Chapter 3 - The Man Who Knew Everything About Him
Alessandro Moretti had spent his entire life learning one important lesson.
The person standing closest to you was not always the person protecting you.
Sometimes…
They were simply the person with the easiest access to destroy you.
The mansion was quieter than usual the next morning.
Too quiet.
The kind of silence that only existed when everyone inside a house knew something terrible had happened but nobody knew who was safe enough to speak about it.
The servants moved carefully through the hallways.
The guards avoided eye contact.
The employees who had worked for Alessandro for years suddenly found reasons to stay busy in other rooms.
Because rumors traveled faster than instructions.
And the rumor inside the Moretti mansion was simple:
Someone had tried to kill Alessandro Moretti.
But nobody knew who.
Alessandro stood in front of the large windows of his office, watching the rain disappear over the Italian hills.
In his hand was the old photograph he kept hidden inside his desk.
A photograph of him and Victor.
Twenty-five years earlier.
They were younger.
Different.
Before the money.
Before the power.
Before people feared their names.
In the picture, Alessandro was smiling.
A rare smile.
The kind almost nobody saw anymore.
Victor stood beside him with one hand on Alessandro’s shoulder.
Back then, they were not enemies.
They were brothers.
Or at least Alessandro had believed they were.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
“Come in.”
Gabriel Shaw entered.
His security chief had worked for Alessandro for twelve years.
Unlike Victor, Gabriel was not someone who talked about loyalty.
He simply demonstrated it.
Every single day.
“We checked everything,” Gabriel said.
Alessandro placed the photograph down.
“And?”
Gabriel handed him a file.
“The security footage wasn’t deleted from the system.”
Alessandro looked up.
“What?”
“It was overwritten.”
“By whom?”
Gabriel hesitated.
“That’s the problem.”
Alessandro stared at him.
“Continue.”
“The person used an internal authorization code.”
A pause.
“Only seven people in this mansion have access.”
Alessandro opened the file.
Names appeared.
His own.
Gabriel’s.
The doctor’s.
Two senior guards.
The house manager.
And Victor Salvatore.
Alessandro looked at the list.
Seven people.
Seven possibilities.
But in his mind, there was only one question.
Why?
Why would Victor do this?
Money?
Victor had enough.
Power?
Victor already had influence because of Alessandro.
Revenge?
That was impossible.
At least, that was what Alessandro had believed.
“Find everything about Victor from the last year.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
Gabriel understood.
Not just financial records.
Not just phone calls.
Everything.
People often revealed themselves through the things they thought nobody would ever see.
Three hours later, Gabriel returned.
This time, his expression was different.
Alessandro noticed immediately.
“What did you find?”
Gabriel placed several documents on the desk.
“Victor has been making private visits outside his normal schedule.”
“Where?”
“Several places.”
Alessandro opened the first report.
A private medical facility.
The second.
A financial company.
The third.
A law office.
He looked up.
“Explain.”
Gabriel took a breath.
“The medical facility belongs to a doctor who specializes in long-term medication adjustments.”
Alessandro’s fingers tightened around the paper.
“Interesting.”
“The financial company received several large transfers.”
“From Victor?”
“No.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“From an offshore account.”
Silence.
“And the law office?”
Gabriel lowered his voice.
“That one concerns me.”
“Why?”
“Because the lawyer specializes in inheritance disputes.”
Alessandro stopped moving.
Inheritance.
A word that suddenly felt heavier than it should.
He looked back at the photograph.
Twenty-five years of friendship.
Twenty-five years of trust.
And now…
A question he never wanted to ask.
Had Victor been waiting for him to die?
That afternoon, Alessandro did something unusual.
Something nobody expected.
He invited Victor to dinner.
Not a confrontation.
Not an accusation.
Dinner.
Because Alessandro Moretti understood human nature.
When people knew they were suspected, they became careful.
They hid.
They prepared excuses.
They protected themselves.
But when people believed they were still trusted…
They revealed who they truly were.
Victor arrived at seven thirty.
Exactly on time.
Of course.
He always was.
He entered the dining room wearing a dark suit.
Calm.
Confident.
The same man who had sat beside Alessandro for decades.
“Alessandro.”
He smiled.
“I'm glad you called.”
Alessandro gestured toward the chair.
“Sit.”
Victor sat.
For several minutes, they ate quietly.
No accusations.
No questions.
Just two old friends sharing a meal.
Almost normal.
Almost.
Finally, Victor placed his glass down.
“You’re different tonight.”
Alessandro looked at him.
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
Victor smiled slightly.
“You are thinking too much.”
Alessandro almost laughed.
Almost.
“You know me well.”
“Better than anyone.”
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
Alessandro studied him.
“That’s true.”
Victor looked confused.
“What?”
“You do know me better than anyone.”
A pause.
“You know my habits.”
Victor said nothing.
“You know my schedule.”
Silence.
“You know my health problems.”
Victor slowly placed his fork down.
“Alessandro…”
“You know when I take my medication.”
The room changed.
Victor’s expression remained controlled.
But Alessandro saw it.
A tiny shift.
A fraction of hesitation.
A moment where the mask almost slipped.
“I have spent twenty-five years protecting you.”
Victor’s voice became lower.
“Do you really believe I would do something like this?”
Alessandro looked at him.
“I don’t know.”
That answer hurt more than an accusation.
Victor looked away.
For the first time in years, he looked old.
Not powerful.
Not dangerous.
Just tired.
“You were the only person who believed in me.”
Alessandro stayed silent.
“When everyone else thought I was nothing, you gave me a place beside you.”
Victor swallowed.
“I never forgot that.”
A strange sadness appeared in his eyes.
And for a brief second, Alessandro almost believed him.
Almost.
Then Victor said something that changed everything.
“You should ask yourself one question.”
“What question?”
Victor looked directly at him.
“Who benefits if I betray you?”
The question remained in the air.
Because it was a good question.
A very good question.
Alessandro had been so focused on Victor that he had not considered something important.
Victor might not be the person who wanted him dead.
Victor might be protecting someone else.
Someone more powerful.
Someone who could force a man like Victor to betray his oldest friend.
Alessandro leaned forward.
“And who would that be?”
Victor looked away.
“I can’t answer that.”
“Why?”
“Because if I tell you…”
His voice lowered.
“People will die.”
The room became completely silent.
Alessandro stared at him.
For the first time that night, Victor looked afraid.
Not for himself.
For someone else.
“Who?”
Victor didn’t answer.
Instead, he whispered:
“You have been looking at the wrong enemy.”
Alessandro felt a chill.
“Explain.”
Victor looked toward the hallway.
The same hallway where servants walked.
Where guards stood.
Where everyone inside the mansion had access.
“The person behind this…”
Victor paused.
“Is someone you would never suspect.”
Before Alessandro could respond, Victor’s phone rang.
Victor looked at the screen.
His face changed.
Just slightly.
But enough.
“Who is it?”
Victor ignored the question.
The phone continued ringing.
Finally, he answered.
“Hello?”
He listened.
Then his expression became pale.
“What do you mean she knows?”
Alessandro froze.
She.
Someone knew.
Someone was aware Victor had been discovered.
Victor stood immediately.
“We need to talk somewhere private.”
Alessandro remained seated.
“No.”
Victor looked at him.
“Alessandro—”
“You wanted to tell me the truth.”
A pause.
“So tell me now.”
Victor looked toward the doorway.
Then back at Alessandro.
His voice became almost a whisper.
“The medication was never supposed to kill you.”
Alessandro stared.
“Then what was it for?”
Victor’s answer came slowly.
“To make you weak enough…”
He stopped.
“To make someone else take control.”
The chandelier above them flickered.
The rain outside grew louder.
And Alessandro realized something terrifying.
This was never about murder.
It was about power.
Someone did not want him dead.
Someone wanted him alive…
but unable to fight back.
At that exact moment, Alessandro’s phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
No name.
No number.
Only one sentence.
Ask the little girl what she saw three months ago.
Alessandro looked up.
Because suddenly, the one person who knew the beginning of the truth…
was the same person everyone had underestimated.
Sophia Bellini.
The maid’s five-year-old daughter.
May you like
And she had seen something in the mansion…
that even Alessandro Moretti had missed.
