Mia, sweetheart.”
“Yes, Mama?”
“Who are these people?”
She pointed.
“This is me.”
Then she pointed.
“This is you.”
Then she pointed at a tall figure.
“Daddy.”
My throat tightened.
“And who are these two?”
Mia looked confused.
“I don’t know.”
She tapped the paper.
“But Daddy said they were waiting.”
I froze.
“What did he say?”
She looked up.
“Daddy said…”
Her small voice became quieter.
“‘When the door opens, don’t trust the person smiling.’”
My blood ran cold.
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Because at that exact moment...
someone knocked on my door.
