Chapter 7: The Man Who Never Died
Vittorio forgot how to breathe.
For eleven years, he had carried one memory.
His father’s funeral.
The closed casket.
The endless line of people offering condolences.
The company executives standing in silence.
The final words from the priest.
A life ended.
A legacy passed on.
A wound that never fully healed.
And now Daniel was telling him the impossible.
His father was alive.
“Say it again,” Vittorio said.
Daniel’s voice remained quiet.
“Your father is alive.””
The room felt colder.
Emma watched him carefully.
“Vittorio…”
He raised one hand.
Not because he wanted silence.
Because he needed a second to understand how the world could suddenly become something different.
“My father’s body was identified.””
Daniel hesitated.
“No.””
Vittorio looked up.
“What?””
“The body was never identified.””
A memory surfaced.
The funeral.
The closed casket.
The excuses.
At the time, nobody questioned it.
Because grief made people accept things they would normally challenge.
“My mother saw him.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Your mother saw a hospital report. She never saw the body.””
Vittorio stepped away.
“That’s impossible.””
Daniel continued.
“I checked the original documents. The death certificate was signed by your father’s attorney.””
“The same attorney whose credentials were used?””
“Yes.””
Silence.
The pieces began moving.
Not falling apart.
Connecting.
Marcus.
Elena.
Lucy.
The company files.
His father.
Everything led back to one person.
Someone who had been hidden.
Someone who had been waiting.
“Find him,” Vittorio said.
Daniel looked at him.
“Your father?””
“Yes.””
“Where do I start?””
Vittorio looked at the old family portrait hanging on the wall.
His father stood in the center.
A man everyone feared.
A man everyone respected.
A man who taught him one lesson above all others.
Trust actions.
Never words.
“Start with the people who benefited from his death.””
Daniel nodded.
After he left, Emma remained.
“You believe him.””
Vittorio looked at her.
“I don’t know what I believe anymore.””
“That’s not what I asked.””
He looked away.
“Yes.””
Emma sighed.
“That means Marcus knew.””
“He had to.””
“Then why would he tell you Lucy wasn’t yours?””
Vittorio walked back to the desk.
“To distract me.””
“From what?””
He looked at the documents.
“From the real enemy.””
A notification appeared on his computer.
Unknown sender.
One message.
*You are finally looking in the right direction.*
Vittorio stared.
Then another message appeared.
*Come to the old Romano estate. Alone.*
Emma saw it.
“No.””
Vittorio already knew.
The old estate.
The place where his father spent his final years.
The place where he died.
Or disappeared.
“It’s a trap.””
“Yes.””
“And you’re going.””
“Yes.””
Emma shook her head.
“You know every person who walks into a trap says the same thing.””
Vittorio grabbed his coat.
“What?””
“They think they are walking in prepared.””
He stopped.
Emma looked at him.
“You’re not going there as a businessman.””
“No.””
“You’re going there as a son.””
Vittorio said nothing.
Because she was right.
The old Romano estate stood on the edge of the mountains.
Abandoned for years.
The gates were covered in rust.
The gardens had grown wild.
But the house remained exactly as he remembered.
The same stone walls.
The same windows.
The same entrance where his father used to stand every morning.
Vittorio entered alone.
The front door opened before he touched it.
Inside, everything was covered in dust.
Except one room.
The study.
The lights were on.
His father’s study.
Vittorio walked inside slowly.
The desk remained untouched.
The books.
The old leather chair.
The family photograph.
Everything.
Then he heard footsteps.
Behind him.
He turned.
An older man stood in the doorway.
Gray hair.
A tired face.
But the same eyes.
The same eyes that had watched him become a man.
Vittorio froze.
“Father?””
The man stared at him.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then the older man whispered:
“You look exactly like your mother.””
Vittorio’s entire body went still.
He had imagined this moment.
Anger.
Questions.
Pain.
But none of those emotions came.
Only disbelief.
“You let me bury you.””
His father looked down.
“I know.””
“You let me believe you were dead.””
“I had no choice.””
Vittorio laughed bitterly.
“No choice?””
He stepped forward.
“You abandoned your son.””
His father accepted the accusation.
“I did.””
The honesty surprised him.
“Why?””
The older man walked toward the desk.
“Because if I stayed alive, you would have died.””
Vittorio stared.
“What?””
“Marcus wasn’t working alone.””
The room became silent.
“Who?””
His father looked at him.
“The person who controls Marcus.””
“Who?””
A pause.
Then:
“Your mother.””
Vittorio felt the air leave his lungs.
“My mother is dead.””
His father looked at him.
“No.””
The word landed like a weapon.
“She disappeared.””
Vittorio shook his head.
“I saw her funeral.””
“Another lie.””
He walked to the desk and opened a hidden compartment.
Inside was a file.
“You need to understand something, Vittorio.””
His father placed the file down.
“Your family was never attacked from outside.””
Vittorio opened the file.
Inside were photographs.
Marcus.
Bianca.
His mother.
Together.
Years earlier.
His stomach tightened.
“She knew.””
“Yes.””
“Knew what?””
“That Marcus was using Bianca.””
Vittorio looked up.
“Then why didn’t she stop him?””
His father’s expression darkened.
“Because Marcus wasn’t her tool.””
A pause.
“He was her son.””
The world stopped.
Vittorio stared at the photograph.
Marcus.
His mother.
Bianca.
“No.””
His father nodded slowly.
“Marcus Hale is not Bianca’s brother.””
May you like
Vittorio looked again.
“He’s your half-brother.””
