Chapter 5 - The Brother Who Never Died
The screen flickered.
For a moment, Alessandro Vitali forgot how to breathe.
The video was old.
The quality was damaged.
But the voice was clear.
His father's voice.
A voice Alessandro had not heard since the day he buried him.
"Alessandro, if you are watching this, then I failed to stop the truth from reaching you."
The cabin remained silent.
Nobody moved.
Not the passengers.
Not Matteo.
Not even Sofia.
Everyone was watching the screen.
Everyone except Alessandro.
Because he was watching the past.
The past he had spent twenty years trying to understand.
His father appeared older in the recording.
Tired.
Different from the powerful man Alessandro remembered.
The man who built an empire.
The man who taught him that weakness was something to destroy.
But this version of his father looked afraid.
"Your entire life, you believed our family was built on loyalty."
The video paused briefly.
Then continued.
"It was built on a lie."
Alessandro's hands tightened.
He looked at Matteo.
"How long have you known about this?"
Matteo didn't answer.
That was enough.
Alessandro looked back at the screen.
His father's face appeared again.
"I need you to understand something, Alessandro."
The old man leaned closer to the camera.
"Luca was never your enemy."
Alessandro froze.
His brother's name.
The name that had disappeared from every conversation.
The name nobody dared mention.
"He was trying to expose the truth."
The video cut for a second.
Then another scene appeared.
A younger Luca.
Alive.
Standing inside an office Alessandro recognized.
His father's private office.
Alessandro stared.
That room no longer existed.
It had been destroyed years ago.
But there was something else in the footage.
Something that made his blood turn cold.
A folder on the desk.
A folder with his name.
ALESSANDRO VITALI.
The video continued.
Luca opened it.
Inside were documents.
Photos.
Reports.
Alessandro couldn't see everything.
But he saw enough.
His father had been watching him.
Studying him.
Controlling him.
Like he was not a son.
Like he was a piece on a chessboard.
Luca looked directly into the camera.
"If you are watching this, Alessandro, they already told you I died."
The younger version of his brother looked exhausted.
"But I need you to know something."
A pause.
"I was not killed because I betrayed the family."
His eyes became serious.
"I was almost killed because I found out who betrayed us."
The video stopped.
Alessandro stared at the screen.
Nobody spoke.
Then Sofia whispered:
"That's my uncle."
Alessandro looked down.
"What?"
She pointed at the screen.
"My mother showed me his picture."
Alessandro felt a strange pain in his chest.
Elena knew.
She knew everything.
She knew Luca was alive.
She knew his father was involved.
And she still disappeared.
Why?
The question burned inside him.
The plane landed thirty minutes later.
But Alessandro barely remembered the landing.
His mind was trapped inside that video.
Inside every lie.
Every missing piece.
Every person who knew the truth while he lived in the dark.
The moment the aircraft door opened, Alessandro moved.
Security surrounded him immediately.
His personal team had arrived.
Matteo followed.
Sofia stayed beside Alessandro.
Not behind him.
Beside him.
That detail did not escape him.
The girl had spent her entire life running.
But now she stood beside the most dangerous man she had ever met.
Like she trusted him.
Outside the airport, several black vehicles waited.
Alessandro opened the back door himself.
"Sofia goes with me."
One of his guards looked surprised.
"Sir?"
Alessandro looked at him.
Nobody questioned him again.
The car moved through the city.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Sofia quietly asked:
"Are you angry at my mother?"
Alessandro looked out the window.
The city passed by.
"I don't know."
That was the truth.
And Alessandro hated admitting when he didn't know something.
Sofia looked down.
"She was scared you would hate her."
Those words made him turn.
"Why?"
"Because she left."
Alessandro remained silent.
Sofia continued.
"She said she wanted to come back."
A pause.
"But she said she couldn't."
"Why?"
The girl looked at him.
"Because someone was watching us."
The answer was simple.
Childlike.
But terrifying.
Someone had been watching Elena.
Watching Sofia.
Watching him.
For years.
Alessandro reached for his phone.
He called his oldest security contact.
"Find every record connected to Elena."
A pause.
"Every record?"
"Everything."
His voice became colder.
"Medical records. Travel records. Identity changes. Every person who helped her."
The man on the phone hesitated.
"Sir... there is one problem."
"What?"
"Someone has already deleted most of them."
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
"We don't know."
That answer was unacceptable.
Nobody deleted information from his world without leaving a trace.
But then the man added:
"Actually..."
Alessandro waited.
"There is one file we couldn't access."
"What file?"
A pause.
"The Elena Vitali file."
Alessandro stopped.
Nobody had called her that in twenty years.
Not even him.
"Where is it?"
"We found the location."
"And?"
The man lowered his voice.
"It's stored in the old Vitali family estate."
Alessandro looked forward.
The old estate.
The place where his father raised him.
The place where Luca disappeared.
The place where Elena had last been seen.
He had not returned there since his father's death.
Because some places were not homes.
They were graves.
The car changed direction.
Toward the estate.
Matteo noticed.
"You shouldn't go there."
Alessandro looked at him.
"Why?"
Matteo looked uncomfortable.
"Because if the file is still there, someone wanted you to find it."
Alessandro gave a cold smile.
"Good."
Matteo frowned.
"Good?"
"Yes."
Alessandro looked at Sofia.
"Because now they know I'm looking."
The estate appeared after an hour.
Large gates.
Old stone walls.
A place that once represented power.
Now it represented secrets.
The guards opened the entrance.
Nobody had touched the property in years.
At least, that was what they thought.
The moment Alessandro stepped inside, he noticed something.
Fresh footprints.
Someone had been there recently.
He raised his hand.
Everyone stopped.
Sofia grabbed his coat.
"Is someone here?"
Alessandro looked toward the dark hallway.
"Maybe."
They moved slowly.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
Inside his father's old office, everything remained untouched.
The desk.
The shelves.
The paintings.
The same room from Luca's video.
Alessandro walked toward the desk.
He searched every drawer.
Nothing.
Then he noticed something.
A small scratch underneath the wooden surface.
A hidden compartment.
He opened it.
Inside was an envelope.
No name.
No label.
Only one sentence written on it.
"Open this when you finally know who your enemy is."
Alessandro stared.
He opened the envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
His hand stopped moving.
Because the photograph showed Elena.
Alive.
Standing beside Luca.
And holding Sofia as a baby.
But that wasn't what shocked him.
Behind them stood another person.
Someone Alessandro recognized.
Someone who had attended his father's funeral.
Someone who had comforted him when Elena disappeared.
Someone he trusted completely.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
Only four words.
"Don't trust Matteo Ricci."
Alessandro looked up.
Matteo was standing in the doorway.
May you like
And behind him was someone else.
Someone who whispered his name.
