Chapter 9: The Truth Behind The Locked Door
The name on the screen burned into my mind.
*Luca Moretti.*
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because there were only two possibilities.
Either the message was true...
Or someone wanted us to believe it was.
And after everything I had learned, I knew one thing.
The truth was never as simple as it looked.
Daniel stared at the tablet.
His face had lost all color.
"Sir, I swear—"
Luca raised a hand.
Not angrily.
Not dramatically.
Just enough to stop him.
"Nobody leaves this room.""
The command was quiet.
But everyone obeyed.
Even Daniel.
Even Vanessa.
Even me.
Luca picked up the tablet and studied the screen.
His expression revealed nothing.
But I had started noticing the smallest things about him.
The way his jaw tightened when he was angry.
The way his fingers stopped moving when he was thinking.
The way his eyes became colder when he was afraid.
And right now...
Luca Moretti was afraid.
Not of the message.
Of something else.
Something he already suspected.
I stepped closer.
"Do you believe it?""
His eyes lifted.
"Believe what?""
"That you did something.""
The question sounded impossible.
But after everything that happened, I had to ask.
Luca looked at me for a long moment.
Then he said:
"No.""
The answer came immediately.
But it wasn't defensive.
It was certain.
"I know who I am.""
I looked at the screen.
"Then why would someone send this?""
"To make you doubt me.""
"Why?""
"Because if you stop trusting me, you become easier to control.""
The words made sense.
Too much sense.
I looked at Daniel.
"You were in my room.""
Daniel shook his head quickly.
"No.""
"The footage shows someone with your access.""
"I know.""
"Your code.""
"I know.""
"Your appearance.""
"I know.""
His frustration grew.
"But that doesn't mean it was me.""
Luca studied the video.
"Daniel.""
"Yes, sir.""
"How many people have access to your security credentials?""
Daniel hesitated.
"Only three.""
"Who?""
"Myself.""
A pause.
"Your uncle's old security account.""
Another pause.
"And Vanessa.""
Everyone looked at her.
Vanessa's expression changed.
"What?""
Luca turned.
"You had access?""
"Years ago.""
"Why?""
"Because Marco gave it to me.""
The room became silent again.
Of course.
Marco.
Every road led back to him.
Even after death.
Especially after death.
Daniel spent the next hour proving what he said.
The security footage had been altered.
Not completely.
Just enough.
Someone had copied his access credentials and used them remotely.
A person with knowledge of the estate's security system.
Someone who understood how to make it look like Daniel.
Someone who wanted us to blame him.
But one question remained.
Why?
Why frame Daniel?
Why send the message with Luca's name?
Why bring me back to a night I couldn't remember?
Luca stood near the window, looking over the city.
"Because they know something.""
I looked at him.
"About what?""
"About that night.""
I shook my head.
"I already know what happened.""
"No.""
His eyes met mine.
"You know pieces.""
That was the truth.
Pieces.
Fragments.
A hallway.
A folder.
A voice.
A warning.
But not the whole picture.
"What else do I need to remember?""
Nobody answered.
Then Vanessa spoke.
"The room.""
I looked at her.
"What?""
"The room where it happened.""
Luca turned.
"You said Natalie entered a room with Marco.""
Vanessa nodded.
"Yes.""
"What room?""
Her expression changed.
"The archive room.""
My stomach tightened.
"What is that?""
Luca answered.
"A restricted room beneath the old Moretti Holdings building.""
"Why was I there?""
Vanessa looked at me.
"Because that's where Marco kept everything.""
"Everything?""
"Evidence.""
My breathing slowed.
"About the fraud?""
"Yes.""
Luca looked at her.
"How do you know?""
Vanessa looked away.
"Because I was there.""
The admission shocked me.
"You were there that night?""
She nodded.
"I arrived after Natalie.""
My voice became sharper.
"Then why didn't you tell anyone?""
Vanessa didn't answer.
Luca stepped closer.
"Answer her.""
Vanessa swallowed.
"Because I was scared.""
"Of Marco?""
"Yes.""
"That doesn't explain protecting him.""
She looked at Luca.
"I wasn't protecting him.""
"Then what were you doing?""
Her eyes moved toward me.
"I was protecting you.""
I almost laughed.
"By lying to me?""
"I was trying to keep you alive.""
The words silenced me.
Because I remembered something.
Not a full memory.
Just a feeling.
Vanessa standing in front of me.
Her voice shaking.
Don't go back there.
I had forgotten that.
Or maybe I had forced myself to forget.
Luca made a decision.
"We're going to the archive room.""
I stared at him.
"Now?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
"Because someone is trying very hard to keep us away from it.""
Daniel looked concerned.
"Sir, the old building has been closed for years.""
"Exactly.""
Vanessa stood.
"You can't go there.""
Luca looked at her.
"Why?""
"Because if Marco left something behind, he wouldn't leave it unprotected.""
"He is dead.""
Vanessa's face became serious.
"That doesn't mean his plans died with him.""
Nobody argued.
Because nobody could.
The old Moretti Holdings building looked abandoned.
Nothing like the tower downtown.
This place was older.
Darker.
The kind of building that carried secrets in its walls.
Rain fell heavily as we entered.
My ankle still hurt, but I refused to complain.
I needed answers.
Luca noticed anyway.
"You should have stayed behind.""
"No.""
"Natalie.""
"No.""
He looked at me.
I held his gaze.
"I spent three years not knowing what happened to my life.""
My voice softened.
"I'm not walking away now.""
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he nodded.
"Stay close.""
The words should have sounded like an order.
Instead, they sounded like a promise.
The archive room was hidden behind a false wall.
Daniel found the entrance using old blueprints.
The door opened with a heavy sound.
Inside were shelves.
Boxes.
Documents.
A history of things someone wanted forgotten.
Luca moved through the room carefully.
"This place hasn't been touched.""
Vanessa whispered:
"Someone has been here.""
Everyone stopped.
"What?""
She pointed.
A box on the floor.
Fresh footprints.
Someone had recently searched the room.
Luca immediately reached for his phone.
Then stopped.
Because the lights went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
I heard movement.
A breath.
A footstep.
Then a voice.
"Still looking for answers, Natalie?""
My entire body froze.
I knew that voice.
I had heard it before.
Not three years ago.
Tonight.
At the mansion.
The person who sent the messages.
The person behind everything.
A figure stepped into the emergency light.
And I saw the face.
My heart stopped.
Because it wasn't Marco.
It wasn't Victor.
It wasn't Vanessa.
It was someone who had been helping us find the truth.
Someone who had stood beside me.
Someone who knew exactly what I remembered.
I whispered:
"Daniel?""
But Daniel was standing beside Luca.
The person in front of us smiled.
Because there were two Daniels.
One real.
One impossible.
And the stranger said:
"Your brother wasn't the one who betrayed you.""
The room went silent.
Then he looked directly at Luca.
"He was trying to protect you from your own family.""
Luca stepped forward.
"Who are you?""
The man smiled.
"You really don't remember me, do you, Natalie?""
My head started pounding.
The voice.
The face.
The memory trying to return.
Then he said the words that broke through everything.
"I was the one who saved you that night.""
I stared at him.
Because suddenly I remembered.
Not everything.
But enough.
Three years ago...
before I lost my memory...
before Victor disappeared...
before Marco died...
I had trusted one person.
A person everyone believed was gone.
And then the stranger removed his hood.
Luca went completely still.
Because he recognized him.
Impossible.
"You died.""
The man smiled.
"No, Luca.""
A pause.
"I let everyone think I did.""
My breath caught.
Because I finally understood.
May you like
The biggest secret from that night wasn't who betrayed me.
It was who survived.
