Chapter 11 - The Swiss Ledger
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I opened the thick paper envelope with my thumb.
Inside was a single silver key, a flash drive, and a handwritten note on expensive linen paper.
I unfolded the note. The handwriting was neat, elegant, and entirely unfamiliar.
Dear Adrian,
You believe you destroyed the web your father built. You believe Constantina and Sophia were the architects of your family's misery. But you only removed the branches, young Rossi. The root remains deep underground.
Your father, Vittorio, did not die in Milan. The body buried in the Rossi family mausoleum belongs to an unidentified operative from Eastern Europe.
Vittorio Rossi is alive. And he has been watching your son since the day he was born.
If you wish to protect your wife and child from what is coming, open the file on the drive.
— A Friend.
My hands froze. The breeze blowing off the lavender field suddenly felt bitterly cold.
Grace leaned over, her eyes scanning the handwritten lines. She let out a small, terrified gasp, her hand covering her mouth as she looked at me.
“Adrian...” she whispered, her voice trembling. “It... it can’t be true. He died eleven years ago. You saw his casket.”
“I saw a sealed mahogany casket,” I said, my voice dropping into a flat, dangerous tone as memories of my father’s funeral flooded back into my mind. “My mother insisted on a closed-box service because of the 'injuries from the accident.'”
I stood up, handing Leo carefully to Grace, and took the flash drive from Marco.
“Set up the secure terminal in my study,” I commanded Marco.
“Adrian, no,” Grace pleaded, standing up and grabbing my arm. “We left that life behind! We swore we were done with secrets!”
May you like
I turned and held her face gently in my hands, looking deep into her soft eyes.
“I fought to save you from a locked room, Grace,” I said softly. “I will not let my father turn our entire life into another cage. If he is alive, I will find him—and I will end this legacy once and for all.”
