Chapter 4 — The Man Who Should Have Been Dead
Chapter 4 — The Man Who Should Have Been Dead
The first bullet shattered the window.
The second tore through the wooden door.
The third struck the metal filing cabinet beside my head.
I screamed.
Alessandro pulled me lower.
“Stay down.”
“I know that voice.”
“So do I.”
He looked toward the warehouse entrance.
Matteo and the security team returned fire.
Muzzle flashes illuminated the darkness in violent bursts.
Then everything stopped.
Silence.
Not the comforting kind.
The kind that came after violence.
The kind that made you wonder whether the next sound would be a gunshot or a scream.
Alessandro slowly raised his head.
“Matteo?”
“Two shooters outside.”
“Alive?”
“One ran.”
“Find him.”
Matteo disappeared through the side door.
I stayed crouched beside Alessandro.
My hands were shaking.
“He called me.”
“I know.”
“He said he was sorry.”
Alessandro's eyes remained fixed on the warehouse entrance.
“He knew we'd find this place.”
“You think he brought us here?”
“I think someone wanted us to.”
I looked at the wall.
Hundreds of photographs.
Daniel.
Me.
Emma.
Alessandro.
My mother.
People I didn't recognize.
Dates.
Locations.
Every movement of our lives had been documented.
“Someone has been watching us for years.”
Alessandro nodded.
“Not just watching.”
He pointed toward one photograph.
Daniel stood outside a hospital.
The date was three years ago.
Six months after his supposed death.
“He was alive.”
“Yes.”
“And someone kept him hidden.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Alessandro looked at me.
“That's what we're going to ask him.”
I swallowed.
“You think he'll come back?”
Alessandro's expression hardened.
“He already has.”
We found Daniel forty-eight hours later.
Not in Chicago.
Not in Michigan.
Not even in the United States.
He was in a small private clinic in Wisconsin.
Under another name.
He had a beard now.
His hair was shorter.
His face was thinner.
But I recognized him instantly.
He stood in the doorway of the room.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then he whispered:
“Anna.”
My knees nearly gave out.
I grabbed the edge of the chair.
“You're alive.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
“You're alive.”
“I know.”
“You let me bury you.”
“I had no choice.”
I slapped him.
The sound echoed through the room.
Daniel didn't move.
I slapped him again.
“You let me cry for you.”
“I know.”
“You let Emma grow up without you.”
“I know.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I know.”
My voice broke.
“I hated you.”
He lowered his head.
“I hated myself more.”
Alessandro remained behind me.
Silent.
Watching.
Daniel finally looked at him.
“You survived.”
Alessandro's expression was ice.
“Unfortunately for you.”
Daniel almost smiled.
“You always were difficult to kill.”
“And you always were difficult to trust.”
Daniel looked at me.
“I didn't betray you.”
“Then explain.”
He took a slow breath.
“The accident wasn't supposed to happen.”
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
“You said you weren't driving.”
“I wasn't.”
“Who was?”
Daniel looked toward the window.
“A man named Victor Hale.”
I frowned.
“Who is that?”
“My replacement.”
Alessandro's expression changed.
“The driver?”
Daniel nodded.
“Someone switched the vehicles before the convoy left.”
“And you?”
“I was taken.”
“By whom?”
Daniel looked at me.
“Your mother.”
I froze.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
He sat down.
“Your mother knew about the Moretti family.”
I shook my head.
“She hated them.”
“She feared them.”
“What's the difference?”
“A lot.”
Daniel looked at Alessandro.
“Your father and Anna's mother had a history.”
Alessandro's face hardened.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“My father died before I was thirty.”
Daniel stared at him.
“That's what they wanted you to believe.”
The room went silent.
I felt dizzy.
“Everyone is dead,” I whispered.
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
He looked directly at me.
“They're hiding.”
Daniel told us the story slowly.
Twenty years ago, Alessandro's father had built the Moretti empire with three men.
One was his brother.
One was his closest adviser.
The third was my mother's father.
The three men had controlled shipping, construction, and private security across Chicago.
Then they discovered something.
A hidden trust.
A fortune placed outside the Moretti empire.
Money that could legally pass to one bloodline.
My bloodline.
My mother had been the heir.
But she refused.
She wanted nothing to do with the family.
So she disappeared.
She took me with her.
Alessandro's father searched for her.
He never found us.
Until Daniel did.
“Why did you help her?”
I asked.
Daniel looked at me.
“Because I loved you.”
I stared at him.
“And because I knew what they would do if they found you.”
Alessandro looked away.
For some reason, that answer bothered him.
I noticed.
I didn't understand why.
Daniel continued.
“Three years ago, your mother contacted me.”
“Why?”
“She was dying.”
My heart broke.
“She told me she had one final secret.”
“What?”
“Emma's blood.”
I frowned.
“What about it?”
Daniel looked toward Alessandro.
“Emma is the legitimate heir to the Moretti trust.”
Alessandro's expression became unreadable.
“Why?”
“Because her father is you.”
Silence.
Daniel looked at me.
“You didn't know.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“But your mother did.”
“How?”
“She had access to the original medical records.”
My voice trembled.
“Why didn't she tell me?”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“Because she knew someone was coming for Emma.”
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
“Daniel.”
He finally said:
“Your mother believed Alessandro's father was still alive.”
Alessandro stood motionless.
Then he asked:
“Where is he?”
Daniel looked at him.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I wish I were.”
Alessandro rolled closer.
“Who is he working with?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Your uncle.”
“My uncle is dead.”
“So is your father.”
Alessandro stared at him.
Daniel's voice dropped.
“They both survived.”
The room became unbearable.
I stood and walked to the window.
Outside, snow covered the parking lot.
For three years I had believed my life was simple.
I had lost Daniel.
I had raised Emma alone.
I had worked wherever I could.
I had never expected anything from the world.
And now I was standing inside a conspiracy involving the Moretti family, hidden inheritances, fake deaths, and a daughter who apparently carried a bloodline worth killing for.
I turned.
“Why bring me to this house?”
Daniel looked at Alessandro.
“I didn't.”
I froze.
“Then who did?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Alessandro did.
“Someone wanted us together.”
“Why?”
He looked at Emma's photograph.
“To force the truth into the open.”
That evening, Matteo entered the room.
“Boss.”
Alessandro looked up.
“What?”
“We found the man who shot at the warehouse.”
Daniel immediately stood.
“Who?”
Matteo placed a photograph on the table.
Daniel's face went pale.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“Who is he?”
Daniel whispered:
“Victor.”
“The driver?”
“Yes.”
“But you said he died.”
“I thought he did.”
Matteo shook his head.
“He's alive.”
Alessandro studied the photograph.
“Where?”
“Chicago.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
Alessandro looked at Daniel.
“You're coming.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor isn't working alone.”
“Who is he working for?”
Daniel looked at me.
“Someone who knows where Emma was born.”
My stomach tightened.
Alessandro's eyes became cold.
“Then we find him.”
Victor was found at an abandoned train station.
He was waiting.
Alone.
At least, that's what we thought.
The station smelled of rust and rain.
Old tracks disappeared into the darkness.
Alessandro waited near the platform.
Daniel stood beside him.
I remained behind Matteo.
Victor appeared from the shadows.
Older than the photograph.
Scarred.
But alive.
Alessandro's voice was calm.
“You owe me two years.”
Victor smiled.
“You owe me my life.”
“You sabotaged my car.”
“No.”
“You were driving it.”
“No.”
“Then explain.”
Victor looked at Daniel.
“Ask him.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“I wasn't supposed to survive.”
Victor nodded.
“Exactly.”
I felt cold.
“What does that mean?”
Victor looked at me.
“The explosion wasn't designed to kill Daniel.”
“Then who?”
“You.”
I stopped breathing.
Victor continued:
“The car Daniel was supposed to use wasn't carrying Daniel.”
He pointed at Alessandro.
“It was carrying someone else.”
Alessandro frowned.
“Who?”
Victor smiled.
“You.”
Silence.
I stared at him.
“That doesn't make sense.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“Your car and Alessandro's car were switched.”
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
“The night of the accident?”
“Yes.”
“The ambush…”
“Was meant for you.”
I looked at Alessandro.
He understood.
The accident had never been random.
Someone had wanted Alessandro dead.
But Daniel had been taken because he knew too much.
And I—
I had been the hidden reason.
Victor suddenly looked toward the roof.
“Get down!”
A gunshot cracked through the station.
Victor fell.
Matteo fired toward the roof.
Men appeared from the darkness.
The station erupted into chaos.
Alessandro moved behind cover.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
“Run!”
We ran.
A bullet struck the wall beside me.
Another hit the railing.
Then someone shouted:
“Take the girl!”
I froze.
Daniel pushed me behind him.
“They want Anna.”
Alessandro heard.
His face changed.
“Get her out!”
Matteo pulled me toward the exit.
But before we reached it, a black SUV screeched to a stop.
The rear door opened.
A man stepped out.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Calm.
He looked directly at Alessandro.
And smiled.
Alessandro stopped breathing.
“Dad.”
I stared at the man.
Daniel whispered:
“That's him.”
The man looked at me.
Then at Emma's photograph in my hand.
“You finally brought her to me.”
Alessandro raised his weapon.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
His father smiled.
“So are you.”
Then he looked at me.
“And now that you've found the child…”
He nodded toward the SUV.
“…we can finally finish what your mother started.”
The door opened wider.
A woman sat inside.
Older.
Pale.
But unmistakably familiar.
My mother.
Alive.
I stopped breathing.
“Mom?”
She looked at me through the darkness.
May you like
And whispered:
“Anna, don't trust Alessandro.”
