Chapter 7 - THE KNIFE IN CLARISSA’S HAND
For five seconds, nobody moved.
Giovanni stared at the knife.
Then he looked at his daughter.
The little girl he used to carry on his shoulders.
The daughter who used to run into his office every morning just to hug him.
The daughter who had cried beside him at her mother’s funeral.
Now she was standing there…
Holding a bloody knife.
“Clarissa…”
His voice was barely a whisper.
She immediately dropped the knife.
It hit the floor with a sharp sound.
“I didn’t do it.”
Nobody answered.
Her tears fell faster.
“Dad, please. You have to believe me.”
Giovanni looked at Marco.
Then Emilio.
Then Adrian.
Everyone had secrets.
Everyone had lied.
And now he didn’t know who was telling the truth.
“Why do you have that knife?”
Clarissa covered her mouth.
“I found it.”
“Where?”
“In Mom’s office.”
Giovanni looked at the knife.
“The same office where she hid the camera?”
Clarissa nodded.
“Yes.”
Marco stepped closer.
“Giovanni, you need to understand something.”
“No.”
Giovanni raised his hand.
“Everyone keeps telling me what I need to understand.”
His voice cracked.
“I buried my wife today. I found out she had a son I never knew about. I found out my brother was hiding her secrets. And now my daughter is standing here with a knife.”
He looked around the room.
“I don’t need another explanation.”
“I need the truth.”
Nobody spoke.
Then Clarissa whispered:
“Mom knew she was going to die.”
Giovanni turned.
“What?”
“She knew someone was after her.”
Emilio looked at his sister.
“You promised you wouldn’t tell him.”
“I can’t keep lying anymore!”
Clarissa screamed.
The pain in her voice filled the room.
“She was scared, Emilio.”
She looked at her father.
“Every night, Mom checked the locks three times.”
Giovanni felt his chest tighten.
“She told me someone was watching the house.”
“Who?”
Clarissa shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
A pause.
“But I know one thing.”
She looked at Adrian.
“She wasn’t afraid of Maravilla.”
Everyone turned.
“She was afraid of someone coming back from Maravilla.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“What did she tell you?”
Clarissa hesitated.
“She said…”
Her voice became quieter.
“She said the past always comes back for blood.”
Suddenly, the lights in the house went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Then a loud crash came from upstairs.
Everyone froze.
Giovanni looked toward the ceiling.
Someone was inside the house.
Marco reached for his weapon.
Adrian moved toward the stairs.
A shadow appeared at the top.
A person slowly walked down.
Giovanni couldn’t see the face.
Until the person stepped into the light.
And Giovanni’s heart stopped.
Because the person standing there…
Was Elena’s doctor.
May you like
The man who signed her death certificate.
And the man who was supposed to be dead.
