Chapter 8 - The Brother Hidden In The Mansion
The door unlocked itself.
Nobody moved.
Everyone in the hallway heard it.
The sound was slow.
Metal turning.
A lock releasing.
The same sound Matteo had heard days earlier when he opened the west room.
The sound that started everything.
Matteo stared toward the upper floor.
A door that had remained closed for years was now open.
And someone was inside.
"Stay here."
The guards immediately moved.
"No."
Matteo looked at them.
"I said stay here."
Nobody argued.
Because the expression on his face was different.
This was not the expression of a mafia boss protecting his territory.
This was a man walking toward the truth about his family.
Sophie held his hand.
"Mr. Matteo."
He looked down.
The little girl was afraid.
But she did not let go.
"Will you find him?"
Matteo knew who she meant.
The boy on the phone.
Luca.
The brother he never knew existed.
"I will."
Sophie nodded.
Then she whispered:
"My mommy said families always find each other."
Matteo looked away.
Because he wanted to believe that.
But everything he knew about family had been built on secrets.
His father hid things.
His mother disappeared.
His uncle betrayed them.
His entire life was a story someone else had written.
And he was only now finding the missing pages.
The open door led to an old bedroom.
A room Matteo had never seen before.
That alone was impossible.
He had lived in Valenti Mansion his entire life.
He knew every hallway.
Every office.
Every hidden passage.
At least...
he thought he did.
The room was small.
Nothing like the rest of the mansion.
No expensive furniture.
No family portraits.
No signs of wealth.
Just a simple bed.
A wooden desk.
And a wall covered with children's drawings.
Matteo stopped.
The drawings showed the mansion.
The gardens.
The people who lived there.
And in almost every drawing...
a little boy stood beside a woman.
The same woman.
His mother.
Lucia.
Matteo walked closer.
On the desk was a small wooden box.
Inside were dozens of photographs.
His father holding a baby.
His mother smiling.
A young Matteo standing nearby.
And another child.
Always there.
Always hidden.
A boy.
About the same age as Matteo had been when he was younger.
Matteo picked up one photograph.
On the back were three words.
My sons.
His fingers tightened.
Two sons.
Not one.
His father had known.
His mother had known.
Everyone had known.
Except him.
Then he saw another picture.
A young boy standing beside Marco Bellini.
Matteo froze.
Because Marco was not looking at the child like a stranger.
He was looking at him like family.
The door behind Matteo closed.
He turned instantly.
A voice came from the corner.
"You're finally here."
Matteo reached for his weapon.
A boy stepped out from the shadows.
Not a child.
Not anymore.
He was around twenty years old.
Dark hair.
Similar eyes.
The same sharp features as Matteo.
The resemblance was impossible to ignore.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then the young man said:
"You look exactly like him."
Matteo stared.
"Who are you?"
The young man gave a sad smile.
"You already know."
Matteo’s grip tightened.
"Luca."
The boy nodded.
"Yes."
The silence between them was heavier than any fight Matteo had ever faced.
"You called me."
"I had to."
"Why?"
Luca looked around the room.
"Because someone is coming for all of us."
Matteo stepped closer.
"Start talking."
Luca looked at him.
"You want the truth?"
"Yes."
"Even if it destroys everything you built?"
Matteo did not hesitate.
"Yes."
Luca nodded.
"Good."
He walked toward the desk.
"Because your father never wanted you to become the head of the Valenti empire."
Matteo looked at the photographs.
"I know."
"No."
Luca shook his head.
"You don't."
A pause.
"He wanted you to destroy it."
The words surprised Matteo.
"What?"
Luca opened a drawer.
Inside was another file.
Different from the others.
Marked with one word.
RESET.
"My father spent his entire life building something."
Luca looked at him.
"Then he spent his final years trying to destroy it."
Matteo opened the file.
The documents inside were about the Valenti organization.
But not the business.
The structure.
The people.
The secrets.
The corruption.
Names appeared.
People Matteo trusted.
People who worked for him.
People who had been part of his empire for years.
Then he saw one name.
His own.
At the bottom of the page.
Matteo Valenti.
Future successor.
But beside it was a note.
He must never know.
Matteo looked at Luca.
"What does this mean?"
Luca looked away.
"Your father knew someone would use you."
"Who?"
Luca hesitated.
Then said:
"Me."
The answer shocked Matteo.
"You?"
Luca nodded.
"I was supposed to be the heir."
The room became silent.
"Your father believed the Valenti empire would destroy anyone who inherited it."
Matteo stared.
"So he chose me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because nobody would suspect the son everyone knew."
Matteo felt anger rising.
His entire life.
His entire identity.
Was a plan.
"You were hidden."
Luca nodded.
"I was protected."
A pause.
"You were sacrificed."
Those words hurt because they were true.
Matteo looked at the file.
"Why show yourself now?"
Luca looked toward the window.
"Because Marco found out I was alive."
Matteo became still.
"Marco knew?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Luca looked at him.
"Because Marco was the one who protected me."
Again.
The same impossible truth.
Marco was both enemy and protector.
A man who appeared guilty.
But kept saving them.
Matteo shook his head.
"I don't understand."
"You will."
Luca walked toward another drawer.
"Because the person you should fear was never Marco."
He pulled out a document.
Then handed it to Matteo.
"This is the original inheritance agreement."
Matteo opened it.
The first page was signed by his grandfather.
The founder.
But below the signature was another name.
A name Matteo had never expected.
Lucia Valenti.
His mother.
Luca pointed at the paper.
"Your grandfather did not create the Valenti empire alone."
Matteo looked confused.
"Then who did?"
Luca’s expression became serious.
"Someone your family erased from history."
Matteo looked at the page again.
A hidden signature.
A forgotten partner.
A person removed from every record.
Then Luca whispered:
"The real founder of the Valenti empire was not a man."
A pause.
"It was a woman."
Matteo looked up.
"Who?"
Before Luca could answer, every light in the room went out.
The mansion alarm started screaming.
A guard’s voice came through Matteo’s radio.
"Boss!"
Static.
Then panic.
"Someone entered the mansion."
Matteo reached for his weapon.
"Who?"
The guard’s voice trembled.
"Sir..."
A pause.
"The person who entered is using your father's private security code."
Matteo froze.
Because there was only one person who knew that code.
Someone who had been dead for years.
Then the bedroom door slowly opened.
And a woman’s voice whispered from the darkness:
"Matteo..."
"Do you remember me?"
May you like
Matteo stopped breathing.
Because the voice belonged to someone whose funeral he attended twelve years ago.
