CHAPTER SEVEN
2074 Words
The television went black.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Elias stood frozen beside the desk, staring at the dark screen.
THE OLD ESTATE IS WAITING.
The words remained in his mind even after they disappeared.
His parents had died there.
Damian Vieri had known exactly what to say.
And Adrian—
Adrian had been there.
Elias slowly turned toward him.
“You were there.”
Adrian didn't deny it.
“Yes.”
“You saw my parents die.”
“Yes.”
The answer was so quiet that it almost hurt more than a lie.
Elias took a step backward.
“Then take me there.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“No.”
Elias stared at him.
“No?”
“You're not going.”
“You don't get to decide that anymore.”
“I do when your life is at stake.”
“You've been deciding everything for me!”
Adrian stepped closer.
“And I'm still alive because I made those decisions.”
Elias's eyes flashed with anger.
“This is my family!”
“And that's exactly why you cannot think clearly.”
Elias laughed bitterly.
“Think clearly? My uncle was murdered in front of me. Men attacked your house. Someone is hunting me. You knew my parents were murdered and kept it from me for years.”
His voice cracked.
“And you expect me to sit here quietly?”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“I expect you to stay alive.”
“I want the truth.”
“You're not ready for it.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know what the truth will do to you.”
Elias stared at him.
There was something in Adrian's voice.
Something different.
Pain.
Not fear.
Pain.
Before Elias could ask another question, the door suddenly opened.
Luca stepped inside, his injured shoulder now wrapped in a temporary bandage.
“Boss.”
Adrian immediately turned.
“What happened?”
“The men outside have been dealt with.”
“How many?”
“Six.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Only six?”
Luca nodded.
“That wasn't the main attack.”
Elias looked between them.
“What does that mean?”
Luca glanced at Adrian.
“Their goal wasn't to kill us.”
Elias felt cold.
“Then what was it?”
“To send a message.”
Adrian walked toward the window.
“Damian wanted us to know he can reach us.”
Luca placed a phone on the desk.
“We found this on one of the men.”
Adrian picked it up.
There was a photograph on the screen.
Elias's blood ran cold.
It was him.
A picture of Elias leaving his uncle's restaurant several months earlier.
Another showed him walking through a supermarket.
Another showed him sitting alone at a café.
Then another.
Him sleeping.
Elias's face went pale.
“How long have they been following me?”
Adrian stared at the photographs.
“Longer than I thought.”
Elias looked at him.
“You said you were protecting me.”
“I was.”
“Then how did they get these?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Luca's expression became serious.
“There's something else.”
He turned the phone around.
A final photograph appeared.
It showed the old Moretti estate.
The photograph had been taken that night.
A red circle had been drawn around one of the windows.
Underneath it was a message.
HE IS WAITING FOR YOU.
Elias swallowed.
“Damian?”
Luca shook his head.
“No.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“Who?”
Luca looked at him.
“We don't know.”
Silence filled the room.
---
Two hours later, the rain had stopped.
Elias stood in front of a bedroom window, watching the dark trees outside.
He couldn't sleep.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Marco falling.
He heard the gunshots.
He saw the black envelope.
And then Adrian's face.
I was there the night your parents died.
A soft knock came from behind him.
Elias didn't turn.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
Adrian entered.
He was no longer wearing his jacket.
His sleeves were rolled up, revealing his forearms.
He stopped a few feet away.
“You should sleep.”
“I can't.”
Adrian nodded.
“I understand.”
Elias turned.
“Do you?”
Adrian looked at him.
“I know what it's like.”
“You lost someone too?”
“My father.”
“When?”
“Twenty-three years ago.”
Elias stared at him.
“Was he killed?”
“Yes.”
“By Damian?”
Adrian's expression darkened.
“We don't know.”
Elias studied him.
“You always answer like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you're hiding three different answers behind one sentence.”
A faint smile touched Adrian's lips.
“Maybe I am.”
Elias almost smiled too.
But then he remembered the old estate.
“Tell me what happened there.”
Adrian's smile disappeared.
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because I promised your father.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it matters.”
“What did he make you promise?”
Adrian looked away.
“Never tell you what happened unless you were ready.”
“And who decides when I'm ready?”
“You.”
Elias blinked.
“Then I'm ready.”
Adrian looked back at him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Adrian walked toward the window.
“The night your parents died, your father called me.”
Elias listened carefully.
“He told me someone had betrayed him.”
“Who?”
“He didn't say.”
“Why not?”
“Because he didn't trust the phone.”
Adrian's voice became quieter.
“He told me to come to the estate immediately.”
Elias's heart began beating faster.
“When I arrived, the house was already under attack.”
“How many men?”
“Too many.”
“Where were my parents?”
“Inside.”
Elias swallowed.
“And me?”
Adrian looked at him.
“You weren't there.”
“I was with Marco?”
“Yes.”
Elias nodded slowly.
“What happened after that?”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“I fought my way inside.”
He paused.
“I found your mother first.”
Elias's breathing stopped.
“What was she doing?”
“Trying to get your father out.”
“Was she alive?”
Adrian hesitated.
“Yes.”
Elias's eyes filled with tears.
“What did she say?”
Adrian's voice almost broke.
“She asked me to save you.”
Elias covered his mouth.
Adrian continued.
“Your father was wounded. He knew he wouldn't survive.”
“Did he say anything?”
“He gave me one instruction.”
“What?”
“Take Elias and disappear.”
Elias lowered his hands.
“That's why you watched me?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you take me?”
“Because your uncle had already gotten you out.”
Elias stared at the floor.
“And my mother?”
Adrian looked away.
“She died before I could get her out.”
“And my father?”
Adrian was silent.
Elias knew the answer.
“He died too.”
“Yes.”
Tears rolled down Elias's face.
He quickly wiped them away.
“I don't remember them.”
Adrian looked at him.
“You were very young.”
“I barely remember my mother's voice.”
Adrian's eyes softened.
“She used to sing.”
Elias looked up.
“What?”
“Your mother.”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“She used to sing when she was nervous.”
Elias stared at him.
“You remember that?”
“I remember everything about that night.”
Elias stepped closer.
“Then tell me one thing.”
Adrian waited.
“Who killed them?”
Adrian's expression became cold again.
“I don't know.”
Elias shook his head.
“You do.”
“I know who ordered it.”
“Damian?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Elias's eyes widened.
“It wasn't Damian?”
Adrian looked directly at him.
“Damian was involved.”
“Then who gave the order?”
Adrian's silence was answer enough.
Elias whispered,
“Who?”
Adrian finally spoke.
“Someone inside your family.”
Elias froze.
“What?”
“Your parents were betrayed from inside.”
“By who?”
“We don't know yet.”
“You said someone inside my family.”
“We know the betrayal came from someone close to your father.”
Elias stepped backward.
“Who?”
Adrian didn't answer.
“Adrian!”
“I don't have proof.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because we're going to find it.”
“How?”
Adrian's gaze shifted toward the door.
“The old estate.”
Elias stared.
“You said I couldn't go.”
“I said you couldn't go alone.”
Elias's heart skipped.
“You're taking me?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
---
The convoy left the safe house at midnight.
Three black vehicles moved through the mountains.
Elias sat beside Adrian in the middle SUV.
This time, neither spoke.
The road became narrower.
The trees became thicker.
Then Elias saw it.
At the top of the hill stood a massive abandoned mansion.
Even from a distance, he could feel something wrong about it.
The windows were broken.
The walls were covered in vines.
The iron gates hung crookedly.
Elias stared.
“That…”
Adrian nodded.
“The Moretti estate.”
Elias felt a strange pressure in his chest.
“This was my home?”
“Yes.”
He looked at Adrian.
“I don't remember it.”
“You were too young.”
The convoy stopped.
Adrian got out first.
He immediately scanned the area.
“Stay close.”
Elias stepped out.
The cold night air hit his face.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then Elias heard something.
A faint sound.
Like a child's laughter.
He froze.
“Did you hear that?”
Adrian turned.
“Hear what?”
Elias looked toward the mansion.
“Someone's inside.”
Adrian immediately raised his weapon.
Luca signaled to the other guards.
They moved toward the entrance.
Elias followed Adrian.
Inside, the mansion was covered in dust.
Old furniture remained exactly where it had been abandoned.
Elias walked slowly through the hall.
Then he stopped.
A photograph hung crookedly on the wall.
A young Elias stood between his parents.
He stared at it.
His mother was smiling.
His father had one hand on Elias's shoulder.
Elias reached toward the photograph.
His fingers trembled.
“I was happy here.”
Adrian stood behind him.
“Yes.”
Elias turned.
“How do you know?”
Adrian's eyes met his.
“Because I was here.”
Suddenly—
CLANG.
A sound came from upstairs.
Everyone froze.
Adrian raised his weapon.
“Luca.”
Luca nodded.
The men spread out.
Adrian grabbed Elias's wrist.
“Stay behind me.”
They climbed the stairs.
One step.
Then another.
The sound came again.
CLANG.
At the end of the hallway was a closed door.
Elias stared at it.
Something about it felt familiar.
He reached for the handle.
Adrian caught his hand.
“Wait.”
“Why?”
Adrian looked at the door.
“This was your father's study.”
Elias stared at him.
Then, slowly, he opened it.
The room was completely dark.
Adrian switched on his flashlight.
A desk.
A bookshelf.
An old fireplace.
Nothing else.
Then Elias noticed something on the floor.
A small wooden box.
He bent down.
Before he could touch it, Adrian grabbed his arm.
“Don't.”
But Elias had already seen the writing carved into the lid.
His own name.
ELIAS.
And underneath it, four words:
YOUR FATHER NEVER BETRAYED US.
Elias looked at Adrian.
“What does this mean?”
Before Adrian could answer—
The door slammed shut behind them.
CLICK.
The lights in the entire mansion suddenly came on.
A voice came through hidden speakers.
Calm.
Familiar.
Cruel.
“Welcome back, little heir.”
Elias's blood turned cold.
Damian Vieri.
Then the floor beneath them suddenly shifted.
Adrian grabbed Elias and pulled him toward him.
The wooden floor cracked open.
Elias screamed.
And both of them disappeared into darkness.
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