Chapter 4 - The Enemy Inside The Family
The mansion doors opened.
Slowly.
Silently.
Every guard in the room raised their weapon.
Luca stood in front of his mother, watching the entrance.
Nobody spoke.
The security system was still offline.
The cameras were still dead.
Whoever had entered knew exactly how to disappear.
Then a figure stepped through the darkness.
Luca's hand moved toward his weapon.
But he stopped.
Because the person standing in front of him was not a stranger.
It was someone he had known for years.
Someone his father had trusted.
Someone who had attended his childhood birthdays.
Victor Salvatore.
Luca's uncle.
The man who had helped raise him after his father's death.
The man who had spent six years telling Luca that his father had been killed by enemies outside the family.
"Victor."
Luca's voice was cold.
Victor looked around the room.
His eyes stopped on Elena.
Then they moved to Luca.
"You finally found the room."
Nobody answered.
Victor sighed.
"I was hoping you wouldn't."
Luca stepped forward.
"You knew."
Victor remained silent.
"You knew about my father's investigation."
Another silence.
"You knew about Naomi."
Victor looked down.
That was enough.
Luca felt something inside him break.
Because betrayal from an enemy was expected.
But betrayal from family was different.
It was a wound that didn't bleed.
It just stayed open.
"How long?"
Victor looked at him.
"How long what?"
"How long did you know everyone was lying to me?"
Victor didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
"Since the night your father died."
The room became still.
Elena closed her eyes.
Luca looked at his mother.
Then at Victor.
"Tell me everything."
Victor walked deeper into the mansion.
He removed his coat.
Placed it on a chair.
Like he had done it a thousand times before.
Like he still belonged there.
"Your father discovered someone was moving money from the family accounts."
"I know."
"No."
Victor looked at him.
"You know the version they wanted you to know."
Luca's eyes narrowed.
"What did he find?"
Victor looked toward Elena.
"He found out the person stealing from the Moretti family wasn't outside."
A pause.
"It was inside."
Luca's jaw tightened.
"Who?"
Victor didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward the old fireplace.
He touched a small carving on the side.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a black envelope.
Luca stared.
Another secret.
Another thing hidden from him.
Victor handed it over.
"Your father left this behind."
Luca didn't take it immediately.
"Why do you have it?"
"Because he trusted me."
Luca laughed softly.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
His eyes became darker.
"Everyone he trusted betrayed him."
Victor accepted the accusation.
Maybe because he deserved it.
Luca opened the envelope.
Inside were several pages.
Bank transfers.
Names.
Dates.
Photographs.
Then he saw something that made his breathing stop.
A picture of Naomi.
But not the Naomi he knew.
Not the woman who cooked dinner with him.
Not the woman who held his hand when nobody was watching.
This Naomi was standing inside a private meeting.
Across from her was a man.
Luca recognized him immediately.
His father's former attorney.
The same man who handled the family's legal affairs before disappearing after his father's death.
Luca looked at Victor.
"She was involved before she met me."
Victor nodded.
"Yes."
"How did she get close to me?"
Victor hesitated.
And Luca noticed.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Victor looked away.
Then Elena spoke.
"Because I asked her to."
The room froze.
Luca slowly turned toward his mother.
"What?"
Elena looked broken.
"I was the one who invited Naomi into our lives."
Luca stared.
"Why?"
"Because your father left me instructions."
She looked at the envelope.
"He knew someone would come after you."
Luca's voice became sharper.
"So you used her to protect me?"
Elena nodded.
"I thought I could control the situation."
"You thought?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I was wrong."
Luca looked away.
The pain on his face was worse than anger.
"You let me fall in love with someone you suspected."
"I was trying to keep you alive."
"By destroying my trust?"
Elena couldn't answer.
Because there was no answer.
Hours passed.
The mansion remained locked down.
Nobody left.
Nobody entered.
Luca sat in his father's office, surrounded by documents that changed everything he believed.
His entire life was built on incomplete truths.
His father wasn't killed by a random enemy.
His mother wasn't just a victim.
Naomi wasn't the woman he thought she was.
And Victor knew more than he admitted.
Luca looked at the old recording device on the desk.
He played his father's message again.
This time, he listened carefully.
There was something beneath the words.
A sound.
A faint background noise.
Like someone else was in the room.
He increased the volume.
Static filled the office.
Then his father's voice returned.
"If you are hearing this..."
A pause.
"Do not trust the person who arrives after the first betrayal."
Luca stopped.
He replayed the sentence.
Again.
And again.
"The person who arrives after the first betrayal."
Someone arriving after.
Someone who appears when everything falls apart.
Someone who pretends to help.
Luca looked at Victor.
Then Elena.
Then the photograph of Naomi.
A terrible thought entered his mind.
"What if Naomi wasn't the person who betrayed me first?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
Or because everyone knew.
Then Luca's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He stared at it.
Nobody spoke.
He answered.
A distorted voice came through.
"Luca Moretti."
"Who is this?"
"You have been searching for the wrong person."
Luca stood.
"Where is Naomi?"
A quiet laugh.
"You still think she is the enemy."
Luca's expression hardened.
"Then tell me who is."
The voice became quieter.
"The person who raised you."
The call ended.
Luca slowly lowered the phone.
Everyone looked at him.
"What did they say?" Victor asked.
Luca didn't respond.
Because he was looking at his mother.
And for the first time in his life...
He wondered if Elena Moretti had been protecting him.
Or protecting the secret.
Five minutes later, Luca walked toward the basement.
The old family basement.
The place nobody entered.
The place his father had forbidden everyone to touch.
Elena followed behind him.
"Luca, don't."
He stopped.
"Why?"
She didn't answer.
"Why can't I go there?"
Her silence was the answer.
Luca opened the basement door.
The lights flickered.
One by one.
A long staircase disappeared into darkness.
At the bottom, something was waiting.
A single wooden box.
With his father's name carved into it.
Luca walked closer.
He opened the box.
Inside was a file.
And on top of the file was a handwritten note.
His father's handwriting.
Luca picked it up.
Only five words were written.
"Your mother knows who killed me."
Luca looked back toward Elena.
But she was no longer behind him.
May you like
The basement door slowly closed.
And on the other side, someone whispered his name.
