Chapter 7 - The Man Who Came Back From The Dead
The message remained on the screen.
MARCO DUCA.
Alessandro stared at the name.
A name that belonged to a ghost.
A name that belonged to the past.
A name that had haunted the Duca family for twenty years.
His brother.
His protector.
His only true friend.
Dead.
That was what everyone had told him.
A car accident.
A destroyed vehicle.
A funeral.
A grave.
A family mourning.
A story repeated so many times that nobody questioned it.
Nobody except Marco.
Because Marco had always questioned everything.
And now Alessandro wondered…
Had his brother been questioning the truth?
Or had he been trying to reveal it?
The office door opened.
Jonah stepped inside.
He immediately saw Alessandro’s face.
“What happened?”
Alessandro pointed at the monitor.
Jonah walked closer.
The moment he saw the name, he stopped.
“No.”
That was the same reaction everyone had.
No.
Impossible.
A denial before acceptance.
Alessandro looked at him.
“You knew.”
Jonah shook his head.
“I knew Marco died.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Silence.
“Jonah.”
The security chief looked away.
And that was when Alessandro realized something painful.
Everyone had known more than him.
His entire life.
Everyone had been protecting a secret.
And he was the only person left outside the circle.
“I want the grave checked.”
Jonah looked surprised.
“Alessandro—”
“Tonight.”
A pause.
“Not tomorrow.”
Jonah nodded.
“Yes.”
The Duca family cemetery was located behind the estate.
A private place.
Quiet.
Beautiful.
A place where generations of Duca men were buried beneath marble stones.
Alessandro had visited Marco’s grave hundreds of times.
As a teenager.
As a young man.
After becoming the head of the family.
Every year on Marco’s birthday.
Every year on the anniversary of his death.
He had stood there and spoken to a man who he believed was gone.
Now he stood there wondering if he had been speaking to an empty grave.
The ground was opened carefully.
The workers moved slowly.
Respectfully.
Even Jonah looked uncomfortable.
Because this was not just an investigation.
This was disturbing a memory.
After several minutes…
The coffin was opened.
Alessandro watched.
Waiting.
Preparing himself for whatever came next.
Then the funeral director looked up.
Confused.
“Mr. Duca…”
Alessandro stepped forward.
“What?”
The man hesitated.
“The remains…”
He stopped.
“What?”
“There are no remains.”
The world went silent.
Jonah looked at Alessandro.
The impossible had become real.
Marco Duca had never been buried.
Back at the mansion, Alessandro did not sleep.
He sat in the same chair where he had spent the previous night discovering the hidden drive.
Except now, every truth he believed had collapsed.
His father.
His brother.
Vivian.
Sophia.
Emma.
Everyone was connected.
Everyone had a secret.
Except him.
A knock came at the door.
Small.
Soft.
Alessandro looked up.
Emma stood there.
Still holding her teddy bear.
“Can I come in?”
He nodded.
She walked inside slowly.
“You look sad.”
Alessandro looked away.
“I’m thinking.”
Emma climbed onto the chair beside him.
“Thinking makes you sad.”
“Sometimes.”
“Mommy says when people are sad, they need someone.”
He looked at her.
“And who does your mommy have?”
Emma thought.
“Me.”
The answer was immediate.
Simple.
Pure.
Alessandro looked down.
For twenty years, he had believed family was something built by blood.
By names.
By inheritance.
But maybe he had been wrong.
Maybe family was the person who stayed.
The person who knocked on your door when they were afraid.
The person who trusted you when the world told them not to.
The next morning, Sophia disappeared again.
This time from protective custody.
Alessandro knew immediately.
The enemy was inside.
Because nobody outside the system could have accessed her location.
Jonah arrived with the report.
“She left voluntarily.”
Alessandro looked at him.
“No.”
Jonah frowned.
“The footage shows her walking out.”
“Show me.”
The video played.
Sophia walked through the hospital hallway.
Calm.
Normal.
Almost peaceful.
Then Alessandro noticed something.
Her eyes.
She was not walking freely.
She was following instructions.
“She was threatened.”
Jonah nodded.
“We think so.”
“Who contacted her?”
“We don’t know.”
Alessandro looked at the screen.
“Find out.”
Three hours later, they found Sophia.
Not far from the city.
Inside an abandoned church.
Alessandro entered alone.
Sophia sat in the front row.
Crying.
Not from fear.
From exhaustion.
“You came.”
Alessandro sat beside her.
“I told you I would find you.”
Sophia looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because Emma needs you.”
Her expression softened.
“And?”
Alessandro paused.
“Because you deserve the truth.”
Sophia looked down.
“You already know enough.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I know lies.”
A pause.
“I want the truth.”
Sophia was silent for a long time.
Then she finally spoke.
“Your father was not the only person who kept secrets.”
Alessandro waited.
“Twenty years ago, Elena had a son.”
“I know.”
Sophia looked surprised.
“You know?”
“Yes.”
“Then you know he survived.”
Alessandro froze.
“What?”
Sophia looked at him.
“Marco found him.”
The room became cold.
“Marco?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Sophia shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“Then why say he survived?”
“Because Elena told me.”
A pause.
“She told me before she disappeared.”
Alessandro leaned closer.
“What happened to Elena?”
Sophia’s eyes filled with sadness.
“She trusted the wrong people.”
“Who?”
Sophia looked at him.
“Your father.”
Alessandro’s jaw tightened.
Again.
The same name.
The same person.
Everything returned to his father.
But Sophia continued.
“There is something you don’t know.”
“What?”
“Marco didn’t fake his death.”
Alessandro frowned.
“What?”
“He was supposed to die.”
Silence.
Sophia whispered:
“Someone tried to kill him.”
“Who?”
She looked terrified.
Then she said:
“The same person who attacked me.”
That night, Alessandro returned to the mansion with one thought.
Someone had tried to erase an entire family line.
Elena.
Her child.
Marco.
Sophia.
And now Emma.
But there was one question he could not answer.
Who was powerful enough to manipulate the Duca family for twenty years?
He entered the main hall.
And stopped.
Someone was standing there.
A man.
Older.
Scar across his face.
Dark coat.
A familiar posture.
A familiar presence.
Alessandro could not move.
Because even after twenty years…
He knew those eyes.
The man smiled slightly.
“Hello, little brother.”
Alessandro’s breathing stopped.
Nobody called him that anymore.
Nobody except one person.
Marco.
“Marco?”
The man stepped into the light.
Older.
Changed.
But alive.
“Yes.”
Alessandro stared.
“How?”
Marco looked around the mansion.
“The same way everyone in this family survives.”
A pause.
“By pretending to be dead.”
Alessandro stepped forward.
Anger.
Pain.
Relief.
All mixed together.
“Why?”
Marco’s expression changed.
Because for the first time…
The strong older brother looked broken.
“Because I discovered who really destroyed our family.”
Alessandro waited.
Marco looked toward the stairs.
Toward Emma’s room.
May you like
Then whispered:
“And they are still inside this house.”
