Chapter 7 - The Message From The Past
"Matteo, if you are watching this, it means the man you trusted most has already found you..."
The voice stopped.
The screen went black.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone in that room understood the meaning behind those words.
Someone Matteo trusted.
Someone close enough to his family.
Someone who had been beside him for years.
Matteo slowly turned around.
His eyes moved from Adrian.
To Elena.
Then to the empty space where Marco Bellini should have been.
But Marco was gone.
Again.
"Play it."
His voice was quiet.
The computer did not respond.
The screen remained black.
Matteo stepped closer.
"Play it."
Adrian looked at the computer.
"It was designed that way."
Matteo looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
"It means your father didn't want anyone to watch this accidentally."
A pause.
"He wanted only you."
Matteo stared at the screen.
"And why did it stop?"
Adrian looked uneasy.
"Because something triggered the security."
"What?"
Adrian did not answer immediately.
That was enough.
Matteo knew.
Adrian was hiding something.
"Tell me."
Adrian looked at Sophie.
Then at Matteo.
"Your father created a system."
"What system?"
"A dead man's switch."
The room became silent.
Matteo understood.
A final message.
A final warning.
Something his father prepared before he knew he might disappear.
"If someone tried to access the files without permission, everything would lock."
Matteo looked at the computer.
"And now?"
Adrian looked at the screen.
"Now someone else knows we opened it."
Before Matteo could answer, the building lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then every screen inside the room turned on.
Security cameras.
Old monitors.
Even the small television in the corner.
All showing the same image.
Valenti Mansion.
The west hallway.
The locked door.
The place where everything started.
Matteo watched silently.
Then the camera moved.
Someone was standing in front of the door.
A man.
Wearing a dark coat.
Holding something in his hand.
The image was blurry.
But Matteo knew that posture.
That confidence.
That calmness.
Marco Bellini.
Elena stepped back.
"No..."
Matteo looked at the screen.
"How?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
Marco looked directly into the camera.
Like he knew Matteo was watching.
Then he smiled.
A small, controlled smile.
The kind of smile someone gave when they already had the advantage.
The speakers crackled.
A voice came through.
"Matteo."
Everyone froze.
It was Marco.
"You're probably wondering why I left."
Matteo stared at the screen.
"Come back."
Marco laughed softly.
"No."
A pause.
"Not until you understand what your father did."
Matteo moved closer.
"What did he do?"
Marco looked into the camera.
"He stole something from me."
The room became colder.
"Something that belonged to my family."
Matteo frowned.
"Your family?"
Marco smiled.
"You always believed the Valenti name belonged to your bloodline."
Another pause.
"But your father knew the truth."
Matteo’s expression changed.
"What truth?"
The screen went dark.
The message ended.
But one thing remained.
A file appeared on the computer.
A document.
The title:
THE ORIGINAL VALENTI BLOODLINE.
Nobody touched it.
Because everyone understood.
Opening it would change everything.
Three hours later, Matteo returned to the mansion.
Not as a boss.
Not as the head of the Valenti empire.
But as a son searching through the ruins of his own family.
The mansion felt different now.
The same halls.
The same walls.
But nothing felt familiar anymore.
Every room could hide a secret.
Every person could be lying.
Every memory could be false.
Sophie walked beside him.
Holding his hand.
A small action.
But one Matteo noticed.
Because nobody had held his hand since he was a child.
Nobody except his father.
And now this little girl.
His sister.
The truth still felt impossible.
But every piece pointed to the same answer.
Sophie was family.
Matteo stopped in the hallway.
The same hallway where he first found her.
The locked door was still there.
The door that started everything.
Sophie looked at it.
"That was where my mommy was."
Matteo nodded.
"I know."
She looked up.
"Are you angry?"
The question surprised him.
"At who?"
"At me."
Matteo looked at her.
"Why would I be angry at you?"
She hugged her rabbit.
"Because everyone was angry when they found out about me."
Something inside Matteo tightened.
"Who was angry?"
Sophie looked down.
"I don't know."
A pause.
"But mommy said some people don't like children who know secrets."
Matteo crouched.
"Sophie."
She looked at him.
"Nobody will hurt you."
The words came naturally.
No hesitation.
No calculation.
Just a promise.
Then Elena walked toward them.
She looked exhausted.
"Matteo."
He stood.
"What?"
She held something in her hand.
Another envelope.
His expression changed immediately.
"Where did you get that?"
"It was hidden inside the rabbit."
Matteo looked at Sophie.
The little girl looked surprised.
"I didn't know."
He took the envelope.
The paper was old.
But unlike his father’s letters...
this one had no seal.
Only a name.
Lucia Valenti.
His mother.
He opened it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
Matteo,
If you are reading this, then I failed to protect you.
I need you to understand something.
Your father did not choose power over family.
He chose family over everything.
The letter continued.
Years ago, your father discovered that the Valenti empire was built on a lie.
A lie created by the person who raised him.
Matteo stopped reading.
His grandfather.
The founder of the Valenti organization.
The man everyone respected.
The man whose portrait hung in the mansion.
The letter continued.
The person who betrayed us was not an outsider.
It was someone carrying our name.
Matteo lowered the paper.
Someone carrying their name.
Not someone working for them.
Someone inside.
A family member.
Elena watched his face.
"What does it say?"
Matteo did not answer.
Because he already knew.
The next line confirmed his fear.
Your father discovered that his own brother planned to take control of everything.
Matteo’s breathing stopped.
His uncle.
The person who gave Marco power.
The person who owned one of the keys.
The person who had disappeared from the story completely.
His uncle.
But the letter had more.
And the final sentence made Matteo’s hand shake.
Your father trusted Marco because Marco was trying to stop him.
Not destroy him.
Matteo looked up.
Everything changed.
Again.
Marco was not the enemy?
Then who was?
Suddenly, every phone inside the mansion rang at the same time.
The sound echoed through every hallway.
Every room.
Every floor.
Matteo answered the closest one.
No one spoke.
Then a child’s voice came through.
A little boy.
Whispering.
"Mr. Matteo..."
Matteo froze.
"Who is this?"
The voice trembled.
"I know where your father hid the last file."
A pause.
"But you have to hurry."
Matteo tightened his grip.
"Who are you?"
The boy whispered:
"My name is Luca."
Silence.
Then the boy said something that made Matteo’s blood run cold.
"I am your brother."
May you like
The phone went dead.
And upstairs, inside the mansion, a locked door that had never been opened before slowly began to unlock itself.
