Chapter 5 - The Man Sitting Beside the Family
They returned to the estate before two.
Vittorio Rossi was still there.
He sat in the private lounge drinking whiskey.
Matteo entered first.
Isabella followed.
Vittorio smiled.
“Nephew.”
“Uncle.”
His eyes moved toward Isabella.
“And who is this?”
“You know exactly who she is.”
Vittorio’s smile faded.
Matteo placed the recorder on the table.
Daniel’s voice filled the room.
Vittorio stopped moving.
Matteo watched him.
“You betrayed my father.”
Vittorio slowly put down his glass.
“You have no idea what happened.”
“Explain it.”
“Your father was going to destroy everything.”
“By exposing theft?”
“By starting a war.”
Isabella stepped forward.
“My father helped him.”
Vittorio looked at her.
“Daniel should have walked away.”
Her face hardened.
“Did you hurt him?”
“No.”
“Did Richard?”
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
Vittorio looked at Matteo.
“Your father disappeared because I warned him Richard was coming.”
Matteo frowned.
“What?”
“I betrayed his plan, yes. But I did it to keep him alive.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
Vittorio opened a cabinet.
Matteo immediately tensed.
His uncle removed an envelope.
“Your father gave me this after he returned.”
Matteo took it.
Inside was a photograph.
Alessandro Rossi.
Alive.
Dated four months after his supposed death.
Matteo stared at it.
“This is impossible.”
“He didn’t die when you were told.”
Silence filled the room.
Matteo looked up.
“Where did he go?”
“Protection.”
“From Richard?”
“From everyone involved.”
“Where is he now?”
Vittorio’s expression changed.
“He died six years later.”
Matteo looked away.
For the first time, Isabella saw genuine pain cross his face.
Only briefly.
Then it was gone.
“Why didn’t he contact me?”
“He thought distance kept you alive.”
Matteo’s voice lowered.
“He let me believe he was dead.”
“He chose your life over his reputation.”
Isabella quietly asked, “And my father?”
Vittorio looked at her.
“Daniel helped him disappear.”
Her eyes widened.
“That’s why my father never talked about any of this.”
“Yes.”
“Then why was he still afraid years later?”
“Because Richard never stopped searching for the evidence.”
Matteo looked toward the ballroom.
“The wedding agreement.”
Vittorio nodded.
“Richard finally thought he had a way to take legally what he failed to steal twenty years ago.”
A voice came from the doorway.
“Beautiful story.”
Richard Moretti stood there.
Behind him were two attorneys and several wedding guests.
Richard smiled.
“Unfortunately, nobody will believe it.”
Matteo looked at Isabella.
She understood immediately.
She raised her phone.
Richard’s smile disappeared.
Isabella said, “They don’t have to believe us.”
She turned the screen toward him.
May you like
“I recorded everything.”
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