Chapter 5 - The Man Behind My Father's Secret
The photograph slipped from my hand as I stared at the impossible image, whispering: "My father was alive?" When Damian Voss picked up the old file, he discovered a hidden confession recorded years earlier by my father. But one sentence was written across the first page: "Do not trust Alessandro." Damian suddenly realized my father had known the truth all along.
I couldn't stop looking at the photograph.
My father's face.
Damian's face.
Two people I never expected to see together.
My mind searched for an explanation.
A mistake.
A fake image.
A trick.
Anything.
Because accepting the truth meant accepting that my entire life had been built on secrets.
"My father died seven years ago."
My voice barely came out.
Damian didn't look away.
"I know."
"Then explain this."
He remained silent.
That silence hurt more than any answer.
"Damian."
His eyes moved toward the photograph.
"Your father was supposed to disappear."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means everyone believed he was dead."
My hands trembled.
"Everyone?"
Damian nodded.
"Except the people who helped him."
I looked at the photograph again.
My father wasn't afraid.
He wasn't injured.
He wasn't a man running from danger.
He was standing beside Damian like they had known each other for years.
"How long?"
Damian looked at me.
"How long what?"
"How long have you known my father?"
The question stayed between us.
Then he answered.
"Twenty years."
My heart sank.
Twenty years.
Before Alessandro.
Before my marriage.
Before my entire adult life.
"You knew him before I did."
"Yes."
"And you never told me?"
Damian looked down.
"Because your father asked me not to."
I laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was too painful.
"Everyone keeps saying they were protecting me."
I looked at him.
"But nobody ever asked me if I wanted protection."
Damian didn't argue.
That made it worse.
Because he knew I was right.
The sound of movement outside interrupted us.
Men were searching the estate.
Alessandro was still here.
Still close.
Still looking for me.
Damian moved toward the door.
"We need to leave."
I didn't move.
"No."
He stopped.
"I need answers."
"Nadine—"
"No."
My voice became stronger.
"I have spent months running because everyone told me I was safer not knowing."
I held up the photograph.
"My husband lied to me."
"My sister betrayed me."
"My father disappeared."
I looked at him.
"And now I find out you knew everything."
Damian stayed quiet.
"So tell me the truth."
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Damian walked back toward the table.
He opened the old envelope from my father.
Inside was a small recording device.
Old.
Simple.
Almost forgotten.
"I kept this because I promised your father I would give it to you when the time was right."
I stared at him.
"When is the right time?"
Damian looked toward my daughter.
"When Alessandro finds you."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"He found me."
Damian nodded.
"Yes."
"Then why haven't you given it to me before?"
"Because once you hear this, your life changes forever."
I looked at the device.
My father's voice.
Something I thought I would never hear again.
My hand slowly reached for it.
I pressed the button.
Static filled the room.
Then...
A voice.
My father's voice.
"Nadine."
I covered my mouth.
I couldn't breathe.
For years, I had dreamed about hearing that voice again.
But never like this.
Never hidden.
Never from a recording that someone had kept from me.
"If you are hearing this, it means Alessandro has found you."
My body froze.
Damian watched me carefully.
My father continued.
"I know you trusted him."
A tear fell down my cheek.
"But you cannot trust him anymore."
I looked at Damian.
Then back at the device.
"Alessandro was never searching for power."
The recording paused.
"He was searching for what I took from him."
I frowned.
"What did you take?"
The recording continued.
"I found out what Alessandro planned to do before he entered our family."
My heartbeat increased.
"Your marriage was not an accident."
The room became silent.
I stopped breathing.
My marriage.
Not an accident?
My father's voice continued.
"He chose you because of who you are."
I felt sick.
"No."
The word escaped my mouth.
Damian looked at me.
"Nadine..."
I shook my head.
"No."
I didn't want to hear more.
Because deep down...
I already knew.
My father continued.
"He wanted access to my documents."
"To my contacts."
"To everything I spent my life protecting."
I looked at Damian.
"Why?"
He didn't answer.
Because he knew.
My father answered for him.
"Because Alessandro Castellano was never the true owner of his empire."
I stared at the recorder.
"What does that mean?"
The recording continued.
"There was someone above him."
A pause.
"Someone more dangerous."
The sound became distorted.
Then my father's final words appeared.
"Nadine, if Alessandro reaches you..."
Static.
Then:
"Do not let him take your daughter."
The recording stopped.
I stood there frozen.
My baby started crying.
I immediately held her.
My hands were shaking.
Not because of Alessandro.
Not because of Isabella.
Because suddenly I understood.
This wasn't about revenge.
This wasn't about a broken marriage.
This was about my daughter.
Someone had planned her existence.
Someone had wanted her.
And I had been too blind to see it.
Damian picked up the photograph.
"There is something else."
I looked at him.
"What?"
He turned the photograph over.
There was writing behind it.
A name.
A name I didn't recognize.
"Lucian Moretti."
I frowned.
"Who is that?"
Damian's expression changed.
And that scared me.
Because for the first time, he looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Damian?"
He stared at the name.
"That's impossible."
"Who is he?"
Before he could answer...
The mansion lights suddenly returned.
Every screen in the room turned on.
The security cameras activated.
But instead of showing the outside...
They showed me.
My entire life.
My wedding.
My pregnancy.
The hospital.
My escape.
Someone had recorded everything.
Then a message appeared on the main screen.
Not from Alessandro.
Not from Isabella.
From someone else.
A voice played through the speakers.
"Nadine Castellano."
I froze.
Because I had never heard that voice before.
But Damian had.
His face lost all color.
The voice continued.
"Your father tried to hide you from me."
A pause.
"And Damian Voss helped him."
Damian stepped toward the screen.
"Turn it off."
But the voice continued.
"Tell Nadine the truth, Damian."
The screen changed.
A new image appeared.
An old photograph.
My father.
Damian.
And a third person standing between them.
A man whose face was hidden in shadow.
Then the voice whispered:
"Tell her who really killed her father."
The screen went black.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Until Damian quietly said one sentence.
"Nadine..."
I looked at him.
His expression was filled with regret.
And fear.
Because the man standing beside my father in that photograph...
Was not a stranger.
It was the person I had trusted most after Alessandro.
May you like
The person who had been protecting me all along.
And then Damian whispered the name I never expected to hear.
