Chapter 5 - The Doctor Who Lied
The man standing at the bedroom door did not look surprised.
That was the first thing Mara noticed.
He did not look shocked by the hidden passage.
He did not look confused by the open laptop.
He did not look concerned about Luca being awake.
He simply stood there.
Like he had been expecting this moment.
Dr. Bennett.
Luca’s personal physician for fifteen years.
The man who had examined every test result.
The man who had explained every symptom.
The man who had promised Luca that nobody understood his condition better than him.
Luca stared at him.
The room felt completely silent.
Then Luca lifted the damaged medicine bottle.
"What is this?"
Dr. Bennett looked at the bottle.
Then at Luca.
Then at Mara.
His expression remained calm.
Too calm.
"Your medication."
Luca's eyes narrowed.
"Don't lie to me."
The doctor sighed.
"You shouldn't be out of bed."
"Answer me."
Dr. Bennett stepped inside.
Mrs. Vale immediately moved away from him.
Mara noticed.
That small movement said more than words.
Mrs. Vale trusted Luca.
But she did not trust the doctor.
"How long have you known?" Luca asked.
Dr. Bennett stopped.
"Known what?"
"That someone changed my medication."
Silence.
The doctor looked at the bottle again.
Then he slowly closed the bedroom door behind him.
Mara felt her stomach tighten.
A person who had nothing to hide would not close the door.
"Mr. Varelli, you need to understand something."
Luca laughed quietly.
It was a cold sound.
"I have spent six months listening to people tell me what I need to understand."
His hand tightened around the bottle.
"I want answers."
Dr. Bennett looked tired.
Not guilty.
Not afraid.
Tired.
"Your condition is complicated."
"No."
Luca stepped forward.
"Someone has been making me sick."
The doctor's face changed.
Only slightly.
But Mara saw it.
A reaction.
A confirmation.
"You knew."
Mara whispered the words.
Everyone looked at her.
She continued.
"You knew something was wrong."
Dr. Bennett looked at her.
"You are the maid."
The way he said it made Mara uncomfortable.
Not because it was insulting.
Because it sounded like he was trying to remind everyone of her place.
Mara didn't move.
"And you are the doctor who failed to notice a different medication was being given to your patient."
The room went quiet.
Luca looked at her.
For the first time, he looked at her not as an employee.
But as someone standing beside him.
Dr. Bennett looked away.
"You don't know what you're involved in."
Mara's expression hardened.
"I know enough."
"No."
His voice became lower.
"You don't."
Luca walked toward the doctor.
"What happened to Adrian?"
That question stopped him.
Dr. Bennett froze.
Mara watched carefully.
Because this was the first time the doctor showed real fear.
"You found the files."
Luca stared.
"You knew about them."
The doctor closed his eyes.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then he sat down.
The confidence disappeared.
"I told Adrian not to investigate."
Luca's face changed.
"You talked to him."
"Yes."
"When?"
"Before he disappeared."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
The doctor looked at him.
"Because he made me promise."
Luca laughed bitterly.
"My brother disappeared, and you kept his secret?"
"He was trying to protect you."
"From who?"
Dr. Bennett looked toward the laptop.
"The same person who is trying to kill you now."
The words hung in the room.
Mara felt a chill.
"Who?"
The doctor didn't answer.
Luca grabbed the edge of the desk.
"Who?"
Dr. Bennett looked at him.
"You really don't know."
"What?"
"Adrian never trusted anyone completely."
"Stop speaking in riddles."
"He left clues."
The doctor pointed toward the laptop.
"Not because he wanted you to find the person."
"Then why?"
"Because he wanted you to know the person before they found you."
Mara looked at the screen.
The folder was still open.
There were more files.
One caught her attention.
A video file.
Created three days before Adrian disappeared.
She clicked it.
Everyone turned toward the screen.
Adrian appeared again.
This time he looked more frightened.
"Luca."
His voice was quiet.
"If you're seeing this, then something happened."
The video shook slightly.
Like he was recording in a hurry.
"I was wrong about one thing."
He looked behind him.
Checking if someone was there.
"I thought the danger was outside."
A pause.
"It wasn't."
Luca stared.
Adrian continued.
"The person destroying our family has been inside the house the entire time."
Mara looked at Mrs. Vale.
The house manager looked devastated.
Not surprised.
Devastated.
Adrian's voice continued.
"Don't trust anyone who tells you they are protecting you."
The screen froze.
Then another image appeared.
A photograph.
A family photograph.
Luca and Adrian standing beside three other people.
Mara leaned closer.
"Who are they?"
Luca didn't answer.
Because he recognized them.
One was Mrs. Vale.
One was Dr. Bennett.
And the third person...
Mara noticed his reaction.
"Luca?"
He looked pale.
"No."
"What?"
He touched the screen.
The third person in the photo was a woman.
A woman standing beside the brothers.
A woman smiling.
Someone Mara had never seen before.
But Luca knew her.
Because his hand began shaking.
"That's impossible."
Dr. Bennett looked at him.
"You remember her."
Luca stared at the photograph.
"She died."
The room became silent.
Mara looked between them.
"Who is she?"
Nobody answered.
Luca finally whispered:
"My mother."
Mara froze.
She knew Luca's parents were both dead.
Everyone knew.
His father had died years ago.
His mother had passed away shortly afterward.
The entire family history was public.
"Your mother?"
Luca nodded slowly.
"But that's impossible."
Dr. Bennett looked down.
"That was the lie."
Mara felt the air leave the room.
"What lie?"
Dr. Bennett looked at Luca.
"The biggest one."
Luca stared at the picture.
"My mother died."
"No."
The doctor swallowed.
"Your mother disappeared."
The room went completely silent.
Luca took a step back.
"No."
"Adrian discovered it."
"No."
"He found records."
Luca shook his head.
"No."
"He found out your mother was still alive."
Mara watched Luca.
The man who had faced enemies without fear.
The man who controlled entire companies.
The man who never showed weakness.
Was now standing in the middle of his own bedroom, unable to accept a sentence.
"My mother is dead."
Dr. Bennett said nothing.
That silence answered him.
Luca turned away.
His breathing became uneven.
Then the lights flickered.
Everyone stopped.
Once.
Twice.
The laptop screen went black.
Mara immediately looked toward the door.
Someone was outside again.
But this time...
they weren't hiding.
A phone began ringing.
Not Luca's.
Not Dr. Bennett's.
Not Mrs. Vale's.
It came from inside the hidden passage.
Mara slowly turned.
The sound continued.
A phone that had been waiting there.
For ten years.
Luca stared at the darkness behind the wall.
Then a voice came through the hidden passage.
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Familiar.
And impossible.
"Luca..."
May you like
He stopped breathing.
Because the voice belonged to the person he had buried twenty years ago...
