CHAPTER TWO
2111 Words
The Man Behind the Name
Elias didn't stop running until his legs could barely carry him.
The rain had become heavier, turning the streets into mirrors beneath the yellow glow of the streetlights.
He finally stopped beneath the awning of a closed bookstore.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
His hands were shaking.
His uncle was dead.
The thought still didn't feel real.
Elias leaned against the wall and slowly slid down until he was sitting on the cold pavement.
He covered his face with both hands.
For years, Marco had been the closest thing he had to a father.
He had taught Elias how to cook.
How to fix a broken sink.
How to ride a bicycle.
How to survive when life became difficult.
And now he was gone.
Because of something Elias didn't understand.
His fingers touched the envelope inside his jacket.
He pulled it out.
The black envelope was completely dry despite everything else being soaked.
There was no name on it.
No address.
Only a strange silver symbol stamped on the front.
A crown surrounded by a snake.
Elias stared at it.
Then he remembered his uncle's warning.
"Don't open it here."
He looked around.
The street appeared empty.
But after everything that had happened tonight, he didn't trust empty streets anymore.
He stood up.
He needed somewhere safe.
Somewhere nobody knew.
His phone vibrated.
Elias nearly dropped it.
A message.
UNKNOWN:
You have ten minutes.
His blood ran cold.
Another message arrived.
UNKNOWN:
Then they will find you.
Elias stared at the screen.
His fingers moved quickly.
ELIAS:
Who are you?
The reply came immediately.
UNKNOWN:
Someone trying to keep you alive.
Elias swallowed.
ELIAS:
Why?
There was a pause.
Then:
UNKNOWN:
Because you're not who you think you are.
Elias frowned.
Before he could reply, headlights appeared at the end of the street.
A black car.
It moved slowly.
Too slowly.
Elias stepped backward.
The car stopped.
The rear door opened.
A man stepped out.
Elias recognized him immediately.
The stranger from the alley.
The one who had shown him the photograph.
Except this time, he wasn't alone.
Five men stood around the car.
All armed.
Elias turned and ran.
“Get him!”
His heart pounded.
He sprinted down the narrow street, hearing footsteps behind him.
He turned left.
Then right.
He had no idea where he was going.
A hand suddenly grabbed his jacket.
Elias screamed and twisted away.
He managed to break free.
Then—
A black SUV came speeding around the corner.
It stopped directly between Elias and the men chasing him.
The doors opened.
Two men stepped out.
Before anyone could react, one of them shouted:
“De Luca security!”
The men behind Elias immediately stopped.
Their faces changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
Elias stared at them.
One of the armed men whispered something to the others.
Then they turned and ran.
Elias stood frozen.
The man who had spoken walked toward him.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and dressed in a perfectly fitted black suit.
“Elias Moretti?”
Elias backed away.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Luca.”
“Are you with Adrian?”
The man's expression remained unreadable.
“Yes.”
Elias's stomach tightened.
He remembered his uncle.
Go to Adrian.
He didn't know why.
He didn't know what Adrian wanted.
But right now, he had nowhere else to go.
“Take me to him.”
Luca looked at him for a moment.
“You're sure?”
“No.”
Luca almost smiled.
“But I'll take the chance.”
He opened the SUV door.
“Get in.”
Elias hesitated.
Every instinct told him not to.
Getting into a stranger's car at midnight was exactly how people disappeared.
But staying outside was worse.
He climbed in.
The door closed behind him.
---
The drive lasted nearly forty minutes.
Elias watched the city disappear behind them.
Buildings became fewer.
Streetlights became scarce.
Eventually, the SUV passed through enormous iron gates.
Elias stared.
Beyond the gates stood a massive mansion surrounded by tall trees and stone walls.
Security guards were positioned everywhere.
Cameras followed the vehicle as it moved up the long driveway.
Elias's stomach tightened.
“What is this place?”
Luca didn't answer immediately.
“Home.”
“For Adrian?”
“Yes.”
Elias looked out the window.
“This isn't a home.”
Luca glanced at him.
“What is it, then?”
“A fortress.”
This time Luca smiled slightly.
“Now you're beginning to understand.”
The SUV stopped in front of the mansion.
Two guards opened the doors.
Elias stepped out.
The mansion was enormous.
Black stone.
Tall windows.
Golden lights.
Everything looked expensive, but strangely cold.
There were no family photographs.
No flowers.
No signs that anyone actually lived there.
It looked more like a place built to keep people out.
Luca walked ahead.
Elias followed.
The massive front doors opened before they reached them.
A woman in a black dress stood inside.
She looked at Elias.
Then at Luca.
“He's here.”
“I can see that,” Luca replied.
She turned toward Elias.
“Mr. Moretti, follow me.”
Elias frowned.
“Where?”
“To see the boss.”
His heartbeat increased.
“The boss?”
She didn't answer.
Instead, she walked toward a long hallway.
Elias followed reluctantly.
They stopped in front of a large wooden door.
The woman knocked twice.
A voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
Elias froze.
That voice.
Deep.
Calm.
Cold.
The same voice from the phone.
The woman opened the door.
Elias stepped inside.
And for the first time, he saw Adrian De Luca.
He wasn't what Elias had expected.
There were no bodyguards standing beside him.
No gun in his hand.
No obvious signs of violence.
He simply stood beside a large window, looking out at the dark gardens.
He wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms.
His dark hair was slightly disheveled.
He looked younger than Elias had imagined.
But his eyes...
His eyes were different.
Sharp.
Unforgiving.
The kind of eyes that made a person feel as though every lie they had ever told was already known.
Adrian turned.
His gaze landed on Elias.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Adrian said:
“Leave us.”
The woman immediately left.
The door closed.
Silence.
Elias stood near the entrance.
Adrian walked toward him.
Slowly.
Not threateningly.
But somehow that made it worse.
He stopped a few feet away.
“You look like him.”
Elias frowned.
“Like who?”
Adrian's expression changed slightly.
“Your father.”
Elias stared at him.
“My father?”
Adrian said nothing.
Elias's voice became sharper.
“What did you know about my father?”
“More than you do.”
“Then tell me.”
Adrian studied him.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
“What question should I ask?”
“Why did your uncle die?”
Elias's jaw tightened.
“Because people were looking for him.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Then what did he give you?”
Elias immediately thought of the envelope.
He stepped backward.
“I don't have anything.”
Adrian's expression didn't change.
“Don't lie to me.”
“I said I don't have anything.”
“You're a terrible liar.”
Elias became angry.
“My uncle is dead. I've been chased across the city. Someone tried to shoot me. I don't know what is happening, and you expect me to stand here and calmly answer your questions?”
Adrian remained silent.
Elias's breathing became uneven.
“I want answers.”
“You'll get them.”
“When?”
“When you're ready to hear them.”
Elias laughed bitterly.
“I'm ready now.”
“No.”
Adrian turned away.
Elias stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian walked toward his desk.
“It means you don't yet understand what your uncle died protecting.”
Elias felt a chill.
“Then tell me.”
Adrian opened a drawer.
He removed a small photograph.
He placed it on the desk.
Elias slowly approached.
The moment he saw it, he stopped.
It was the same man from the photograph in the alley.
But this time, Elias recognized him.
His father.
Standing beside Adrian.
Except Adrian looked much younger.
Elias picked up the photograph.
“My father knew you?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Adrian looked directly at him.
“Your father was my closest friend.”
Elias's eyes widened.
“My father died when I was six.”
“I know.”
“You knew him?”
“I was there.”
Elias stared.
“You were there when he died?”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you come for me?”
For the first time, Adrian looked away.
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because your father made me promise.”
“What promise?”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“To stay away from you.”
Elias slowly lowered the photograph.
“Why?”
“Because if I ever came near you, they would know you were still alive.”
Elias's mind raced.
“Who?”
Adrian looked toward the window.
“The people who killed your parents.”
Silence filled the room.
Elias felt like the floor had disappeared beneath him.
“My parents weren't killed in an accident?”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“What happened?”
Adrian looked at him.
“They were betrayed.”
“By who?”
“I don't know yet.”
Elias stared at him.
“You don't know?”
“I know who ordered it.”
“Who?”
Adrian's eyes became darker.
“I'll tell you when I have proof.”
Elias shook his head.
“This makes no sense.”
“It will.”
Adrian reached toward the desk.
His fingers stopped on the black envelope sticking out of Elias's jacket.
“Give it to me.”
Elias instinctively stepped back.
“No.”
Adrian looked at him.
“That envelope is the reason your uncle is dead.”
Elias's hand tightened around it.
“What is inside?”
“Something your father hid twenty years ago.”
“What?”
Adrian's gaze remained fixed on him.
“The truth about who you are.”
Elias's heart pounded.
“I know who I am.”
“No,” Adrian said quietly.
“You know the name you were given.”
Elias stared at him.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Your father wasn't an ordinary man, Elias.”
He paused.
“And neither are you.”
Elias couldn't speak.
Adrian extended his hand.
“Give me the envelope.”
After a long silence, Elias slowly pulled it from his jacket.
He placed it in Adrian's hand.
Adrian looked at the silver symbol.
His expression changed.
Not fear.
Something worse.
Recognition.
“Where did you get this?”
“My uncle gave it to me before he died.”
Adrian turned the envelope over.
There was a tiny red mark on the back.
His face became completely still.
“What?”
Elias noticed the change.
“What is it?”
Adrian didn't answer.
He walked toward the fireplace.
He stared at the symbol for several seconds.
Then he whispered:
“They found us.”
Elias's blood ran cold.
“Who?”
Adrian looked at him.
“The Moretti family.”
Elias frowned.
“My family?”
Adrian's voice was quiet.
“The family you were never supposed to know existed.”
Suddenly—
BOOM!
The entire mansion shook.
The windows rattled.
Elias jumped.
Another explosion sounded outside.
Adrian immediately grabbed Elias's arm and pulled him away from the window.
“Stay down.”
“What happened?”
“Get behind me.”
Gunfire erupted outside.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Adrian's men shouted through the hallway.
The mansion's lights went out.
Everything became dark.
Elias could hear footsteps rushing toward the room.
Adrian pulled a gun from beneath his jacket.
His entire demeanor changed.
The calm man Elias had been speaking to disappeared.
In his place stood the man everyone feared.
The mafia boss.
Adrian looked at Elias.
“Whatever happens next…”
He paused.
“Do not leave my side.”
Elias swallowed.
“Why?”
Adrian's eyes met his.
“Because they didn't come here for me.”
Another gunshot echoed through the mansion.
Adrian tightened his grip on his weapon.
“They came for you.”
To be continued...
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