Chapter 6 — The Hidden Camera
Chapter 6 — The Hidden Camera
The grave beneath the symbol was not a metaphor.
At least, Lorenzo no longer believed it was.
He stood alone in his father's office at 8:17 a.m., staring at the photograph Mia had drawn.
A circle.
M-17.
And beneath it, a grave.
He had spent his entire life believing his father's death had been natural.
A heart attack.
That's what the family had told him.
That's what the doctors had written.
That's what the newspapers had printed.
His father had been fifty-eight.
Successful.
Powerful.
Untouchable.
Then one winter morning, he had collapsed at the breakfast table.
Dead before the ambulance arrived.
Lorenzo had been twenty-six.
He had never questioned it.
Not deeply.
His father had always suffered from stress.
The empire had been expanding.
Enemies had been multiplying.
There had been threats.
But none of those things had seemed enough to explain the sudden silence that followed his father's death.
Now Lorenzo wondered if the silence had been deliberate.
His phone vibrated.
Marco.
Come to the security room. Now.
Lorenzo immediately left.
The security room was beneath the west wing.
Six monitors covered one wall.
Normally, the room was the safest place in the estate.
Nothing entered without being recorded.
Every corridor.
Every door.
Every vehicle.
Every visitor.
At least, that was what Lorenzo had believed.
Marco stood in front of the monitors.
He looked furious.
"What happened?"
Marco pointed.
"Look."
The screen showed the east hallway.
Empty.
Then the image flickered.
For half a second, a black frame appeared.
Then the normal footage returned.
Lorenzo frowned.
"What's that?"
"I thought it was a glitch."
"And?"
"I checked the system."
Marco pressed a key.
A diagnostic window appeared.
"There are seventeen cameras on the network."
Lorenzo nodded.
"That's what we installed."
"No."
Marco turned toward him.
"That's what we thought we installed."
He opened another screen.
A network map appeared.
Twenty-nine camera feeds.
Lorenzo stared.
"Twenty-nine?"
"Seventeen are ours."
"The other twelve?"
"Hidden."
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
"Who installed them?"
"That's the problem."
Marco zoomed in.
The hidden cameras were connected through a separate encrypted network.
"Someone installed an entire surveillance system inside my house."
Lorenzo stared at the screen.
"How long?"
"I don't know."
"Find out."
Marco shook his head.
"We're trying."
Lorenzo pointed to one feed.
"What's that?"
A tiny red indicator blinked.
Camera 24.
Marco opened it.
The image appeared.
It showed Lorenzo's bedroom.
His blood went cold.
He watched himself sleeping.
Four months earlier.
The footage continued.
He woke.
Sat up.
Reached for water.
The timestamp read:
02:13:41
Then another timestamp.
02:14:02
Serena entered.
Lorenzo stared.
She walked toward his bedside.
She stood there for several seconds.
Then leaned over him.
The recording stopped.
Marco looked at him.
"There's more."
He opened another file.
Same room.
Different night.
Serena entered again.
This time she carried a small black case.
She placed it on the nightstand.
Opened it.
Removed a vial.
Lorenzo's breathing slowed.
Serena filled a syringe.
She looked toward the bed.
Then injected something into the glass of water beside him.
Lorenzo said nothing.
Marco's hands tightened.
"Boss..."
"Keep playing."
Serena left.
The recording continued.
Five minutes later, Lorenzo woke.
He drank the water.
Then returned to sleep.
Lorenzo stared at the screen.
The room felt colder.
"Date?"
Marco looked.
"April 14."
Lorenzo closed his eyes.
That was the night his hearing had first become noticeably worse.
"Next."
Marco opened another recording.
Serena again.
Another night.
Another vial.
Another glass.
Another dose.
Then another.
And another.
Lorenzo watched silently.
Four months.
Dozens of nights.
Dozens of doses.
The evidence was undeniable.
Serena was poisoning him.
But then something strange appeared.
At the end of the final recording, Serena looked directly at the camera.
She smiled.
Lorenzo froze.
Marco stopped the video.
"She knew."
Lorenzo nodded.
"Play it again."
Marco did.
Serena looked toward the hidden camera.
Her expression changed.
Not fear.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
She walked directly toward it.
Then lifted one finger to her lips.
A silent gesture.
Be quiet.
The screen went black.
Lorenzo stared.
"How did she know where it was?"
Marco didn't answer.
Then another file appeared automatically.
The filename was not a date.
It was a name.
LDUCA_FINAL.
Lorenzo looked at Marco.
"Open it."
Marco hesitated.
"Boss..."
"Open it."
The video began.
A man sat in a dark room.
Lorenzo recognized him immediately.
His father.
Alive.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakably his father.
Lorenzo stopped breathing.
The video was dated twelve years earlier.
Three months before his father's death.
His father looked directly into the camera.
"Lorenzo."
The young Lorenzo on the recording looked at the camera.
"If you're seeing this, then I'm already dead."
Lorenzo's hands tightened.
His father continued.
"I don't know who will show you this."
He paused.
"But if Serena Romano is still in your life..."
The recording distorted.
Lorenzo leaned closer.
His father's voice returned.
"...you are already in danger."
The screen went black.
Lorenzo stared.
"Restore it."
Marco tried.
"File's damaged."
"Restore it."
"We need another system."
"Then get one."
Marco began working.
Lorenzo remained still.
His father's final words echoed in his head.
If Serena Romano is still in your life...
The recording wasn't an accident.
Someone had hidden it.
Someone had protected it.
Someone had waited.
For him.
At 9:03 a.m., Daniel Cross arrived.
He walked into the security room without knocking.
Lorenzo looked at him.
"You're early."
Daniel smiled.
"Important morning."
"Marriage papers?"
"Yes."
Lorenzo gestured toward the chair.
"Sit."
Daniel sat.
Lorenzo studied him.
Sixteen years.
Daniel had served the Duca family longer than most of Lorenzo's closest employees.
He had attended his father's funeral.
He had helped settle the estate.
He had prepared Lorenzo's first major acquisition.
He had been there when Lorenzo was shot.
He had stood beside him during every crisis.
And yet...
he had been photographed with Serena.
He knew the trust.
He knew the hidden clauses.
He knew the family structure.
He knew exactly how to make Lorenzo appear incapable.
Lorenzo smiled.
"Daniel."
"Yes?"
"How much do you know about my father's private records?"
Daniel's expression didn't change.
"Quite a lot."
"Did he ever tell you about M-17?"
A fraction of a second.
That's all.
But Lorenzo saw it.
Daniel blinked.
"What is M-17?"
Lorenzo smiled.
"Nothing."
Daniel relaxed.
"Then why ask?"
"Curiosity."
Daniel laughed.
"Your father had dozens of codes."
"True."
Lorenzo leaned back.
"Do you remember his old security system?"
"Of course."
"Did it have hidden cameras?"
Daniel hesitated.
"No."
Lorenzo watched him.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
"Interesting."
"Why?"
"Because we found twelve."
Daniel's face remained calm.
But his fingers tightened around the edge of his chair.
Lorenzo noticed.
Then Daniel smiled.
"Then you have a security problem."
"Apparently."
"I can have someone investigate."
"No."
Daniel looked at him.
"I'll handle it."
Daniel nodded.
"Of course."
Lorenzo leaned forward.
"One more thing."
"What?"
"The marriage contract."
Daniel smiled.
"Yes?"
"I want a new clause."
Daniel's smile faded.
"Which one?"
"If I become medically incapacitated, all assets remain under my control."
Daniel stared at him.
"That's unusual."
"Is it?"
"It complicates the transfer."
"Exactly."
Daniel's eyes sharpened.
For the first time, Lorenzo saw something behind the calm lawyer's expression.
Fear.
Small.
But real.
Daniel stood.
"Perhaps we should postpone the wedding."
Lorenzo smiled.
"No."
Daniel looked at him.
"I want to sign tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Yes."
Daniel hesitated.
"Very well."
He left.
Lorenzo watched him disappear.
Marco waited until the door closed.
"You saw it."
"Yes."
"He knows."
Lorenzo nodded.
"Or suspects."
Marco looked at the monitors.
"Do we follow him?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I want him to lead us somewhere."
At 10:26 a.m., the hidden camera system began transmitting.
Someone was watching.
Marco traced the signal.
"It comes from inside the estate."
Lorenzo frowned.
"Inside?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
Marco followed the connection.
The signal jumped from room to room.
Kitchen.
Hallway.
Basement.
Library.
Then stopped.
The source was directly beneath them.
Lorenzo looked at the floor.
"Another hidden room."
Marco nodded.
They moved immediately.
The passage was concealed behind a bookshelf.
Exactly like the room they had found earlier.
But this one was different.
There were no bottles.
No desk.
No photographs.
Only equipment.
Servers.
Monitors.
Hard drives.
Cables.
A chair facing the wall.
And on the wall...
dozens of photographs.
Lorenzo.
Serena.
Daniel.
Mia.
Elena.
His father.
Everyone.
Lorenzo walked toward the photographs.
One stopped him.
Mia.
The photograph had been taken six months earlier.
The child was standing outside the estate.
She was looking directly at the camera.
On the back of the photograph was one word.
WITNESS.
Another photograph.
Elena.
LIABILITY.
Daniel.
ASSET.
Serena.
PRIMARY.
Lorenzo.
TARGET.
Lorenzo's face hardened.
Marco found a computer.
"It requires a password."
"Break it."
"Give me five minutes."
"You have three."
Marco sat down.
Lorenzo walked toward the servers.
One hard drive was still active.
A file was uploading.
He opened it.
A live video appeared.
Serena.
She was in the east wing.
Talking to someone.
The camera angle was hidden.
Lorenzo watched.
Then froze.
The man standing beside her was Daniel.
Serena handed him a small envelope.
Daniel opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
He looked at it.
Then said something.
The audio was weak.
Lorenzo turned up the volume.
Daniel's voice became audible.
"He's not signing."
Serena replied:
"He will."
"How?"
"Because he thinks I'm the enemy."
Daniel looked uneasy.
"And if he doesn't?"
Serena smiled.
"Then we move to Plan B."
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
"What is Plan B?"
The audio crackled.
Serena's voice returned.
"His father's recording."
Daniel froze.
Lorenzo leaned closer.
Serena continued.
"Once he hears what is on it, he'll destroy himself."
The feed cut.
Lorenzo stared.
His father's recording.
They wanted him to hear it.
But why?
What did it contain?
Marco suddenly spoke.
"Boss."
"What?"
"I opened the file."
Lorenzo turned.
Marco's face was pale.
"What did you find?"
"There's more footage."
"How much?"
"Twelve years."
"Of what?"
Marco looked at the screen.
"Your father."
Lorenzo walked over.
The file list contained hundreds of recordings.
Dates.
Names.
Locations.
Meetings.
Arguments.
Transactions.
Then one folder.
M-17.
Lorenzo clicked it.
Inside were seven files.
The first was dated eleven years ago.
The second ten years.
The third eight.
The fourth five.
The fifth two.
The sixth six months.
The seventh...
yesterday.
Lorenzo stared.
"Someone has been continuing my father's work."
Marco looked at him.
"Maybe your father wasn't investigating M-17."
Lorenzo frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Marco pointed at the files.
"Maybe he created it."
The room went silent.
Lorenzo looked at the photograph of his father.
For twelve years, he had believed his father had been a victim.
Now he wondered whether his father had been something else.
A player.
A conspirator.
Or perhaps the person who had started the entire nightmare.
Then the computer beeped.
A new message appeared.
YOU FOUND THE CAMERAS.
Another line appeared.
GOOD.
Then:
NOW FIND THE ONE THAT WATCHED YOUR FATHER DIE.
Lorenzo stared at the screen.
His heart stopped for a second.
His father had supposedly died of a heart attack.
But if there was a camera...
Then someone had recorded the death.
And if someone had recorded it...
there might be proof that the official story was a lie.
Marco looked at him.
"Boss?"
Lorenzo's voice was barely audible.
"Find that camera."
"Where?"
Lorenzo looked at the oldest file.
"Where my father died."
At 11:41 a.m., the security team found the camera.
It was hidden inside the old breakfast room.
Exactly where Lorenzo's father had collapsed twelve years earlier.
The camera was still there.
Buried inside the wall.
Disconnected.
But intact.
Marco removed it carefully.
"There may be data inside."
Lorenzo stared at the device.
"Take it to the lab."
Marco nodded.
Lorenzo turned away.
Then stopped.
On the wall beside the camera was a small marking.
A circle.
M-17.
And beneath it...
a date.
The day his father died.
Lorenzo touched the marking.
For the first time in twelve years, he questioned everything.
His father's death.
His inheritance.
Serena.
Daniel.
The poisoning.
The hidden cameras.
The child who had stopped speaking.
They were not separate mysteries.
They were pieces of one machine.
And someone had been operating that machine for years.
That evening, Serena found Lorenzo alone on the terrace.
She approached quietly.
"You've been distant."
Lorenzo turned.
"I'm tired."
She stepped closer.
"I heard about the cameras."
He studied her.
"Who told you?"
She smiled.
"People talk."
"Of course."
She placed her hand on his chest.
"You can trust me."
Lorenzo smiled.
"I know."
She kissed him.
Then whispered:
"Tomorrow will change everything."
Lorenzo looked into her eyes.
"Yes."
She didn't know.
She thought tomorrow would be the day he signed away his empire.
She thought the poison had weakened him.
She thought the evidence was under control.
She thought the hidden cameras belonged to her.
She was wrong.
Lorenzo had finally found the first crack in the wall.
And behind that wall was a secret older than Serena.
Older than Daniel.
Older than the poisoning.
A secret that began with his father's death.
Lorenzo watched Serena walk away.
Then he looked at the city below.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Marco.
We recovered the footage from the camera in your father's room.
Another message followed.
You need to see this alone.
Lorenzo stared at the screen.
Then the final message appeared.
Your father was not alone when he died.
Lorenzo's face went cold.
Because whoever had been standing beside his father twelve years ago...
May you like
might still be alive.
And might still be inside the Duca estate.
