Chapter 5: The Master Behind the Mask
“Someone else was.””
Antonio’s voice was barely a whisper.
For the first time in years, Vittorio saw fear in his brother’s eyes.
Not guilt.
Not regret.
Fear.
“Who?”” Vittorio asked.
Antonio looked toward the window.
The city lights reflected against the glass, making his face look older than it had five minutes earlier.
“I can’t say.””
Vittorio stepped closer.
“You helped destroy my family, you let my daughter suffer, and now you’re afraid to say one name?””
Antonio swallowed.
“You don’t understand what you’re dealing with.””
“No,” Vittorio said coldly.
“I understand perfectly. I’m dealing with cowards.””
Antonio looked at Lucy.
The little girl was still holding her notebook.
Her drawings.
Her memories.
Her evidence.
Something changed in his expression.
For a moment, Vittorio thought he saw shame.
But it disappeared quickly.
“I never wanted Lucy hurt.””
Vittorio’s eyes hardened.
“But you allowed it.””
Antonio looked down.
That was the answer.
The silence was broken by Emma.
“Vittorio.””
She held up her phone.
“There’s something else.””
Everyone turned.
Emma looked nervous.
“I found this before Bianca left.””
She opened a video file.
The recording showed Bianca sitting in a hotel room.
She wasn’t crying.
She wasn’t pretending.
She was angry.
“Antonio, this is getting out of control.””
A voice answered from behind the camera.
A man’s voice.
Calm.
Controlled.
“Then control it.””
Bianca leaned forward.
“Vittorio found out about Lucy.””
The man didn’t react.
“He was supposed to find out eventually.””
Bianca looked confused.
“What?””
The man’s voice remained emotionless.
“The child was never the target.””
Vittorio felt his stomach tighten.
“Keep playing.””
Emma pressed the screen.
Bianca’s face appeared again.
“I don’t understand. You told me hurting Lucy would make Vittorio weak.””
“No,” the man replied.
“It would make him predictable.””
The room became silent.
Vittorio felt something cold move through him.
Because this wasn’t about money.
It wasn’t just about control.
Someone had studied him.
Used his love for Lucy against him.
The video continued.
Bianca whispered:
“And when he breaks?””
The man answered:
“Then he will sign everything.””
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
Lucy moved closer to Vittorio.
“Daddy…”
He immediately wrapped his arm around her.
“I’m here.””
But his mind was racing.
Someone had planned this.
Every argument.
Every incident.
Every moment where Lucy was pushed away from him.
It was all designed.
A trap.
Marcus looked at Antonio.
“You knew?””
Antonio didn’t answer.
“Did you know who was behind this?””
Antonio closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
Vittorio’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“Tell me.””
Antonio looked at him.
“I was contacted six months ago.””
“By who?””
Antonio hesitated.
Then he said:
“Your father’s lawyer.””
Nobody moved.
The name meant nothing at first.
Then Vittorio understood.
“Impossible.””
His father’s lawyer had died three years earlier.
Antonio shook his head.
“Not him.””
He looked at the phone.
“His son.””
Vittorio frowned.
“Daniel?””
Antonio nodded.
Daniel Ferrara.
The son of the man who handled the Moretti family’s entire legal empire.
A man Vittorio had known since childhood.
A man who had attended family dinners.
A man who had held Lucy when she was a baby.
“He said your father left unfinished business,” Antonio explained.
Vittorio laughed bitterly.
“My father has been dead for years.””
Antonio’s expression remained serious.
“Not everything died with him.””
That night, Vittorio couldn’t sleep.
Lucy was asleep beside him.
She had refused to sleep alone.
He didn’t blame her.
Every few minutes, she opened her eyes to make sure he was still there.
Around 2:00 a.m., Vittorio heard a sound downstairs.
A door closing.
He carefully left the room.
The mansion was dark.
He walked toward the office.
The light was on.
Someone was inside.
His hand moved toward the door.
Then he heard a familiar voice.
“Looking for answers, Vittorio?””
He opened the door.
Daniel Ferrara stood behind his desk.
Older.
Calmer.
Smiling.
Like he belonged there.
Vittorio froze.
“How did you get inside?””
Daniel looked around the office.
“Your family gave me access years ago.””
“You’ve been here before.””
“Many times.””
Vittorio stepped forward.
“You were behind Bianca.””
Daniel smiled.
“Bianca was useful.””
The answer was so casual that Vittorio felt rage rise in his chest.
“You destroyed a child’s life.””
Daniel tilted his head.
“No.””
He looked directly at him.
“I revealed what your family was always going to become.””
Vittorio clenched his fists.
“You don’t get to talk about my family.””
Daniel walked toward the bookshelf.
“Your father built an empire on secrets.””
“He built it with hard work.””
“He built it by burying mistakes.””
Vittorio stared.
“What are you talking about?””
Daniel reached into his coat.
He pulled out an old envelope.
Yellowed.
Aged.
And placed it on the desk.
“This belongs to you.””
Vittorio looked at the handwriting.
His father’s handwriting.
A name was written on the front.
Not Vittorio.
Not Antonio.
Someone else.
A name he had never seen before.
Daniel smiled.
“Before you judge me, you should learn the truth about your own father.””
Vittorio slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
And on the back were five words.
May you like
Words that changed everything.
“Your sister is still alive.””
