Chapter 5 - The Secret Behind The Maid’s Disappearance
The first thing Dominic Moretti did after leaving Alessandro’s office was smile.
Not because he was happy.
Not because he had found peace.
But because he had finally remembered something important.
A man who showed his emotions gave his enemies information.
And Dominic had spent his entire life making sure nobody knew what was happening inside his mind.
The people who betrayed him believed they were still ahead.
They believed he was still searching for answers.
They believed the broken phone, the trust papers, and Alessandro’s hidden evidence had only created confusion.
They were wrong.
Dominic was no longer searching.
He was hunting.
The mansion remained unusually quiet as he returned to the main living room.
The same room where everything had started.
The same room where a little girl with a cracked pink phone had walked into a world far bigger and more dangerous than she understood.
The trust papers still rested on the black marble table.
Untouched.
Waiting.
Dominic stopped beside them.
For years, those papers represented responsibility.
Legacy.
Family.
Now they represented something else.
A trap.
A carefully designed trap placed in front of him by people who believed they understood him.
He looked toward the fireplace.
Victor was standing there.
Waiting.
Of course he was.
Victor Moretti had never been the type of man who walked away from a situation without knowing the outcome.
He turned as Dominic entered.
“There you are.”
Dominic said nothing.
Victor studied him.
“You seem calmer.”
Dominic removed his coat slowly.
“Should I be angry?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
Victor gave a small smile.
“On whether you believe what you heard.”
Dominic looked at him.
A normal person might have missed it.
The slight hesitation.
The careful choice of words.
But Dominic saw it immediately.
Victor was not asking what Dominic knew.
He was asking what Dominic believed.
A subtle difference.
A dangerous difference.
“I believe my brother left me a message.”
Victor sighed.
“Alessandro was under a lot of stress before he died.”
Dominic walked toward the table.
“Was he?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Victor did not answer immediately.
Another mistake.
Dominic placed his hand on the trust papers.
“You knew about his concerns.”
Victor’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
“I knew he was worried about the future of the family.”
“Interesting.”
Dominic opened the folder.
“You never mentioned that.”
“Because it was irrelevant.”
Dominic looked up.
“Things become irrelevant when they become dangerous.”
Victor’s face hardened.
“You are letting grief control your judgment.”
Dominic smiled faintly.
It was not a friendly smile.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
“No.”
Dominic closed the folder.
“Because it’s convenient.”
Before Victor could respond, Vivien entered the room.
She moved gracefully, as always.
Perfect posture.
Perfect expression.
But Dominic noticed something different.
She was no longer pretending everything was normal.
“Dominic.”
Her voice was softer.
“What happened?”
He looked at her.
The woman who had spent months standing beside him.
The woman who knew his routines.
His weaknesses.
His fears.
The woman who might have been placed there from the beginning.
“Nothing.”
She frowned.
“That’s not true.”
Dominic studied her.
“You’re right.”
A pause.
“Something happened.”
Vivien waited.
“My brother was right.”
The color disappeared from her face.
Only for a second.
But enough.
Dominic noticed.
“What did he say?”
The question came too quickly.
Too naturally.
Not:
“Who?”
Not:
“What happened?”
She asked:
“What did he say?”
Dominic remained silent.
And Vivien realized her mistake.
Her expression changed.
A small crack appeared.
Then it was gone.
“I mean…”
“You don’t have to explain.”
Dominic walked past her.
“Not yet.”
Those two words followed her like a warning.
Not yet.
Later that night, Dominic sat alone in his private study.
The lights were dim.
The city outside was covered in darkness.
On the desk in front of him were Alessandro’s documents.
The evidence.
The photographs.
The financial records.
Everything his brother had collected before dying.
Dominic had spent years believing his family’s greatest threats came from outside.
Rival organizations.
Business competitors.
Enemies who wanted power.
But Alessandro had discovered something more dangerous.
A threat that already had a key to the front door.
A threat that sat at the family table.
His phone rang.
Dominic answered immediately.
“Silas.”
“Mr. Moretti.”
The butler’s voice was low.
“I found something.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“What?”
“Records regarding Clara Bennett.”
Finally.
“Tell me.”
Silas paused.
“Clara did not resign.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“What?”
“She was removed from the employee system three days after Mr. Alessandro’s death.”
“By who?”
Silas hesitated.
“Someone with administrative access.”
“Name.”
“Victor Moretti.”
The room became silent.
Dominic closed his eyes briefly.
Another piece.
Another confirmation.
But he needed more.
“What else?”
Silas continued.
“Clara’s apartment was emptied the same day she disappeared.”
“By Victor?”
“No.”
That answer surprised Dominic.
“Then who?”
Silas lowered his voice.
“Vivien Cross.”
Dominic stared at the documents in front of him.
The woman he planned to marry.
The woman who sat beside him while he almost signed away his future.
“What did she take?”
“We don’t know.”
Dominic looked toward the window.
The city lights reflected against the glass.
“She wasn’t looking for clothes.”
“No.”
Silas paused.
“She was looking for something.”
Dominic knew.
The phone.
The evidence.
The recording.
The truth.
“Find Clara.”
“I’m already searching.”
“And Silas?”
“Yes?”
“Do not let anyone know we are looking.”
A pause.
“Understood.”
Dominic ended the call.
For several minutes, he sat silently.
Then the door opened.
He did not look up.
He already knew who it was.
“Lily.”
The little girl stood at the entrance holding her stuffed lamb.
She looked tired.
But she was awake.
“Can I come in?”
Dominic’s expression softened slightly.
“Of course.”
She walked inside carefully.
The mansion was enormous.
But right now, Dominic realized, it was probably the loneliest place in the world for her.
She climbed onto the chair across from him.
“Are you mad?”
Dominic looked surprised.
“Why would I be mad?”
“Because everyone was angry when I played the phone.”
Dominic leaned back.
“Lily.”
She looked at him.
“You did something very brave.”
The child looked down.
“My mommy said brave people can still be scared.”
Dominic smiled faintly.
“Your mother was right.”
“She was scared a lot.”
Dominic became quiet.
“Why?”
Lily looked at the phone.
“She said people with money can make bad things disappear.”
Those words stayed with him.
Because they were true.
Money had always been powerful.
It could buy silence.
It could buy loyalty.
It could erase evidence.
But Alessandro had found a way to leave behind something money could not destroy.
The truth.
“Lily.”
“Yes?”
“Did your mother trust my brother?”
The little girl nodded.
“She said Daddy was the only person who tried to help her.”
Dominic looked away.
A painful realization settled inside him.
Alessandro had not just discovered corruption.
He had been trying to protect someone.
A woman who had no power.
A child who had no protection.
And maybe that was why someone wanted him gone.
Because Alessandro Moretti was dangerous in a way people underestimated.
He still cared.
Near midnight, Dominic stood outside the mansion.
The security team had increased patrols.
The gates were locked.
Every camera was being reviewed.
But Dominic knew something.
The enemy was already inside.
His phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
You should have signed the papers.
Dominic stared at the screen.
A second message appeared.
Your brother made the same mistake.
For the first time that night, Dominic felt something close to anger.
Not explosive anger.
Not reckless anger.
A controlled, dangerous anger.
He typed one reply.
You’re afraid.
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
No answer.
Dominic smiled slightly.
Because silence was also an answer.
Someone was watching him.
Someone knew he found the evidence.
Someone knew he had stopped the signing.
But they had made one mistake.
They revealed themselves.
Dominic looked back at the mansion.
The place where secrets had been hidden for years.
The place where his brother had left his final warning.
The place where a little girl had walked through the doors carrying the truth.
He looked at the cracked pink phone in his hand.
Then at the darkness beyond the gates.
“Now,” Dominic whispered.
“Now I find out who killed my brother.”
May you like
And for the first time since Alessandro’s death…
the people hiding in the shadows were the ones who needed to be afraid.
