Chapter 6 - The Man Who Never Died
The person on the screen was someone Cassian had buried years ago.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody breathed.
The video froze on the man's face.
A face that should not exist.
Cassian stood completely still.
I had never seen him like that.
Not angry.
Not afraid.
Broken.
"That's impossible."
His voice was barely a whisper.
Thomas looked at the screen.
His face had lost all color.
"No."
Cassian turned toward him.
"You knew."
Thomas didn't answer.
That was enough.
Cassian walked closer.
"You knew he was alive."
Thomas looked down.
"I knew someone survived."
"Someone?"
Cassian's voice became colder.
"That's my father."
The room became silent.
My eyes moved between them.
Cassian's father.
The man everyone believed was dead.
The man whose funeral Cassian had attended.
The man whose death had made him take control of the Renzi organization.
Alive.
Hidden.
Watching.
Cassian picked up the phone again.
The video continued automatically.
His father looked directly into the camera.
"To whoever finds this..."
His voice was older.
Tired.
But still powerful.
"I don't have much time."
Cassian's fingers tightened around the phone.
The man on the screen continued.
"If you're watching this, it means they found the phone."
A pause.
"That means Isabella failed."
My mother closed her eyes.
Cassian looked at her.
"She knew?"
My mother didn't answer.
The video continued.
"My son cannot know the truth until the right moment."
Cassian froze.
The words hurt him.
Because they were not meant for a stranger.
They were meant for him.
The man on the screen looked away for a second.
Then returned.
"There is a traitor inside the family."
Everyone became still.
"The person closest to you is the person you should fear most."
The video ended.
The screen went black.
Nobody moved.
Then Cassian turned toward Thomas.
"Explain."
Thomas took a slow breath.
"When your father discovered the betrayal, he knew exposing it would get everyone killed."
Cassian stared at him.
"So he faked his death."
"Yes."
"And he let me believe he was gone."
Thomas looked at him.
"He believed it was the only way to keep you alive."
Cassian laughed once.
A cold sound.
"Alive?"
He looked around the room.
"Do you know what happened after he disappeared?"
Nobody answered.
"I was twenty-six."
His voice grew heavier.
"I buried my father. Took control of everything. Destroyed anyone I thought was responsible."
He looked at the phone.
"And all this time..."
He stopped.
Because he couldn't finish the sentence.
I watched him carefully.
For the first time, I understood something.
Cassian Renzi was not angry because he had been lied to.
He was hurt because the one person he trusted most had chosen to disappear.
My mother stepped closer.
"Cassian."
He looked at her.
"Where is Isabella?"
My mother hesitated.
That hesitation answered everything.
Cassian's expression changed.
"You know."
"Yes."
"Where?"
"I don't know exactly."
His eyes sharpened.
"But you know something."
My mother looked at me.
Then at him.
"She went after the person who was hunting Elena."
My stomach dropped.
"Me?"
My mother nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
She looked devastated.
"Because your parents left something behind."
I frowned.
"What?"
"Something everyone wants."
I shook my head.
"I don't have anything."
My mother looked at me.
"You do."
I felt a chill.
"What?"
She looked at my wrist.
The bracelet.
The old silver bracelet my mother had given me.
My fingers immediately covered it.
"No."
My voice became quiet.
"This?"
Thomas nodded.
"Your father hid the final evidence inside it."
I stared at the bracelet.
A piece of jewelry I had worn every day.
A piece of my childhood.
A piece of my mother.
A secret.
"No."
I shook my head.
"My mother gave me this before she died."
My mother looked away.
"Because I knew they would never search you."
I felt betrayed.
Not because of the bracelet.
Because everyone had known something about me.
Everyone except me.
Cassian noticed.
He stepped between us.
"Enough."
Everyone looked at him.
His voice softened.
"She needs answers. Not more secrets."
For some reason, that made me trust him more.
Not because he had answers.
Because he understood what it felt like to have none.
Cassian looked at my bracelet.
"Can it be opened?"
Thomas nodded.
"Only by Elena."
I looked at him.
"How?"
Thomas reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small silver key.
My breath stopped.
Because I recognized it.
It was the same symbol carved into the bracelet.
My mother covered her mouth.
"Where did you get that?"
Thomas looked at her.
"Your husband gave it to me before he disappeared."
Cassian took the key.
Then handed it to me.
"Try."
My hands shook.
I didn't want to.
Because some part of me was afraid.
Afraid that once I opened it...
my old life would disappear forever.
But I had already lost that life.
Six years ago.
I inserted the key.
A small click.
The bracelet opened.
Inside was a tiny compartment.
A folded piece of paper.
And a small memory card.
Everyone stared.
I unfolded the paper first.
There was only one sentence.
My father's handwriting.
I knew it immediately.
"Elena, if you're reading this, trust the man who lost everything trying to protect you."
My eyes moved to the second line.
"His name is Cassian Renzi."
I looked at him.
He looked away.
For the first time, he looked uncomfortable.
Like my father's trust was heavier than any enemy.
I opened the memory card file.
There was only one video.
Created six years ago.
Cassian placed it into a computer.
The screen loaded.
A room appeared.
My father was sitting there.
Alive.
Healthy.
And beside him...
was Isabella.
They were talking quietly.
My father's expression was serious.
"She cannot know yet."
Isabella nodded.
"I understand."
"Promise me you'll protect her."
"I will."
My father looked directly at the camera.
And then he said something that made my entire body freeze.
"Because Elena is not just my daughter."
The video paused.
Cassian leaned closer.
Everyone waited.
The file continued.
My father looked at Isabella.
"She is the only person who can expose the truth about the Renzi family."
The screen went black.
Nobody spoke.
Then the computer made a sound.
A new notification.
Another file appeared.
No name.
No date.
Only one word.
"OPEN."
Cassian moved the mouse.
Before he could click it, every light in the mansion turned off.
The security system went silent.
Then every phone in the room received the same message.
One sentence.
I looked down at my screen.
And my blood froze.
Because the message was from a number saved in my contacts.
A number that belonged to someone who had died six years ago.
My father's name appeared.
May you like
And beneath it were four words:
"Come to the basement alone."
