Chapter 5 - The Secret Beneath The Archive
The underground door was already unlocked.
Someone was waiting inside.
Dominic stood frozen in front of the entrance.
Nobody spoke.
Not even the guards.
Because everyone understood what that meant.
The private archive beneath the mansion had been sealed for years.
Only Dominic’s father knew it existed.
Only Dominic had the authority to open it.
And yet someone had entered before them.
Dominic slowly looked at Adrian.
"How long?"
Adrian stayed silent.
Dominic’s eyes became colder.
"How long did you know this place was still being used?"
Adrian looked away.
That was enough.
The answer was clear.
Too much had been hidden.
Too many people had known the truth.
And Dominic was the last person to find out.
I held Lily’s hand tighter.
She was staring into the darkness beyond the door.
A place filled with secrets.
A place connected to the people who had stolen her childhood.
Dominic noticed.
He stepped closer to her.
"You stay with Elena."
Lily looked up.
"What about you?"
For a moment, Dominic looked like he wanted to say something else.
Something softer.
But he stopped himself.
"I need to find out who did this."
Lily nodded.
Then she quietly said:
"Come back."
Those two words stopped him.
Because they were not the words of a child asking for protection.
They were the words of a daughter asking her father not to disappear.
Dominic looked at her.
"I will."
Then he stepped inside.
The archive was not what I expected.
It was not a room full of money.
Not weapons.
Not anything connected to the criminal world people associated with Dominic Moretti.
It was a room full of memories.
Old photographs.
Documents.
Boxes labeled with dates.
A person had spent years collecting pieces of a life that was supposed to be forgotten.
Dominic walked slowly.
His eyes moved across the shelves.
Then he stopped.
A photograph was placed on a desk.
A photograph of Sofia.
He picked it up.
She looked happy.
Not afraid.
Not hiding.
Happy.
The woman I knew.
The woman who raised Lily.
The woman who disappeared because someone wanted her silent.
Behind the photograph was a handwritten note.
Dominic read it.
His face changed.
"What does it say?"
He didn't answer.
Adrian walked closer.
Dominic handed him the paper.
Adrian read it.
Then closed his eyes.
"What?"
I asked.
Adrian looked at me.
"Sofia knew."
"Knew what?"
He looked at Dominic.
"She knew Dominic would eventually find this room."
Dominic took the note back.
The handwriting was Sofia's.
The words were simple.
If you found this, it means they failed to keep you away.
But be careful.
The person you trust the most is not the person protecting you.
Dominic stared at the message.
The same warning again.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
Someone inside his world.
A noise suddenly came from the back of the archive.
Everyone turned.
The guards raised their weapons.
Dominic moved forward.
"Show yourself."
No answer.
The lights flickered.
Then a small sound came from the corner.
A recording device.
An old one.
It turned on by itself.
Sofia’s voice filled the room.
Everyone froze.
"Dominic..."
His entire body went still.
Because after eight years...
He heard her voice again.
"If you are listening to this, then Lily found you."
Dominic closed his eyes.
The pain on his face was impossible to hide.
Sofia continued.
"I need you to understand something."
A pause.
"I never left because I stopped loving you."
Dominic touched the table.
Like he needed something to hold onto.
"I left because I discovered the truth about your family."
The recording continued.
"Your father was not the only person involved."
Adrian looked up.
Dominic slowly turned toward him.
The recording played again.
"There was someone else."
The room became silent.
"Someone who had access to every document."
"Someone who knew every move you made."
"Someone who could make everyone believe a lie."
The recording stopped.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Dominic looked at Adrian.
"Who?"
Adrian shook his head.
"I don't know."
Dominic stepped closer.
"You expect me to believe that?"
Adrian looked exhausted.
"I knew Sofia was afraid."
"But?"
"I didn't know who she was afraid of."
Richard, who had remained quiet until then, finally spoke.
"That's because Sofia never told you."
Dominic turned.
"Why?"
Richard looked at the recording device.
"Because she didn't trust anyone."
A silence followed.
Then Richard walked to another shelf.
He removed a folder.
Inside was a collection of financial records.
Medical payments.
Transfers.
Private accounts.
Dominic scanned the pages.
Then stopped.
One name appeared repeatedly.
The same person.
The same signature.
The same authorization.
His face became empty.
"Impossible."
I looked at him.
"Who?"
He slowly placed the folder down.
Then whispered:
"The person who paid for Lily's medical care."
He looked at me.
"The person who kept her alive."
A pause.
"The person who helped Sofia disappear."
The room felt colder.
"Who was it?"
Dominic didn't answer immediately.
Because the answer hurt.
Finally, he said:
"My mother."
Nobody spoke.
The woman who raised him.
The woman everyone believed was gone years ago.
The woman whose name had never appeared in any of the documents.
Adrian looked shocked.
"That's not possible."
Dominic turned toward him.
"Why?"
Adrian hesitated.
"Because your mother died before Lily was born."
Dominic stared.
A terrible realization appeared on his face.
Then he looked back at the records.
The dates.
The payments.
The signatures.
All impossible.
Unless...
Someone had been pretending.
Richard stepped closer.
"Your family has been hiding more than one death."
Dominic looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
Before Richard could answer, every screen inside the archive turned on.
One by one.
Old security footage appeared.
A hospital hallway.
Eight years earlier.
A woman walking.
Carrying a baby.
Sofia.
Dominic moved closer.
His breathing stopped.
Because Sofia was not alone.
Someone was walking beside her.
Someone he recognized.
Someone who should have been dead.
The footage zoomed in.
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And Dominic whispered the name he never thought he would say again.
"Mother..."
