Chapter 3 - The Woman Upstairs
Roman ran.
Marcus followed him.
I should have stayed behind.
Instead, I grabbed Sophie and followed.
The scream had come from Evelyn Valente’s private sitting room.
When Roman reached it, the door was locked.
“Mother!”
No response.
Marcus forced it open.
Evelyn sat in an armchair near the window.
Alive.
Terrified.
A shattered teacup lay on the floor.
Roman crossed the room.
“What happened?”
She pointed toward the balcony.
“A man.”
Marcus checked outside.
Nobody.
Roman knelt beside his mother.
“Was it Dominic?”
Her expression gave the answer before she spoke.
“Yes.”
Roman stood slowly.
“You told me he was still in medical care.”
Evelyn looked away.
“Roman—”
“Eight months.”
“I was protecting you.”
“From what?”
“Your uncle.”
Roman laughed bitterly.
“You released him.”
“No. I helped him disappear.”
That silenced everyone.
Evelyn explained.
Dominic’s stroke had been real, but his recovery had been much faster than reported.
During rehabilitation, Dominic told Evelyn that someone inside the family had been manipulating Roman’s medical information.
He claimed Roman’s respiratory condition could be exploited to trigger the incapacity provisions in several corporate agreements.
Roman asked why she hadn’t told him.
“Because Dominic believed your phones were compromised.”
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
Roman noticed.
“What?”
“We found spyware on one of your devices last year.”
“You told me it was removed.”
“It was.”
“Was it?”
Marcus didn’t answer quickly enough.
Roman stepped away from him.
Trust was collapsing everywhere.
Vivian entered behind us.
Evelyn’s face changed when she saw her.
“You.”
Vivian stopped.
“What?”
“You were supposed to stay away from him.”
Roman turned.
“Mother?”
Evelyn stared at Vivian.
“I warned you.”
Vivian looked stunned.
“You sent those messages?”
“Some of them.”
Roman raised his voice.
“Enough.”
Everyone stopped.
He pointed at his mother.
“You knew Dominic was alive and mobile.”
“Yes.”
“You warned Vivian.”
“Yes.”
“You knew someone had my medical records.”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I was trying to discover who was behind it.”
Roman’s jaw tightened.
“Congratulations. They almost killed me while you investigated.”
Evelyn flinched.
I saw genuine pain in her face.
Then Sophie pulled my hand.
“Mom.”
“Not now.”
She pointed toward the broken teacup.
“There’s paper under it.”
Marcus noticed.
He carefully moved a piece of porcelain.
A small plastic sleeve lay beneath the fragments.
Inside was a USB drive.
Roman looked at his mother.
“That yours?”
She shook her head.
Marcus connected it to an isolated laptop.
There was one video.
Recorded that morning.
Dominic appeared on screen.
Healthy.
Standing.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Roman, if you’re watching this, the first attempt failed.”
Vivian covered her mouth.
Dominic continued.
“The inhaler was never supposed to kill you. It was supposed to frighten you, create witnesses, and establish a documented medical episode.”
Roman leaned closer.
The video continued.
“Once the episode was recorded, the second stage would begin. A physician would certify you temporarily incapable of managing your affairs.”
Marcus looked at Vivian.
She shook her head.
Dominic said, “Do not trust the incapacity committee. At least one signature was forged.”
Roman whispered, “We know.”
Then Dominic said something nobody expected.
“And do not blame Vivian Cross.”
Vivian closed her eyes.
Roman stared at the screen.
“She is being framed because whoever controls her signature controls the third vote.”
Dominic leaned toward the camera.
“The person organizing this is inside your immediate family.”
The video ended.
Roman remained silent.
Anthony was immediate family.
So was Evelyn.
Several cousins.
And Roman’s younger brother, Luca.
I had never met Luca.
He lived in New York and had supposedly cut ties with the family.
Marcus began tracing the video metadata.
I looked at Sophie.
She was staring at Evelyn’s desk.
“What now?” I whispered.
She pointed.
A framed family photograph showed Roman, Evelyn, Dominic, Anthony, and another younger man.
Sophie tapped the glass.
“That’s him.”
Roman heard.
“Who?”
“The man from the kitchen.”
Marcus picked up the photograph.
“You said the catering employee was Nathan Cross.”
Sophie shook her head.
“Not him.”
She pointed at the younger man.
“That man.”
Roman stared.
“Luca?”
Sophie nodded.
Roman looked at Marcus.
Marcus immediately reopened the security footage.
The image had been blurry.
He compared it with Luca’s photograph.
Same height.
Same jaw.
Same posture.
Roman’s brother had entered the mansion disguised as catering staff.
Vivian whispered, “Why would Luca take your inhaler?”
Roman didn’t answer.
His phone rang.
This time, the caller ID displayed a name.
LUCA.
Roman answered on speaker.
“Where are you?”
Luca laughed softly.
“Still giving orders.”
“You entered my house.”
“I needed to.”
“You touched my medication.”
“No.”
“Sophie saw you near my jacket.”
There was a pause.
“The child?”
Roman’s expression hardened.
“Yes.”
Luca sounded genuinely surprised.
“She wasn’t supposed to be there.”
Those exact words again.
Roman glanced at Vivian.
“What does that mean?”
“It means today was supposed to be adults only.”
“Why?”
“Because Anthony arranged lunch.”
Roman frowned.
“Anthony isn’t here.”
“Exactly.”
Roman’s face changed.
Luca continued.
“Roman, listen carefully. I came because I learned what Anthony was planning. I took something from your jacket, but it wasn’t the inhaler.”
“What?”
“A tracking device.”
Marcus immediately inspected Roman’s jacket.
The lining had been cut.
Luca said, “Someone wanted to know exactly where you were when the episode happened.”
Roman looked at the medical form.
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Then I can’t trust you.”
“You shouldn’t trust anyone.”
Roman’s patience snapped.
“My eight-year-old witness just received a threat.”
Silence.
Luca’s tone changed.
“What threat?”
Roman looked at me.
I showed him my phone.
He read the message aloud.
Luca swore.
“That wasn’t Anthony.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Anthony doesn’t know the girl saw anything.”
Roman froze.
“Then who does?”
Luca whispered, “Someone in the room with you.”
Every person looked at every other person.
Marcus.
Vivian.
Evelyn.
Me.
Sophie.
Roman slowly lowered the phone.
Luca continued.
“Roman, the person running this can see you right now.”
Marcus began searching the room.
Roman looked at the ceiling.
Then Sophie whispered:
“There.”
She pointed toward a decorative smoke detector.
Marcus pulled it down.
A miniature camera was hidden inside.
Its red light blinked once.
Then went dark.
Roman’s phone received a message.
A live video thumbnail appeared.
It showed us standing in Evelyn’s room.
The camera angle came from somewhere behind me.
Marcus turned slowly.
There was another camera.
Then another.
The mansion had been watching Roman for months.
Roman’s phone vibrated again.
This time the message contained an address.
And one sentence.
COME ALONE IF YOU WANT THE ORIGINAL MEDICAL FORM.
Roman read the address.
Evelyn gasped.
“What?” he asked.
She looked at him.
“That’s your father’s old house.”
Roman went still.
His father had been dead for twelve years.
Then someone knocked on the bedroom door.
A guard opened it.
His face was pale.
“Mr. Valente, there’s a man downstairs asking for you.”
“Who?”
The guard swallowed.
“He says he’s your father’s attorney.”
Roman stared at him.
“He died ten years ago.”
May you like
The guard shook his head.
“Apparently not.”
