Chapter 6 - The Truth Matteo Tried To Hide
"Alexander, if Victor Hale is standing in front of you, then you are already too late."
The words appeared on the wall.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The room that had been built to hide secrets was now exposing them one by one.
Alexander stared at the message.
His father's warning.
His father's final words.
But one question remained.
Too late for what?
Victor stood across the room, watching him carefully.
For the first time in years, Alexander saw something behind Victor's calm expression.
Not confidence.
Not control.
Concern.
"You didn't know about this message," Alexander said.
Victor didn't answer.
That was enough.
Alexander looked at the old security system.
"My father created this room to expose you."
Victor smiled slightly.
"No."
He stepped closer.
"Your father created this room because he was afraid."
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
"Afraid of you?"
Victor looked at the photograph in Alexander's hand.
"No."
A pause.
"Afraid of what he had done."
The words hung in the air.
Luca immediately moved forward.
"Don't listen to him."
Victor looked at him.
"You still protect Matteo even after everything."
Luca's face hardened.
"Because I know the truth."
Victor laughed.
"Do you?"
The hidden room became silent again.
Alexander looked between them.
Two men who had been connected to his father.
Two men who claimed to know the truth.
And both had been hiding something.
"Everyone talks about my father."
Alexander placed the photograph down.
"Everyone tells me what Matteo did."
His eyes moved across the room.
"But nobody tells me what happened to me."
Elena watched him quietly.
She understood.
Because Alexander wasn't searching for his father's secret anymore.
He was searching for his own.
Victor looked at him.
"You really don't remember."
Alexander's expression changed.
"Remember what?"
Victor walked toward the table.
"The night Matteo disappeared."
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"I remember enough."
"No."
Victor shook his head.
"You remember what they allowed you to remember."
The sentence hit him.
A strange feeling moved through Alexander.
Fragments.
A dark room.
His father's voice.
Someone screaming.
A smell of smoke.
Then nothing.
He hated that.
He hated the emptiness in his own mind.
"What happened that night?"
Victor didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at Elena.
"Tell him."
Everyone turned.
Elena froze.
"Me?"
"You know."
"No."
Victor smiled.
"You know more than anyone."
Alexander looked at her.
"Elena."
Her eyes lowered.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she spoke.
"My mother was there that night."
Alexander stared.
"At the mansion?"
Elena nodded.
"She was helping your father hide something."
"What?"
"A truth."
Alexander felt his patience disappear.
"Everyone keeps saying that word."
He stepped closer.
"Truth."
His voice became sharper.
"But nobody gives me one."
Elena looked at him.
"I'm sorry."
"I don't need apologies."
A pause.
"I need answers."
She took a slow breath.
"My mother told me your father discovered someone inside the organization was planning to take everything from him."
Victor remained silent.
Alexander noticed.
"Continue."
Elena looked at Victor.
"She said Matteo found proof."
"Proof of what?"
"That Victor had been moving money."
Victor smiled.
"A convenient story."
Elena ignored him.
"That he had been creating a second organization behind Matteo's back."
Alexander looked at Victor.
"Is that true?"
Victor didn't deny it.
Instead, he looked almost disappointed.
"You still don't understand."
"Answer me."
Victor stepped closer.
"I built what your father couldn't."
Alexander stared.
"What?"
"Stability."
Victor's voice became stronger.
"Your father ruled through fear. He trusted nobody. He destroyed anyone who questioned him."
Luca interrupted.
"Because people like you were waiting."
Victor looked at him.
"And people like you were his weapon."
Alexander looked between them.
The truth was becoming clearer.
But not complete.
"What happened the night he disappeared?"
Victor's expression changed.
"He found out."
"About you?"
"Yes."
The answer was immediate.
Alexander expected denial.
A lie.
An excuse.
But Victor admitted it.
And somehow, that was worse.
"What did you do?"
Victor looked at the old photograph.
"I confronted him."
"And?"
"He attacked first."
Luca stepped forward.
"You're lying."
Victor looked at him.
"Am I?"
The room fell silent.
Because nobody knew.
Not completely.
Even Luca looked uncertain.
Victor turned back to Alexander.
"Your father was not going to let me leave."
Alexander stared.
"What happened?"
Victor's voice lowered.
"There was a struggle."
A pause.
"Your father was losing."
Alexander felt a strange pressure in his chest.
"Then why did he disappear?"
Victor looked directly at him.
"Because you made him disappear."
The room froze.
Alexander didn't move.
"What did you say?"
Victor pointed at the photograph.
"Look at it."
Alexander looked down.
The picture showed him standing beside Matteo.
Holding a gun.
His younger self.
A terrified expression.
His father behind him.
A moment frozen forever.
"You were there."
Alexander shook his head.
"No."
"You were."
"I was a child."
"You were manipulated."
The words hit him.
"By who?"
Nobody answered.
Alexander looked at Elena.
Then Luca.
Then Victor.
"Who?"
Victor slowly walked toward the table.
He picked up another folder.
"This is what Matteo wanted you to find."
He opened it.
Inside were medical records.
Psychological evaluations.
Security reports.
Alexander looked through them.
Then stopped.
The date.
Fifteen years ago.
The night his father disappeared.
His name was written across the top.
A child.
A patient.
A victim.
His hands started shaking.
"What is this?"
Luca looked away.
Elena covered her mouth.
Victor spoke quietly.
"Your father discovered someone had been using you."
Alexander looked up.
"Using me for what?"
Victor didn't answer.
The room lights flickered.
A hidden alarm started.
Everyone turned.
A red warning appeared on the wall.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED.
Luca immediately looked toward the entrance.
"We have company."
Alexander grabbed the folder.
"Who?"
No answer.
The hidden door behind them began closing.
Slowly.
Victor looked at the door.
For the first time, real fear appeared on his face.
"That's impossible."
Alexander noticed.
"What?"
Victor stepped back.
"The person who knows this room..."
The door continued closing.
"...was never supposed to come back."
A shadow appeared outside the glass panel.
A figure standing in the hallway.
Waiting.
Alexander raised his weapon.
"Show yourself."
The figure didn't move.
Then a voice came through the speaker.
A voice Alexander recognized instantly.
A voice from a memory he had spent fifteen years trying to forget.
"Alexander..."
His hand froze.
Because the voice belonged to the man who should have been dead.
His father.
May you like
Matteo Romano.
And then the hidden door began opening from the outside.
