Chapter 6: What Matteo Left Behind
Vittorio twisted violently.
His fist struck empty air.
“Daniel!””
“I'm here!””
“Lucy?””
“I have her!””
A flashlight snapped on.
Daniel stood across the room with Lucy in his arms.
Thomas was gone.
So was Bianca.
Vittorio looked around.
The underground room was empty except for them.
“Where did they go?””
Daniel swept the flashlight toward the doorway.
“Which one?””
There were now three open passages.
Vittorio stared.
“They weren't there before.””
Daniel moved toward the nearest one.
“Then this house is bigger than we thought.””
Vittorio grabbed his shoulder.
“No.””
He pointed to the black drive still clenched in his hand.
“We find out what Matteo wanted us to see.””
They returned upstairs through the hidden passage.
The house had become unnaturally quiet.
No staff.
No security guards.
No Bianca.
No Thomas.
Vittorio carried Lucy into his private council room.
Daniel locked the door behind them.
Lucy sat on the leather sofa beneath a blanket.
Vittorio knelt in front of her.
“Are you hurt?””
She shook her head.
“Are you sure?””
“Yes.””
“Did Thomas hurt you?””
“No.””
“Did Mommy?””
Lucy hesitated.
Then whispered, “Mommy was scared.””
Vittorio's chest tightened.
“Of what?””
“Of Uncle Matteo.””
Vittorio stood.
Daniel looked at him.
“Sir, we need to get her out of the house.””
“Not yet.””
Daniel frowned.
“Why?””
“Because if Matteo is alive, he knows where we'd go.””
Vittorio inserted the drive into his computer.
A password prompt appeared.
Daniel watched.
“What does it need?””
Vittorio stared at the screen.
“Matteo's birthday.””
He entered it.
Access denied.
He tried their mother's birthday.
Denied.
Their father's.
Denied.
Then Lucy walked over.
“Daddy?””
Vittorio turned.
“What?””
She pointed at the screen.
“Try the song.””
“What song?””
“The one Grandpa used to sing.””
Vittorio stared at her.
His father had sung one song to the children.
An old Italian lullaby.
He entered the title.
The screen unlocked.
Daniel whispered, “Jesus.””
Thousands of files appeared.
Videos.
Audio recordings.
Bank documents.
Photographs.
Court records.
Travel records.
Vittorio clicked the first folder.
*ROMANO FAMILY — 2014*
A video opened.
The footage showed Matteo sitting inside a dark room.
He looked younger.
Healthy.
Alive.
He stared directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this, Vittorio, then I'm either dead…”
He paused.
“…or you finally stopped trusting everyone around you.””
Vittorio leaned closer.
Matteo continued.
“Either way, you need to listen carefully.””
The recording showed another man entering the room.
Vittorio recognized him.
His father.
Antonio Romano.
The old man placed a folder on the table.
Matteo said, “You promised me you wouldn't involve him.””
Antonio answered, “Vittorio is already involved.””
“He doesn't know.””
“He will.””
“When?””
“When you fail.””
Matteo stood.
“I won't fail.””
Antonio smiled.
“You already have.””
The video ended.
Vittorio sat completely still.
Daniel spoke quietly.
“What was your brother involved in?””
“I don't know.””
“Look at the next file.””
Vittorio opened it.
A scanned document appeared.
It was a financial ledger.
Payments.
Companies.
Shell corporations.
Political donations.
And dozens of names.
At the top was one company Vittorio knew intimately.
Romano Logistics.
His company.
His father's company.
Daniel leaned over his shoulder.
“This is money laundering.””
Vittorio shook his head.
“No.””
“Sir…”
“No.””
He opened another file.
Then another.
The evidence was undeniable.
His family's legitimate empire had been built alongside an illegal network.
But there was something worse.
The dates continued long after Antonio's death.
Someone had kept it running.
Vittorio searched the names.
Then stopped.
One name appeared again and again.
*Bianca Romano.*
His wife.
Vittorio stared at the screen.
Daniel said nothing.
Lucy watched him from the sofa.
“Daddy?””
Vittorio closed the laptop.
He turned toward her.
“It's okay.””
She nodded.
But she didn't look convinced.
A knock came at the door.
Vittorio immediately stood.
“Who is it?””
A voice answered.
“It's me.””
Bianca.
Vittorio opened the door.
She stood alone.
No weapon.
No makeup.
Tears streaked her face.
“Where is Thomas?””
“I don't know.””
“Where is Matteo?””
“I don't know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
Bianca looked at Lucy.
Then at Vittorio.
“I didn't take her.””
“I know.””
Her eyes widened.
“You do?””
“Because I found the files.””
Bianca's face collapsed.
She stepped inside.
“I wanted to tell you.””
“You had years.””
“I was afraid.””
“Of Matteo?””
“Yes.””
Vittorio's voice became quieter.
“Why?””
Bianca looked at Lucy.
“Because Matteo wasn't the only one who survived that night.””
Vittorio went still.
“What night?””
“The warehouse explosion.””
He stared at her.
“You knew?””
Bianca nodded.
“I was there.””
Daniel looked shocked.
“You were there?””
Bianca wiped her face.
“I went because Matteo called me.””
Vittorio's voice dropped.
“What did he say?””
“He said your father planned to kill both of you.””
“And you believed him?””
“I didn't know what to believe.””
“What happened?””
Bianca looked toward the closed door.
“Your father arrived first.””
Vittorio said nothing.
“He had men with him.””
“Then?””
“Matteo fought back.””
Her voice broke.
“There was an explosion.””
Vittorio's eyes hardened.
“You said Matteo died.””
“I saw him fall.””
“You saw him?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did you let me believe he was dead?””
Bianca closed her eyes.
“Because he made me promise.””
“Promise what?””
“That if he survived, I would never tell you.””
Vittorio stared at her.
“Why?””
“Because he said the moment you knew he was alive, you'd become a target.””
Vittorio laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“I became a target anyway.””
Bianca nodded.
“I know.””
“And Lucy?””
Bianca looked at their daughter.
“That wasn't Matteo.””
Vittorio stopped.
“What?””
“The man who took Lucy wasn't Matteo.””
“Then who?””
Bianca's eyes filled with tears.
“Someone who wants you to blame him.””
Vittorio stepped closer.
“Who?””
Before Bianca could answer, every television in the council room turned on at once.
Static filled the screens.
Then an image appeared.
Matteo.
Alive.
Sitting in a dark room.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Vittorio.””
Vittorio stared.
Matteo smiled.
“I know you found the files.””
A pause.
“I also know Bianca told you part of the truth.””
Bianca whispered, “No…”
Matteo continued.
“But she didn't tell you why Lucy was chosen.””
Vittorio's blood ran cold.
Matteo leaned toward the camera.
“Your daughter isn't being used to destroy you.””
His smile disappeared.
“She is being used to find something you stole from me.””
Vittorio stepped toward the screen.
“I stole nothing.””
Matteo's eyes hardened.
“You did.””
“What?””
Matteo looked straight at Lucy.
“The night you buried me…”
The screen flickered.
“…you took my daughter.””
Vittorio stopped breathing.
Lucy slowly stood behind him.
May you like
And for the first time, Bianca looked at her daughter not with fear—
but recognition.
