Chapter 4 - The Photograph That Should Not Exist
The room went silent.
Nobody looked at Richard.
Everyone looked at the photograph.
Dominic held it with both hands.
Like it was something dangerous.
Because it was.
The image showed him standing beside Sofia.
She was holding baby Lily.
Dominic was smiling.
A real smile.
Not the cold expression everyone knew.
Not the face of a man who controlled an empire.
A father.
A man who believed he had everything he wanted.
But there was one problem.
The date.
The date written on the back of the photograph was impossible.
Sofia had disappeared six years ago.
Everyone believed she was gone.
The records said she was gone.
The world moved on.
But this picture proved something else.
Sofia had been alive.
After everyone thought she was dead.
Dominic slowly turned the photograph around.
His eyes stayed on the date.
"Where was this taken?"
Richard did not answer immediately.
He looked at Lily.
The little girl was watching him carefully.
She did not know who he was.
But she knew something about him was wrong.
Children could feel things adults ignored.
Richard finally looked back at Dominic.
"At the place where everything started."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"Stop speaking in riddles."
Richard smiled slightly.
"Still the same."
"What?"
"You still think knowing the truth means you can control it."
The guards around the room moved closer.
Dominic raised one hand.
They stopped.
He wanted answers.
Not violence.
Not yet.
"Tell me about Sofia."
Richard looked at the photograph.
"She loved you."
The answer surprised everyone.
Especially Dominic.
"Then why did she disappear?"
Richard looked directly at him.
"Because she learned something about your family."
The room changed.
A single sentence.
But it carried weight.
Dominic's face became colder.
"My family?"
Richard nodded.
"Not your enemies."
"Not your competitors."
"Your family."
I looked at Dominic.
He looked like he was searching through memories.
Trying to find the moment everything changed.
"Who?"
Richard stayed silent.
Dominic stepped closer.
"Who betrayed me?"
Richard looked at Adrian.
That was enough.
Everyone noticed.
Adrian lowered his eyes.
Dominic turned toward him.
"No."
His voice was quiet.
But dangerous.
"Not you."
Adrian didn't respond.
And that silence hurt more than an answer.
Dominic stared at him.
"You knew."
Adrian looked up.
"I knew pieces."
"Pieces?"
Dominic laughed once.
A cold sound.
"My daughter was hidden from me for eight years."
He pointed at Lily.
"Eight years."
His voice broke slightly.
"And you knew pieces?"
Adrian looked at Lily.
"I was trying to keep her alive."
Dominic froze.
The room became still.
"Alive?"
Adrian nodded.
"Sofia wasn't hiding Lily from you."
He looked at Dominic.
"She was hiding Lily from someone who wanted her gone."
Richard interrupted.
"And that someone was closer than you think."
Dominic turned toward him.
"Enough."
Richard placed another item on the table.
A small hospital bracelet.
Old.
Faded.
The name was almost impossible to read.
But Dominic saw it.
His fingers touched the bracelet.
Then stopped.
Because the name printed on it was:
Lily Moretti.
His daughter’s name.
From the day she was born.
A name that should never have existed in any record.
Dominic looked at Richard.
"Where did you get this?"
Richard said nothing.
Dominic grabbed the table.
"Where?"
Richard remained calm.
"From the same place I found Sofia's final message."
My heart stopped.
"Sofia is alive?"
Nobody moved.
Even Dominic seemed unable to breathe.
Richard looked at him.
"I didn't say that."
The hope disappeared from Dominic's face.
But only for a second.
"What did you say?"
"I said I found her message."
Richard opened a folder.
Inside were several documents.
Photos.
Hospital records.
Surveillance images.
Everything connected to Lily.
Everything connected to Sofia.
Dominic looked through them one by one.
Then he stopped.
A photograph.
Sofia standing outside a building.
Holding baby Lily.
And standing beside her was another person.
A person Dominic recognized.
His face changed.
"Impossible."
I looked at the photo.
"Who is it?"
Dominic did not answer.
Richard did.
"Your father."
The room froze.
Dominic slowly looked up.
"My father died fifteen years ago."
Richard nodded.
"Exactly."
Nobody spoke.
Because that was impossible.
Richard placed another document on the table.
A death certificate.
Then another.
A hospital record.
Then another photograph.
Different dates.
Different places.
Same person.
Dominic stared.
"My father was alive."
Richard nodded.
"And he was the reason Sofia disappeared."
Dominic stepped back.
For the first time since I met him, he looked lost.
Not angry.
Not powerful.
Lost.
Because the person who had changed his life was not a stranger.
It was someone he buried.
Someone he trusted.
Someone he loved.
Lily quietly walked toward him.
"Are you okay?"
Dominic looked down at her.
The question broke something inside him.
He knelt.
"I don't know."
The little girl reached out.
She touched his hand.
"It's okay."
Dominic looked at her.
"How can you say that?"
She shrugged.
"My mom said people can be hurt and still be good."
Those words made Dominic close his eyes.
Because Sofia's voice was suddenly everywhere.
A memory.
A moment.
A life stolen from him.
Then Richard spoke again.
"There is something else."
Dominic looked up.
"What?"
Richard reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small key.
An old metal key.
He placed it beside the photograph.
"Sofia left this for you."
Dominic picked it up.
"What does it open?"
Richard looked toward the hallway.
"The one place she knew you would never search."
A chill went through me.
"Where?"
Richard looked at Dominic.
"Your father's private office."
Dominic stared.
"That room was destroyed."
Richard shook his head.
"No."
A pause.
"It was sealed."
Dominic looked confused.
"By who?"
Richard didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward the window.
Outside, the mansion gates were visible.
The guards suddenly moved.
Something had changed.
A security alarm began ringing.
One guard rushed inside.
"Mr. Moretti."
Dominic turned.
"What now?"
The guard looked terrified.
"Someone entered the underground archive."
Dominic's face changed.
"The archive is impossible to access."
The guard swallowed.
"Not anymore."
Richard slowly looked at Dominic.
And whispered:
"They found what Sofia left behind."
Dominic moved toward the hallway.
I followed.
Lily followed me.
The entire mansion felt different.
Like the walls themselves were hiding secrets.
They reached the underground door.
A place nobody had entered for years.
Dominic inserted the old key.
It turned.
The lock opened.
Everyone froze.
May you like
Because the door was already unlocked from the inside.
Someone was waiting for them.
