Chapter 6 - The Brother Who Left a Warning
Matteo Viscari stared at the photograph in his hand.
For nine years, he believed he understood the night Leo died.
An attack.
A mistake.
A tragic sacrifice.
That was the story everyone repeated.
That was the story Matteo forced himself to accept.
But now the photograph told him something different.
Leo had not been surprised by betrayal.
He had been investigating it.
And he had trusted someone enough to stand beside that person before his death.
Clara looked at the photograph again.
The image was old.
The colors had faded.
But the two people in it were clear.
Leo Viscari.
And Matteo’s closest childhood friend.
Adrian Moretti.
Clara looked at Matteo.
“Who is he?”
Matteo did not answer immediately.
The silence itself was an answer.
“He was my brother’s friend.”
“Only his friend?”
Matteo looked at her.
Clara knew she had asked the right question.
Because Matteo’s expression changed.
Not anger.
Not sadness.
Disappointment.
“Adrian grew up with us.”
He placed the photograph on the desk.
“Our families worked together for years.”
“Was he part of Viscari Holdings?”
“No.”
“Then why is Leo standing with him?”
Matteo looked at the photograph.
“Because Leo trusted him.”
The sentence carried weight.
Leo trusted him.
Not Matteo.
Not Victor.
Adrian.
Clara folded her arms.
“Your brother told you not to trust the people who stood beside him after he died.”
Matteo nodded slowly.
“But Adrian wasn’t there after.”
“When did he disappear?”
Matteo looked away.
“The day after Leo’s funeral.”
Clara frowned.
“That’s convenient.”
“Yes.”
“And you never questioned it?”
Matteo’s expression tightened.
“I did.”
“What happened?”
“He sent me a message.”
“What did it say?”
Matteo was silent.
Then he answered.
“Leo wanted me to let go.”
Clara stared.
“That sounds nothing like him.”
“I know.”
The room became quiet.
Because that was the problem.
Matteo had believed those words because he wanted to believe them.
He wanted Leo’s final message to be peaceful.
He wanted his brother to have accepted what happened.
But now he wondered if those words had been another lie.
Clara looked at the computer.
“We need to find Adrian.”
Matteo nodded.
“Agreed.”
But before they could move, Matteo’s phone rang.
The screen showed a private number.
He answered.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then a voice came through.
Older.
Distorted.
But familiar.
“Matteo.”
His entire body became still.
Clara noticed.
“Who is it?”
Matteo did not answer.
The voice continued.
“You finally found Leo’s message.”
Matteo’s grip tightened around the phone.
“Who are you?”
A quiet laugh.
Not cruel.
Almost sad.
“You always hated the truth when it arrived too late.”
Matteo stood.
“Tell me who you are.”
“You want the name of the person who betrayed your brother.”
A pause.
“But you should ask a different question.”
Matteo said nothing.
The voice continued.
“Ask yourself why Leo never came to you.”
The call ended.
The room remained silent.
Clara watched Matteo.
“What did he mean?”
Matteo looked at the phone.
“I don’t know.”
But again, Clara knew he was hiding something.
Not intentionally.
Something deeper.
A memory.
A possibility.
“What happened between you and Leo before he died?”
Matteo looked at her.
“Nothing.”
“Matteo.”
He looked away.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he spoke.
“Three days before the attack…”
Clara waited.
“Leo and I argued.”
“About what?”
“About trust.”
The answer surprised her.
“He told me someone close to us was dangerous.”
“And you didn’t believe him.”
Matteo’s silence confirmed it.
“Why?”
“Because I thought he was wrong.”
Clara looked at him.
“Or because you didn’t want him to be right?”
That question hurt.
Matteo did not deny it.
Leo had always been the one who saw possibilities.
Matteo saw facts.
Leo followed instincts.
Matteo followed evidence.
And that night, Matteo chose logic over his brother.
“What did Leo say?”
Matteo closed his eyes.
“He said…”
His voice became quieter.
“He said, ‘You protect this family so hard that you don’t notice when the threat is already inside.’”
Clara felt a chill.
Because those words matched everything happening now.
The fake orders.
The hidden files.
The secret messages.
Someone inside had been destroying Matteo from the beginning.
The office door suddenly opened.
A security officer rushed in.
“Mr. Viscari.”
Matteo turned.
“What happened?”
“We found something downstairs.”
“What?”
The officer looked nervous.
“Someone accessed the archive room.”
Matteo immediately moved.
“When?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
Clara followed him.
The archive room was located beneath the executive floor.
A place few employees knew existed.
Inside were years of company records.
Old contracts.
Family documents.
Private investigations.
The security team surrounded the room.
The lock had been broken.
Matteo entered.
Everything looked untouched.
Until Clara noticed the open cabinet.
“Over there.”
Inside was a missing folder space.
Someone had taken something.
Matteo checked the records.
“What was stored here?”
The security officer looked at the system.
“Old investigation files.”
“Which one?”
The officer hesitated.
“Leo Viscari case.”
Matteo went completely silent.
The person who broke in had not taken money.
Not contracts.
Not business secrets.
They took the one thing that could reveal the truth.
Clara searched the floor.
Then stopped.
“There.”
Near the cabinet was a small piece of paper.
Matteo picked it up.
Only five words were written.
He never wanted to leave you.
Matteo stared.
Clara looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Before he could answer, another sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Someone running.
Security moved instantly.
They chased after the person.
But they were too late.
The emergency exit door slammed shut.
Outside, a car disappeared into the street.
The only thing left behind was a small object.
A watch.
Matteo picked it up.
His face changed.
Clara saw it.
“What?”
He turned the watch over.
On the back was the same symbol.
Three lines.
But this time, there was something else.
A date.
The date of Leo’s death.
And beneath it…
another date.
A date nine years after Leo died.
Tomorrow.
Clara looked at Matteo.
“Why would someone leave this?”
Matteo stared at the watch.
Because now he understood.
This was not just a warning.
It was a countdown.
Someone was telling him the truth would come out.
Tomorrow.
His phone rang again.
The same private number.
This time, Matteo answered immediately.
The voice spoke only one sentence.
“Your brother didn’t die because he found the traitor.”
A pause.
“He died because he tried to protect you from them.”
The call ended.
Matteo stood frozen.
Because after nine years of blaming himself…
he finally understood something.
Leo had not abandoned him.
May you like
Leo had been fighting for him.
And someone had spent nine years making sure Matteo never discovered why.
