Chapter 13 - THE LAST PERSON DANIEL TRUSTED
For several seconds, nobody in the hidden room moved.
Mia’s small voice kept repeating in my head.
“Daddy said the person who hurt him was someone he loved.”
Not a stranger.
Not an enemy.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
I looked at Isabella.
She stood completely still.
The woman who always seemed impossible to break was now trembling.
“Isabella…”
My voice was barely a whisper.
“Tell me the truth.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I wanted to.”
“But you didn’t.”
She looked down.
“No.”
That answer hurt more than a lie.
Because it meant she had been carrying the truth all along.
Lorenzo stepped forward.
“Isabella.”
She looked at him.
And for the first time, there was no authority between them.
Only pain.
“How long?”
Her lips trembled.
“Since the night Daniel disappeared.”
The room went silent.
I felt my chest tighten.
“You saw him.”
“Yes.”
“And you let me believe he abandoned us?”
She closed her eyes.
“I had no choice.”
I laughed bitterly.
“No choice?”
My voice broke.
“I spent years wondering why I wasn’t enough for him to stay.”
“Clara…”
“No.”
I wiped my tears.
“You don’t get to say my name like you understand.”
Isabella walked toward the table.
She picked up an old photograph.
“Daniel came to me because he knew someone was after him.”
“Who?”
She looked at Lorenzo.
Then at Victor’s message still frozen on the screen.
“Matteo.”
Everyone froze.
Lorenzo’s expression changed.
“But Matteo was gone.”
“No.”
Isabella shook her head.
“He was never gone.”
The truth finally started coming out.
Fifteen years earlier, Matteo Moretti had discovered that Daniel was investigating the family’s hidden operations.
Daniel found evidence.
Enough evidence to destroy powerful people.
But Matteo didn’t see Daniel as a brother anymore.
He saw him as a threat.
“So Daniel ran?” I asked.
Isabella nodded.
“He tried to protect you.”
“And you helped him?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t he come back?”
Her eyes filled with regret.
“Because he did.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He came back.”
My heart stopped.
“When?”
“Many times.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“He watched from a distance.”
“That’s impossible.”
“He wanted to return.”
Isabella’s voice cracked.
“But every time he tried…”
She stopped.
“Someone stopped him.”
Lorenzo suddenly looked toward the door.
“Wait.”
Everyone turned.
“What?”
He walked slowly toward the old cabinet in the room.
Behind it was a hidden compartment.
Inside was a small recorder.
His hands shook.
“Daniel left this here.”
I stared.
“When?”
“Before he disappeared.”
Lorenzo pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then Daniel’s voice appeared.
Older.
Tired.
But still familiar.
“Lorenzo…”
Everyone froze.
“If you are hearing this, then I failed.”
I covered my mouth.
Hearing his voice after years felt impossible.
“I need you to protect Clara and Mia.”
A pause.
“Not from the world.”
Another pause.
“From our family.”
Daniel’s voice became quieter.
“There is someone inside the Moretti estate helping Matteo.”
Lorenzo looked at Isabella.
Everyone did.
Daniel continued.
“Someone I trusted.”
My heart sank.
“Someone who knew everything.”
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Because the truth was finally clear.
Daniel didn’t disappear because he wanted to leave.
May you like
He disappeared because someone close to him betrayed him.
And that person was still somewhere inside the estate.
