Chapter 2 - The Secret Hidden Inside The Duca Estate
The ambulance disappeared into the rain before Alessandro moved.
For several seconds, he simply stood in the empty driveway.
The storm swallowed every sound except the heavy drops hitting the stone pavement.
Behind him was the mansion.
The place where he had spent most of his life.
The place where he believed he controlled everything.
But tonight, for the first time, Alessandro felt like a stranger inside his own home.
Because someone had broken his rules.
Someone had entered his private world.
And worse…
Someone had made a child beg him for help.
He looked down.
Emma was still standing beside him.
Barefoot.
Cold.
Holding that old brown teddy bear like it was the only thing keeping her connected to reality.
Alessandro removed his jacket and wrapped it around her small shoulders.
The expensive fabric almost covered her completely.
She looked up at him.
“Is Mommy going to die?”
The question was so innocent that it hurt more than any accusation.
Alessandro had faced enemies who threatened his life.
Men who pointed weapons at him.
People who tried to destroy everything his family built.
But nothing prepared him for the fear in a child’s voice.
“No.”
His answer came immediately.
Emma stared at him.
“You promise?”
Alessandro paused.
Promises were dangerous.
He had learned that when he was young.
Promises created expectations.
Expectations created weaknesses.
But looking at Emma…
He understood something.
She did not need a powerful man.
She needed someone who would not abandon her.
“Yes,” he said quietly.
“I promise.”
Emma nodded slowly.
Like she wanted to believe him.
Like she needed to.
Jonah approached from behind.
“Alessandro.”
The security chief waited until Emma was looking away.
“We need to talk.”
Alessandro looked toward the mansion.
“Inside.”
The east corridor had been sealed.
Nobody entered.
Nobody cleaned.
Nobody touched anything.
That was the first order Alessandro gave.
The second order was simpler.
“Pull every camera recording from the last twenty-four hours.”
Jonah looked uncomfortable.
“There’s a problem.”
Alessandro turned.
“What problem?”
“The east corridor camera wasn’t damaged.”
Silence.
Alessandro’s expression changed.
“What?”
“It was turned off manually.”
Jonah placed a tablet on the table.
“The system shows someone with administrative access disabled it at 11:47 p.m.”
Alessandro looked at the screen.
“Who has administrative access?”
Jonah hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
“Say it.”
“Six people.”
“Names.”
Jonah exhaled.
“You.”
“Obviously.”
“Me.”
“Obviously.”
“The estate manager.”
Alessandro nodded.
“And?”
Jonah looked up.
“Vivian.”
The room became silent.
Outside, thunder shook the windows.
Alessandro stared at the tablet.
Vivian had access.
He had given it to her months ago.
Because she was supposed to become his wife.
Because she was supposed to be family.
Because he trusted her.
A mistake.
Maybe.
Or maybe something worse.
Emma sat on the sofa nearby, wrapped in a blanket from one of the guest rooms.
She watched Alessandro carefully.
Children noticed things adults ignored.
And she noticed the change in him.
“Sir?”
He looked at her.
“Yes?”
“Are you mad?”
The question surprised him.
“Why would you think that?”
“Your face.”
Alessandro almost smiled.
Almost.
Nobody had ever spoken to him like that.
Not employees.
Not business partners.
Not enemies.
Only a three-year-old child would dare tell Alessandro Duca what his face looked like.
“I’m thinking.”
Emma hugged her teddy bear.
“Thinking is when grown-ups are angry but don’t say it.”
Jonah looked away.
Trying not to react.
Alessandro stared at the little girl.
Then, unexpectedly…
He laughed.
Quietly.
Just once.
Emma looked confused.
“You’re right.”
She tilted her head.
“I am?”
“Yes.”
For a moment, the tension disappeared.
But only for a moment.
Because the door opened.
Vivian entered.
She had changed into a silk robe.
Her makeup was gone.
Her hair was loose.
She looked less like the perfect woman from the engagement party.
More like someone afraid.
“Alessandro.”
He did not answer.
Her eyes moved toward Emma.
A flash of irritation crossed her face.
Small.
Almost invisible.
But Alessandro noticed.
Everything about Vivian had always been controlled.
Her smile.
Her words.
Her emotions.
But tonight, control was slipping.
“I want to explain.”
“Good.”
His voice was cold.
“Explain.”
Vivian looked at Jonah.
“He stays?”
“Yes.”
Her expression tightened.
“Alessandro, this is between us.”
“No.”
He looked at Emma.
“This involves everyone in this house.”
Vivian took a breath.
“She fell.”
“Again?”
“Yes.”
“And the camera?”
“I don’t know.”
“You had access.”
“So did you.”
“I wasn’t standing beside her.”
Vivian’s face changed.
A tiny movement.
But enough.
“You think I hurt Sophia?”
“I think Sophia was unconscious in my hallway.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only fact we have.”
Vivian stepped closer.
“You’re really going to question me because of a maid?”
The second the words left her mouth…
The room changed.
Jonah looked down.
Alessandro became completely still.
“A maid?”
Vivian realized her mistake.
“I didn’t mean—”
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“Finish your sentence.”
She swallowed.
“She works for us.”
Alessandro looked at Emma.
Then back at Vivian.
“She is a mother.”
“She is an employee.”
“She is a person.”
Vivian’s eyes hardened slightly.
“This is exactly what I mean.”
“What?”
“You let emotions interfere.”
The sentence hung in the air.
Alessandro stared at her.
“Explain.”
“You built your entire life avoiding attachments. But now a child walks into your hallway and suddenly you’re willing to destroy everything over a woman you barely know?”
Emma lowered her head.
Alessandro noticed.
She had heard.
And she understood enough.
Something inside him changed.
He walked toward Vivian.
Not aggressively.
Not threateningly.
Just enough to make his meaning clear.
“You’re wrong about one thing.”
Vivian looked at him.
“I’m not protecting Sophia because I know her.”
A pause.
“I’m protecting her because nobody should be hurt inside my home.”
Vivian looked away.
And that was when Alessandro noticed something else.
Her left hand.
A small cut across her finger.
Fresh.
Not from the mirror.
From something else.
His eyes narrowed.
“What happened to your hand?”
Vivian immediately covered it.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“I touched the glass.”
“You said you never touched the mirror.”
Silence.
Jonah looked up.
Alessandro did not move.
The woman he was supposed to marry was standing three feet away.
And for the first time since meeting her…
He wondered if he had ever truly known her.
At 3:26 a.m., Alessandro entered Sophia’s room.
Not the hospital.
The room she had lived in inside the servant quarters.
Jonah had searched it with permission.
And found something.
A small wooden box hidden beneath a loose floorboard.
Inside were old photographs.
Documents.
Letters.
And one item that made Alessandro freeze.
A photograph.
Twenty years old.
A younger version of his father.
Standing beside a woman Alessandro had never seen before.
And in the woman’s arms…
A baby.
On the back of the photograph was one sentence.
Written by hand.
“The Duca family destroyed my life. One day, the truth will come back.”
Alessandro stared at the words.
Then Jonah placed another item on the table.
A small black drive.
“Found behind the wall.”
Alessandro looked at him.
“A hidden drive?”
Jonah nodded.
“Someone didn’t want this discovered.”
Alessandro picked it up.
And suddenly understood.
Sophia was not just a maid.
Emma was not just a child who got lost in the hallway.
And tonight was not an accident.
Someone had spent years hiding something inside the Duca mansion.
Something powerful enough to make them hurt a woman.
And maybe…
Kill her.
Alessandro looked at the drive.
Then at the old photograph.
The truth had been buried for twenty years.
But now…
May you like
It had knocked on his door.
Using a three-year-old girl.
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