Chapter 8 - The Last File My Wife Left Behind
A message appeared on my phone from my own number:
"Adrian, if you are reading this, someone has taken control of my identity."
When Adrian Moretti opened the hidden file inside Isabella's memory card, he discovered a final recording from his wife.
The video showed Isabella holding Lily three years earlier.
But behind her was a person Adrian thought he could trust.
And that person was preparing to betray them all.
I stared at the phone screen.
My own name was displayed as the sender.
My own number.
My own identity.
But I didn't write that message.
I didn't send it.
And the only person who could have created something like this was someone who knew every detail about me.
Someone who had access.
Someone close.
The mansion was completely dark.
No security.
No cameras.
No alarms.
For the first time in years, I felt something I hated.
Helplessness.
Not because I couldn't fight.
Not because I couldn't protect myself.
Because Lily was standing beside me.
And every person in this room had already failed to protect her once.
I looked at my daughter.
She was holding the necklace tightly.
The same necklace Isabella gave her.
The same necklace that carried the truth everyone wanted to hide.
"Lily."
She looked up.
"Yes?"
"Stay with me."
She nodded.
"I won't leave you."
Those words were simple.
But they meant more than anything I had heard in three years.
Because everyone else had left.
Everyone except this little girl.
I looked toward the staircase.
The sound upstairs had stopped.
Whoever entered the mansion was waiting.
Waiting for us to make the first move.
Thomas looked at me.
"We need to leave."
I looked at him.
"You don't give orders anymore."
He accepted that.
"I know."
"Then tell me something useful."
Thomas took a breath.
"The person upstairs knows about the memory card."
I looked at the card.
"How?"
"Because they know everything Isabella prepared."
Victor stepped forward.
"Not everything."
Everyone looked at him.
Victor reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a small device.
A tracking signal.
My eyes narrowed.
"What is that?"
His expression was serious.
"Something I found three years ago."
I stared at him.
"You had this?"
Victor nodded.
"And I hid it."
My anger returned.
"Of course you did."
Victor looked at me.
"I know how it looks."
"No."
I moved closer.
"You don't."
My voice became colder.
"You all keep saying you had reasons."
Michael looked away.
Thomas lowered his head.
Victor remained silent.
"But while you protected secrets..."
I looked at Lily.
"I lost years with my daughter."
Nobody spoke.
Because nobody could deny it.
Victor finally said:
"You're right."
That surprised me.
"I made mistakes."
He looked at the necklace.
"But Isabella believed there was still time to fix them."
I looked at him.
"Where is the file?"
He understood immediately.
"The memory card."
I nodded.
"We open it now."
Marco moved toward the computer.
"We should do this somewhere secure."
I looked around the mansion.
"Secure doesn't exist anymore."
That was the truth.
My home.
My fortress.
The place where I thought my family was safe.
Had become the place where everyone had been hiding secrets.
Marco connected the memory card.
The screen remained black for several seconds.
Then a folder appeared.
No name.
No date.
Only one word.
LILY.
My heart stopped.
I clicked it.
Inside were dozens of files.
Photos.
Documents.
Videos.
Medical records.
Everything.
Three years of my daughter's life.
Three years I never saw.
My hands shook.
The first video opened automatically.
Isabella appeared.
She was sitting in a small room.
Lily was sleeping in her arms.
I had never seen this moment.
My wife looked exhausted.
But happy.
Alive.
"Adrian..."
Her voice broke.
"If you are watching this, then Lily found you."
I leaned closer.
"I need you to listen carefully."
Isabella looked behind her.
Like she was afraid someone would hear.
"Everything you were told about the explosion was false."
My breathing slowed.
"I didn't lose control of the car."
She looked down at Lily.
"The brakes were changed."
The room became silent.
Michael closed his eyes.
Victor looked away.
Thomas whispered:
"She knew."
The video continued.
"The person who did this wanted it to look like an accident."
Isabella touched Lily's hair.
"They wanted Lily gone."
My hands tightened.
"Why?"
Isabella looked directly into the camera.
"Because Lily is the only person who can prove what happened."
A document appeared on the screen.
A hospital record.
A birth certificate.
Then something else.
A DNA report.
I looked at it.
And my entire body froze.
The file showed something I never expected.
Lily was my daughter.
But there was another person listed.
A second parent.
Not Isabella.
Not me.
Someone else had been added to the record.
Someone had tried to claim my daughter.
Thomas stepped closer.
"Adrian..."
I stared at the screen.
"Who is that?"
Nobody answered.
I zoomed in.
The name became clear.
And my blood turned cold.
Because it belonged to someone who had been dead for years.
My father.
I looked at Michael.
"Explain."
Michael didn't speak.
I turned toward Thomas.
"You knew."
Thomas looked broken.
"I suspected."
I laughed.
"You suspected."
My voice became louder.
"My dead father tried to take my daughter?"
Thomas looked at the screen.
"Your father wasn't the person you thought he was."
The video continued.
Isabella appeared again.
Her voice became softer.
"Adrian, there is something I never told you."
I looked at the screen.
"Before we met, I knew your family."
My heart stopped.
"I knew what they were capable of."
She looked at Lily.
"I knew your father was dangerous."
The video glitched.
Then another file appeared.
A security recording.
The date was three years ago.
The night of the explosion.
I clicked it.
The camera showed a parking garage.
Isabella's car.
Then a person approaching.
The person placed something under the vehicle.
A device.
A bomb.
Everyone watched.
Nobody breathed.
The camera angle changed.
The person's face became visible.
I froze.
Because I knew him.
Everyone knew him.
The person who planted the bomb was not a stranger.
It was someone who cried at my funeral.
Someone who told me he would help me find the killer.
Someone who stood beside me while I buried my wife.
Victor whispered:
"No..."
I looked at him.
Because he was looking at the screen.
And his face showed something I had never seen before.
Recognition.
Fear.
Pain.
"Victor..."
He didn't answer.
I looked back at the video.
The person turned toward the camera.
Smiled.
Then removed his disguise.
The face appeared clearly.
My entire body went cold.
Because the person responsible for the explosion...
Was not dead.
He was not missing.
He was standing inside my mansion.
The lights suddenly turned back on.
Everyone turned toward the entrance.
A voice came from the hallway.
"You finally found the truth, Adrian."
The man stepped into the room.
May you like
And Victor whispered his name.
"Richard..."
