Chapter 11 - The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
A woman froze in the darkness and whispered: "That voice... it can't be him." When Matteo Bellini found the hidden phone inside Alessandra's apartment, he discovered an old recording left by Gabriel Bellini. But the final words on the recording were: "I was never gone." Matteo realized the enemy they had been chasing had been watching them all along.
The phone continued ringing.
Nobody moved.
Nobody wanted to answer.
Because everyone in that room knew who was calling.
Gabriel Bellini.
The name that had haunted their families for decades.
The name connected to every disappearance.
Every secret.
Every lie.
I held Luca tightly against me.
My son's face was hidden against my shoulder.
He didn't understand what was happening.
And I prayed he never would.
Matteo stared at the phone on the table.
His hand was near his weapon.
But he didn't pick it up.
"Answer it," Sofia whispered.
Everyone looked at her.
Her face was pale.
But she wasn't afraid.
She looked like someone who had been waiting for this moment her entire life.
Matteo shook his head.
"No."
Sofia looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because Gabriel wants us to answer."
"And?"
Matteo's eyes narrowed.
"And because he always has a reason."
The phone kept ringing.
Five times.
Six times.
Seven.
Then it stopped.
The silence afterward felt worse.
I looked at Matteo.
"What now?"
Before he could answer...
The phone rang again.
This time, Matteo picked it up.
Nobody spoke.
He pressed the speaker button.
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then...
A man's voice.
Older.
Calm.
Almost gentle.
"Matteo."
My entire body froze.
Because even without seeing him...
I knew.
Gabriel.
Matteo's face became cold.
"Where are you?"
A quiet laugh came through the phone.
"Still asking the wrong questions."
Matteo tightened his grip.
"You've been following her."
A pause.
"Yes."
My stomach turned.
The honesty was terrifying.
"Why?"
Gabriel answered immediately.
"Because she is my family's last chance."
I looked at Luca.
My heart tightened.
"No."
The word escaped my lips.
Gabriel heard.
"Alessandra."
I froze.
Hearing my name from him felt wrong.
Like a stranger touching a memory that belonged only to me.
"Don't say my name."
A pause.
Then:
"I understand."
His voice softened.
"Your mother said you would hate me."
I felt my anger rise.
"You knew my mother."
"Yes."
"You knew me."
"Yes."
"Then why did you let me grow up without answers?"
Silence.
For the first time...
Gabriel didn't have an immediate response.
Then he said:
"Because answers would have killed you."
Nobody spoke.
I wanted to believe he was lying.
But part of me remembered.
The fear in my mother's voice.
The hiding.
The running.
The secrets.
"You don't get to decide that."
"No."
His voice became quieter.
"Your mother did."
I looked at Sofia.
She looked away.
That hurt more than anything.
Because maybe there were still things even she didn't know.
Matteo stepped closer to the phone.
"You used my family."
Gabriel sighed.
"No, Matteo."
A pause.
"You did."
The room became still.
Matteo's expression changed.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"I know exactly what happened."
Gabriel's voice became colder.
"You think you protected Isabella."
Matteo didn't answer.
"You think you protected Alessandra."
Silence.
"But you never asked why Isabella trusted you with Luca."
My blood ran cold.
Matteo looked at me.
Gabriel continued.
"Tell her, Matteo."
No one moved.
"Tell her why Isabella chose you."
I looked at Matteo.
"What is he talking about?"
Matteo looked away.
And that was the answer.
There was another secret.
Another thing he hadn't told me.
My chest tightened.
"Matteo."
He closed his eyes.
"Alessandra..."
Before he could continue, Gabriel spoke again.
"He was there the night Luca was born."
The room froze.
I stopped breathing.
"What?"
Matteo's face changed.
Sofia looked shocked.
Even Carlo looked confused.
Gabriel continued.
"He knows the truth."
I looked at Matteo.
"Is that true?"
His silence was unbearable.
"Matteo."
Finally, he whispered:
"Yes."
The word destroyed something inside me.
Not because he had been there.
But because he had hidden it.
"You knew?"
His eyes met mine.
"I knew about the hospital."
"What else?"
He didn't answer.
"What else did you know?"
A long silence.
Then:
"I knew someone was looking for him."
My heart broke.
"You knew people wanted my son?"
"Yes."
"And you never told me?"
His voice became desperate.
"Because I was trying to keep you alive."
I shook my head.
"No."
The room became blurry.
"I can't do this anymore."
I looked at Luca.
I looked at Sofia.
I looked at Matteo.
Everyone had pieces of my life.
Everyone knew more than me.
I was the last person to learn the truth about my own family.
Then Gabriel spoke through the phone.
"Alessandra."
I didn't answer.
"Open the second compartment."
I frowned.
"What?"
"Your mother's box."
My eyes moved toward the hidden room.
"There is another compartment."
Nobody moved.
Gabriel continued.
"Inside is the reason everyone has been lying to you."
Matteo immediately looked alarmed.
"Don't."
I turned.
"What?"
His face changed.
"Don't open it."
That was enough.
Because Matteo Bellini was not afraid of many things.
But he was afraid of that box.
I walked toward it.
Slowly.
Sofia followed.
"Alessandra."
I stopped.
She looked at me.
"Whatever is inside..."
She swallowed.
"...it changes everything."
I opened the wooden box.
Inside was nothing but an old photograph.
A family photograph.
My mother.
My father.
Me.
Sofia.
And another person.
A young boy.
I stared.
I had never seen him before.
But Matteo had.
Because the moment he saw the picture...
He stepped back.
"No."
I looked at him.
"Who is that?"
He didn't answer.
Sofia picked up the photograph.
Her hands started shaking.
"That's impossible."
The boy in the picture looked about ten years old.
Dark hair.
Serious eyes.
A small scar near his eyebrow.
The same scar as Adriano.
My heart stopped.
"Adriano?"
Matteo whispered:
"No."
He looked at the photograph.
Then at the phone.
Because Gabriel was still listening.
The voice came through the speaker.
And for the first time...
He sounded afraid.
"Alessandra..."
A pause.
"That isn't Adriano."
Everyone froze.
"Then who is it?"
Gabriel answered.
"The first son Isabella tried to save."
The lights suddenly went out.
Again.
But this time...
The darkness wasn't empty.
Someone was inside the apartment.
Someone who had entered without making a sound.
May you like
Then a man's voice whispered from behind us:
"Hello, sister."
