Chapter 3 - The Voice From Sofia’s Phone
The message remained on my screen for almost a full minute.
I did not move.
I did not breathe.
I simply stared at the words.
"Dad, if Dante is in the room with you, do not trust anything he says."
Seven years.
Seven years since Sofia’s funeral.
Seven years since I watched them lower my little girl into the ground.
Seven years since I held onto the belief that her death was a tragedy nobody could prevent.
But now her phone number was sending me warnings.
A phone number that should have been disconnected years ago.
A phone number that belonged to someone who was gone.
I slowly raised my eyes.
Dante was watching me.
And he already knew.
"You received something," he said.
It was not a question.
I locked the screen.
"How do you know?"
His face tightened.
"I don't."
"Then why did you ask?"
Silence.
Again.
That same silence.
The one that had followed me for seven years.
I placed the phone on the table.
"Explain."
Dante looked at Elena.
Then at Ellie.
Then back at me.
"Not here."
I almost smiled.
The same words.
The same excuse.
Not here.
Not now.
Not like this.
But my daughter had waited seven years.
I was done waiting.
"No."
My voice was calm.
"I want the truth here."
Ellie was still standing near the table, holding her teddy bear.
She did not understand the war happening around her.
She only knew she had said something important.
Something everyone wanted to hide.
Elena gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Ellie, sweetheart, go upstairs for a minute."
The little girl looked at me.
Then at the three gold coins.
"Are my wishes still magic?"
The question hit harder than it should have.
Because Sofia used to ask things like that.
Small questions.
Simple questions.
Questions that made life feel normal.
I forced myself to smile.
"Yes."
Ellie nodded.
"Then I wish Mommy doesn't have to cry anymore."
Elena immediately covered her mouth.
Dante looked away.
And I felt something break inside me.
Because that was not a child’s wish.
That was a child repeating a pain she had heard too many times.
Elena took Ellie upstairs.
The moment they disappeared, I turned back to Dante.
"Start talking."
He walked toward the window.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he finally spoke.
"Sofia was asking questions."
My hands tightened.
"About what?"
"About the company."
I frowned.
"What does my daughter have to do with the company?"
Dante looked at me.
"You think Sofia died because of an accident."
"That's what you told me."
His eyes lowered.
"And I was wrong."
The words landed like a punch.
I stepped closer.
"What did you just say?"
Dante swallowed.
"I was wrong."
I stared at him.
The person standing in front of me was my brother.
My family.
But suddenly, he felt like a stranger.
"Wrong about what?"
He ran his hand through his hair.
"Sofia found something."
"What?"
"A financial problem."
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
"My daughter was eight years old."
"I know."
"She was not investigating your business."
"I know."
"Then why was she finding things you didn't want found?"
Dante looked at the floor.
And that was when I knew.
There was more.
Much more.
"What did Sofia find?"
He didn't answer.
I grabbed the envelope from the table.
"She left me a letter."
His expression changed.
"Vincent."
"She wrote your name."
I held up the paper from inside the coin.
"She hid this inside a coin."
Dante looked at it.
"I never knew about that."
"You're lying."
His eyes snapped toward me.
"I am not."
"Then why are you scared?"
He had no answer.
I walked back to the table and picked up the old letter.
"Sofia said someone wanted her to stop looking."
Dante closed his eyes.
"Vincent..."
"Was it you?"
The question filled the room.
For the first time in my life, I saw my brother struggle to answer me.
And that scared me more than any confession could have.
Because if he was innocent, he would have been angry.
He would have defended himself.
He would have shouted.
But he didn't.
He looked broken.
"I was trying to protect her."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"I didn't want her involved."
"Protect her from what?"
Dante looked at me.
"From people who were willing to do anything."
The room went cold.
"People?"
He nodded.
"Not one person."
I stared at him.
"Who?"
Before he could answer, the lights flickered again.
This time, they did not turn off completely.
They dimmed.
The old security system above the doorway suddenly made a sound.
A beep.
Then another.
I looked toward the monitor near the wall.
The screen had been off for years.
It suddenly turned on.
Static filled the display.
Dante froze.
"That's impossible."
I looked at him.
"What?"
He walked toward the monitor.
"That system was destroyed."
The screen cleared.
A camera view appeared.
It showed my old office.
The office I had locked after Sofia died.
The office where I kept all of her drawings.
Her school papers.
Her memories.
The room nobody entered.
Except...
Someone was inside.
A person was standing near my desk.
The camera angle was blurry.
But I could see one thing clearly.
They were holding something.
A small pink notebook.
My daughter’s notebook.
I moved closer.
"No..."
Dante whispered.
I looked at him.
"You know who that is."
He did not answer.
"Dante."
His face turned pale.
"Vincent, listen to me."
"Who is in my office?"
He stared at the screen.
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
"That person should be dead."
The figure on the monitor slowly turned around.
The camera distorted.
The image became clearer.
And then I saw the face.
Not a stranger.
Not an intruder.
Someone I knew.
Someone who had been part of my family for years.
My phone vibrated again.
Another message.
This time, there was a picture attached.
A picture taken inside my office.
The person in the photo was standing beside Sofia’s old desk.
And beneath the image were six words:
"I know what Dante did."
I looked at my brother.
He was already reaching for the door.
"Where are you going?"
He stopped.
Then he whispered:
"Because they know I found the letter."
May you like
The office door on the security screen slowly opened from the inside.
And someone stepped out holding Sofia’s pink notebook.
