Chapter 10 - The Father Who Never Left
The phone continued ringing.
Nobody moved.
Nobody wanted to answer.
Because everyone knew.
Whatever waited on the other side of that call would change everything.
Simone stared at her mother.
Her mother stared at the screen.
A number that had been disconnected twelve years ago.
A number that belonged to a person who was supposed to be gone.
"Answer it."
Simone's voice was quiet.
Her mother looked at her.
"Simone..."
"Answer it."
This time, there was no fear in her voice.
Only exhaustion.
She was tired of secrets.
Tired of waiting.
Tired of everyone deciding when she was ready for the truth.
Her mother slowly pressed the button.
"Hello?"
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then a voice came through.
A voice Simone had never heard before.
But the reaction on her mother's face told her everything.
"Where is she?"
Her mother froze.
The voice continued.
"I know Simone is with you."
Victor immediately stepped forward.
"Who is that?"
Her mother lowered the phone slightly.
Her hands were shaking.
"It's him."
Adrian looked at her.
"Who?"
She looked toward the screen.
Toward the photograph.
Toward the truth that had followed them for twelve years.
"The man who started all of this."
The ballroom became silent.
Simone looked at Adrian.
"You know him?"
Adrian's expression changed.
"Yes."
"Who is he?"
Nobody answered.
Again.
The same silence.
The same pain.
Simone closed her eyes.
"Of course."
She laughed quietly.
"Another secret."
Adrian stepped toward her.
"No."
She looked at him.
"No?"
His voice softened.
"This one ends tonight."
For some reason, that sentence made her believe him.
Maybe because for the first time...
Someone wasn't asking her to wait.
The ballroom doors suddenly unlocked.
Everyone turned.
The doors opened slowly.
But nobody entered.
Only a small envelope slid across the floor.
Victor picked it up first.
He looked at the front.
Then his face changed.
"What?"
Simone moved closer.
"What is it?"
Victor didn't answer.
He handed it to her.
Her name was written on the front.
SIMONE MORETTI.
Not Bellamy.
Moretti.
Her hands trembled.
She opened it.
Inside was a letter.
The handwriting was familiar.
Her father's.
Again.
She read.
My daughter,
If you are reading this, it means the truth finally reached you.
Simone swallowed.
The room disappeared.
Only the words remained.
I know you will be angry.
You have every right to be.
But before you decide what I was...
You need to know what I sacrificed.
A tear fell onto the paper.
She continued.
I never abandoned you.
I never chose to leave.
Someone took me away because they knew I would never stop protecting you.
Simone looked at Adrian.
His eyes were full of pain.
The letter continued.
The person you trusted most was the person who put you in danger.
But your mother made one choice that saved your life.
She erased herself from your world.
Simone stopped.
Her mother covered her mouth.
She knew.
She had always known.
The next line was harder to read.
Because the ink was damaged.
But one sentence remained clear.
She didn't leave because she stopped loving you.
She left because she loved you enough to let you hate her.
Simone couldn't hold the tears anymore.
For years, she believed her mother chose to disappear.
But the truth was different.
Her mother had chosen pain.
So Simone could survive.
She looked at her mother.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Her mother cried.
"Because every time I tried..."
She stopped.
"Someone reminded me they could reach you."
Simone looked around.
"Who?"
Adrian answered.
"The person who is still watching."
The lights flickered.
Everyone turned.
The large screens in the ballroom turned on again.
But this time...
It wasn't a video.
It was a live feed.
A camera.
Showing them.
Showing the ballroom.
Showing every person standing there.
Someone was watching them right now.
Victor looked around.
"The cameras..."
Adrian's expression became serious.
"They were never installed for security."
Simone looked at the screen.
"Then why?"
Adrian looked at her.
"To watch you."
The answer made her cold.
For twelve years.
Someone had been watching her.
Her childhood.
Her teenage years.
Her entire life.
A message appeared on the screen.
Only three words.
YOU FOUND ME.
Then another.
YOU ALWAYS DO.
Simone stepped backward.
Her mother grabbed her hand.
"Don't respond."
But Simone stared at the screen.
Because she recognized something.
A detail in the corner.
A reflection.
A room.
She had seen it before.
"The photograph."
Everyone looked at her.
Simone pointed at the screen.
"The picture Victor received."
Victor took out his phone.
He looked at the photograph again.
Then his expression changed.
"The reflection."
Simone nodded.
"In the window."
Adrian moved closer.
"What did you see?"
She looked at the screen.
"The person watching us isn't far away."
A pause.
"They're inside the building."
Everyone became alert.
Alessandro immediately moved toward the exits.
"Lock every door."
The guards began moving.
But before they reached the hallway...
A sound came from upstairs.
A slow footstep.
Then another.
Everyone looked up.
The ballroom balcony was dark.
Someone was standing there.
Watching.
Simone felt her heartbeat increase.
Because she knew that silhouette.
Not from a photograph.
Not from a memory.
From her own life.
The person stepped closer to the edge of the balcony.
Adrian whispered:
"No..."
Simone looked at him.
"You know who that is?"
His face turned pale.
"Yes."
The figure stepped into the light.
And Simone finally saw the face.
The person who had been watching her.
The person who had controlled every lie.
The person her mother had spent twelve years running from.
And then the person smiled and said:
May you like
"Hello, Simone."
"It took you long enough to find out who your real family was..."
