Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE WALL
Nobody breathed.
Not after those words.
Not after Elena's voice filled the hidden room.
"The person standing beside you right now..."
"Is the reason your real family disappeared twelve years ago."
The screen went black.
The room fell into darkness.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then the emergency lights flickered on.
A cold red glow covered everyone's faces.
I looked around.
At Matteo.
At Valentina.
At Sophia.
At the newborn in my arms.
And suddenly...
The entire life I thought I knew began collapsing.
"Turn it back on."
My voice was quiet.
But everyone heard it.
One of the guards rushed toward the camera.
"It's encrypted, sir."
"Break it."
He nodded.
But before he could touch the device...
Matteo laughed.
A low, broken laugh.
Everyone turned toward him.
"You still don't understand."
I stared at him.
"Understand what?"
He looked at the screen.
Then at the hidden room.
Then finally at me.
"Elena always was smarter than everyone."
"Even me."
My hand tightened.
"You locked your wife in a hidden room for twelve years."
His eyes darkened.
"You think I wanted this?"
The anger in his voice surprised everyone.
"I think you knew exactly what you were doing."
Matteo shook his head.
"No."
His voice cracked.
"For the first time in twelve years..."
"I was trying to stop something worse."
A silence followed.
Valentina stepped backward.
"Matteo..."
The way she said his name changed everything.
It wasn't fear.
It was disappointment.
Like she finally saw the monster beneath the mask.
"You told me she was dead."
Matteo looked at her.
"I had no choice."
"No choice?"
Valentina's eyes filled with tears.
"You promised me."
The room froze.
I looked between them.
"Promised her what?"
Neither answered.
So I walked closer.
"Promised her what, Matteo?"
His expression hardened.
But before he could speak...
A sound came from the camera.
The recording restarted.
Elena appeared again.
But this time...
She wasn't alone.
A young man stood behind her.
My heart stopped.
Because I knew that face.
It was impossible.
No.
It couldn't be.
The young man looked exactly like me.
Same eyes.
Same scar above the eyebrow.
Same expression.
Sophia noticed my reaction.
"Father..."
Her voice was shaking.
"Who is that?"
I couldn't answer.
Because I already knew.
Or at least...
I thought I knew.
Elena looked into the camera.
"If you see him..."
"Don't believe what Matteo tells you."
The young man behind her stepped forward.
And whispered:
"Brother."
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody needed to.
Because everyone understood the same thing.
There wasn't one stolen child.
There were two.
---
I turned slowly toward Matteo.
"Who was he?"
Matteo said nothing.
"WHO WAS HE?"
My voice echoed through the mansion.
The guards raised their weapons.
But Matteo didn't look afraid.
He looked tired.
Like a man who had carried a secret too heavy for too long.
"He was your brother."
My blood ran cold.
"No."
"He was your twin."
The room went silent.
Even the newborn stopped crying.
A memory flashed through my mind.
A photograph from my childhood.
A photograph my parents always kept hidden.
Two babies.
Two blankets.
Two names.
But one baby was always missing.
I had spent my entire life believing it was a mistake.
A forgotten memory.
A damaged photograph.
But it wasn't.
Someone had erased him.
Someone had stolen him.
And that someone...
Was standing in front of me.
"Where is he?"
I asked.
Matteo looked away.
"I don't know."
A dangerous silence followed.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"No."
He looked directly into my eyes.
"I expect you to hate me."
A tear appeared in his eye.
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"But I need you to know the truth before you kill me."
---
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