Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Was Never Supposed To Return
The woman on the screen whispered: "Massimo... you should have protected her sooner."
Massimo Costa stood completely still.
He had seen men lie.
He had seen enemies beg.
He had seen people fake their deaths to escape him.
But this voice was different.
Because this was the voice of someone who was supposed to be gone forever.
Alessandra looked at him.
"Who is she?"
Massimo didn’t answer.
The video continued playing.
The woman remained seated in the dark room.
Only half of her face was visible.
But the expression on Massimo’s face told everyone enough.
He knew her.
And he was afraid of what she knew.
"Massimo."
The woman smiled slightly.
"You always believed you could control the truth."
A pause.
"But you never controlled me."
The screen went black.
The room stayed silent.
Nobody moved.
Alessandra watched Massimo carefully.
The man who had faced armed enemies without blinking.
The man who had walked into violence and walked out untouched.
The man everyone feared.
Was now standing there like someone had opened a door to his past.
"Who was she?"
Massimo looked at Alessandra.
For a moment, he didn’t look like a mafia boss.
He looked like someone who had lost something.
"Her name was Sofia."
Alessandra waited.
"And?"
Massimo looked away.
"She died eight years ago."
Nobody spoke.
Clara slowly shook her head.
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
Clara stared at the black screen.
"That’s impossible."
Massimo turned.
"What do you know?"
Clara hesitated.
Then answered.
"Sofia Costa wasn’t just connected to you."
A pause.
"She was connected to File 07."
Alessandra felt a chill.
"Your sister?"
Massimo looked at her.
The fact that she guessed correctly made his expression change.
"Yes."
The room became heavier.
Alessandra looked at the man across from her.
For the first time, she understood something.
Massimo Costa wasn’t just protecting secrets.
He was protecting wounds.
"You thought she was dead."
Massimo nodded.
"I saw it happen."
Nobody questioned him.
Because his voice made it clear.
Whatever happened eight years ago had broken something inside him.
Daniel stepped closer.
"That’s what they wanted you to believe."
Massimo turned toward him.
"What did you say?"
Daniel looked at the drive.
"File 07 contains records from eight years ago."
Massimo’s eyes narrowed.
"The night Sofia disappeared."
Daniel nodded.
"And the night your father’s company changed forever."
Alessandra looked between them.
"Your father?"
Massimo ignored the question.
"Open the file."
Clara looked nervous.
"Not here."
Massimo stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because if someone sent that video, they already know we have the drive."
A silence followed.
Then every screen in the lounge suddenly turned on.
The security cameras.
The televisions.
The private monitors.
All of them displayed the same image.
A message.
ONE MINUTE.
Alessandra froze.
"What does that mean?"
Massimo looked around.
His men immediately moved.
"Find the signal."
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew.
Someone had entered their system.
Someone powerful enough to reach Massimo Costa’s private security network.
A countdown appeared.
Alessandra pulled Leo closer.
Massimo noticed.
He walked toward her.
"Take him upstairs."
She looked at him.
"No."
The answer surprised him.
"I’m not leaving while everyone keeps secrets around me."
Massimo stared at her.
Most people would have lowered their eyes.
Alessandra didn’t.
"You brought me into this."
She pointed at the screens.
"My life was already destroyed before I walked through that door."
A pause.
"So stop protecting me like I’m helpless."
Something changed in Massimo’s expression.
Not anger.
Respect.
For the first time, Alessandra saw him understand that she was not someone waiting to be saved.
She was someone who survived.
The countdown continued.
Daniel looked at Massimo.
"She’s right."
Massimo glanced at him.
Daniel continued.
"You can’t hide the truth from her anymore."
Massimo said nothing.
Then he walked to the table.
He picked up the drive.
"File 07 was created by my father."
Alessandra listened.
"Eight years ago, Sofia discovered that his company was not only moving money."
Massimo paused.
"It was moving identities."
Clara looked down.
"People who needed to disappear."
Alessandra’s face changed.
"Disappear?"
Massimo nodded.
"New names. New records. New lives."
Daniel added:
"And people who knew too much were erased."
The room became quiet.
Alessandra thought about everyone involved.
Her supervisor.
Her assistant.
The missing money.
The false evidence.
"This wasn’t about stealing money."
Massimo looked at her.
"No."
"It was about hiding people."
"Yes."
She looked at the drive.
"And Sofia found out."
Massimo’s silence answered.
The countdown reached twenty.
Massimo inserted the drive into a secure laptop.
The screen opened.
A single folder appeared.
FILE 07.
No password.
No protection.
Just waiting.
Everyone gathered around.
Massimo clicked.
The first document appeared.
Names.
Hundreds of names.
Alessandra scanned the list.
Executives.
Lawyers.
Politicians.
Business owners.
Then she saw something.
Her breath stopped.
A name she recognized.
Someone from her childhood.
Someone she never expected to see.
"That’s impossible."
Massimo looked at her.
"What?"
She pointed.
"That name."
Everyone looked.
Alessandra stepped backward.
"She died when I was twelve."
Daniel frowned.
"Who?"
Alessandra stared at the screen.
"My mother."
Silence.
Nobody spoke.
Massimo looked at the document.
Then at Alessandra.
The file showed a transaction.
A payment.
A date.
A location.
Her mother’s name.
But next to it was something impossible.
STATUS:
ACTIVE.
Alessandra felt the room spinning.
"My mother is dead."
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew if that was true anymore.
Massimo slowly looked through the remaining files.
Then he stopped.
His face changed.
"What?"
Alessandra asked.
Massimo didn’t respond.
He turned the screen toward her.
There was a video file.
Created eight years ago.
The title was simple.
ALESSANDRA.
Her hands became cold.
"No."
Massimo looked at her.
"You know this?"
She shook her head.
"I don’t."
But something inside her already knew.
The file opened.
The screen showed darkness.
Then a woman’s voice.
A voice Alessandra had not heard since childhood.
Her mother.
"If you are watching this..."
Alessandra stopped breathing.
"...it means they finally found you."
The room disappeared around her.
Her mother continued.
"Alessandra, I’m sorry."
Tears filled her eyes.
Because she had spent years believing she had lost her.
The video continued.
"I tried to protect you from the people who created File 07."
Massimo looked at the screen.
Clara covered her mouth.
Then the final sentence appeared.
A warning.
"Do not trust the man who saved you."
Everyone slowly turned.
Toward Massimo.
And before Alessandra could speak, another line appeared on the screen.
May you like
The last recorded message from her mother.
"Because Massimo Costa is the reason I disappeared."
