Chapter 4 - THE BROTHER WHO NEVER EXISTED
The guards dragged Matteo into the main hall.
But I didn't order his arrest.
Not yet.
Because something bothered me.
A detail nobody else noticed.
The hidden room.
The medical equipment.
The camera.
Someone had kept Elena alive.
Someone had protected her.
Someone who had access to this mansion.
Someone inside my family.
I turned to Valentina.
"How long did you know?"
Her face went pale.
"I didn't know everything."
"How long?"
She looked down.
"Twelve years."
The answer hit harder than any confession.
Sophia stepped closer to me.
"Grandmother..."
Valentina closed her eyes.
"I thought I was protecting you."
I laughed.
A cold, empty laugh.
"Protecting me?"
"You destroyed my family."
"No."
Her voice broke.
"I saved what was left of it."
I stared at her.
Then Matteo suddenly shouted.
"Enough!"
Everyone turned.
He looked at Valentina.
"You don't get to pretend you were innocent."
Her expression changed.
Because he was right.
Matteo continued.
"You knew about the children."
"You knew about Elena."
"You knew the truth."
Valentina whispered:
"I knew because you told me."
The room froze.
"You came to me twelve years ago."
"You were covered in blood."
"You said the Rossi family was finished."
My eyes narrowed.
"Rossi family?"
Valentina looked at me.
"The night your parents died..."
The air disappeared from my lungs.
"What?"
Nobody moved.
"My parents died in an accident."
Valentina shook her head.
"No."
One word.
One word that shattered everything.
"It was never an accident."
The mansion became completely silent.
She continued.
"Your parents discovered Matteo's secret."
"What secret?"
Valentina looked toward the hidden room.
"The children."
My hands became cold.
"Explain."
She swallowed.
"Twelve years ago, Elena discovered Matteo had been changing inheritance records."
"Stealing company assets."
"Creating fake identities."
"But she found something bigger."
"What?"
Valentina's voice became almost a whisper.
"Matteo wasn't trying to steal your empire."
"He was trying to erase your bloodline."
I looked at Matteo.
For the first time...
He looked afraid.
"Why?"
I asked.
"Why would he do that?"
Nobody answered.
Then Sophia walked toward the table.
She picked up the old photograph from the hidden room.
She turned it around.
There was writing on the back.
A name.
A date.
And a message.
My fingers trembled as I read it.
"For my two sons."
"One will inherit the empire."
"The other will inherit the truth."
Below it...
Another sentence.
Written in Elena's handwriting.
"If you found this..."
"Matteo was never the enemy."
My eyes widened.
I looked back at him.
The entire room waited.
Because the truth had just changed again.
Matteo wasn't the only person hiding something.
He stepped forward slowly.
His voice barely audible.
"I told you I wasn't your brother."
"I never said I wasn't your family."
I stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
Matteo looked toward the old photograph.
Then at me.
"Because the man who raised you..."
"Was not your father."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then Matteo whispered:
"Your real father is still alive."
The lights suddenly went out.
A gunshot exploded through the mansion.
Everyone screamed.
When the lights returned...
Matteo was gone.
And on the floor beside the photograph...
Was a fresh drop of blood.
And a message written on the wall:
May you like
"STOP LOOKING FOR THE DEAD."
"THEY HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOU ALL ALONG."
Related Stories
