Chapter 7 - The First Lie
1403 Words
The silence after the call was unbearable.
Isabella stared at Adriano.
He stared back.
Neither of them moved.
The dead man's phone was still in Luca's hand, the screen now black.
“What did he mean?” Isabella asked again.
Adriano's jaw tightened.
“Isabella...”
“No.”
Her voice cracked, but she didn't look away.
“Don't tell me to calm down. Don't tell me it's complicated. And don't tell me you were trying to protect me.”
She stepped closer.
“I want the truth.”
Luca and Matteo exchanged an uncomfortable glance.
Adriano noticed.
“Both of you. Leave.”
“Adriano...” Luca began.
“Now.”
They left without another word.
The moment the door closed, Isabella turned back to him.
“My family.”
Adriano said nothing.
“What happened to my family?”
His eyes lowered.
That tiny movement told her more than words could have.
“You know.”
It wasn't a question.
Adriano remained silent.
“You know what happened to them.”
“Yes.”
The word barely left his mouth.
Isabella felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath her.
“How long?”
Adriano looked at her.
“How long have you known?”
“Years.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“And you never told me?”
“I couldn't.”
“You couldn't?”
Her laugh came out bitter.
“You married me, dragged me into your world, locked me inside your estate, and watched me live with questions you've had answers to for years.”
“I never wanted you involved in this.”
“You made me your wife!”
Her voice echoed through the room.
Adriano flinched.
It was subtle.
But she saw it.
“You made me your wife,” she repeated more quietly. “So you don't get to decide which parts of my life I'm allowed to know.”
Adriano walked toward the window.
For several seconds, he stared outside.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low.
“Your family didn't die because of a random attack.”
Isabella stopped breathing.
“What happened?”
“Your father was involved with people he shouldn't have trusted.”
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“He wasn't a criminal.”
“I never said he was.”
“Then what are you saying?”
Adriano turned.
“Your father discovered something.”
“What?”
“A ledger.”
Isabella frowned.
“A ledger?”
“A record of payments, names, shipments, accounts, politicians, police officers... people who were supposed to be untouchable.”
Her stomach twisted.
“And my father found it?”
“He found evidence of something much bigger than the Vittori family.”
“Then why did they kill him?”
“Because he tried to expose it.”
Isabella shook her head.
“No.”
Adriano's expression hardened.
“Yes.”
“My father wouldn't....”
“He tried to take the information to the authorities.”
“And they killed him for it?”
“Not immediately.”
Adriano's voice became quieter.
“They gave him a choice.”
Isabella's heart pounded.
“What choice?”
“Give them the ledger or lose his family.”
Her lips parted.
“My mother…”
Adriano nodded.
“Your mother knew.”
“And me?”
His eyes met hers.
“You were the reason your father refused.”
Tears slipped down Isabella's cheeks.
“He protected me?”
“Yes.”
She looked away, struggling to breathe.
For years, she'd believed her parents' deaths had been nothing more than a tragic consequence of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
She had never imagined there had been a reason.
A choice.
A secret.
“So what happened to the ledger?”
Adriano didn't answer.
“Where is it?”
“That's the part I don't know.”
Isabella stared at him.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“You know everything else.”
“Not everything.”
She stepped closer.
“Then tell me what you do know.”
Adriano's expression changed.
Something dark passed through his eyes.
“Your father hid the ledger before he died.”
“Where?”
“We don't know.”
“Who is ‘we’?”
Adriano hesitated.
“People who were looking for it.”
“And you?”
“I was one of them.”
The words struck harder than any slap.
Isabella stared at him.
“You were looking for my father's ledger?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I believed it belonged to my family.”
She frowned.
“What does your family have to do with mine?”
Adriano looked away.
“That is where things become complicated.”
“I'm tired of complicated.”
Her voice trembled.
“I need answers.”
Adriano walked toward the desk.
He opened a drawer and removed a small black envelope.
He placed it on the desk.
“This was recovered from your father's old house.”
Isabella stared at it.
“You had this?”
“I found it three years ago.”
She looked at him in disbelief.
“Three years?”
“I didn't know what it meant.”
“Then why keep it?”
“Because I knew one day someone would come looking for it.”
“Who?”
Adriano's eyes darkened.
“The same people who came tonight.”
Isabella slowly reached for the envelope.
Her fingers trembled as she opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
She pulled it out.
Her breath caught.
It was her father.
Standing beside another man.
A much younger Adriano.
Isabella stared at the photograph.
Then at him.
“No…”
Adriano said nothing.
“You knew my father.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I met him when I was twenty-two.”
“Why?”
“He came to my father asking for protection.”
Isabella's heart pounded.
“My father asked your father for help?”
“Yes.”
“Did he get it?”
Adriano's face hardened.
“No."
“Why?”
“Because my father betrayed him.”
The room seemed to shrink.
“What happened?”
Adriano looked at the photograph.
“My father gave them your family's location.”
Isabella's hand flew to her mouth.
“And that's how they found us?”
Adriano nodded once.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my family was betrayed by your family.”
“Yes.”
“And you still married me?”
His eyes met hers.
“I married you because I believed you were the only person left who could lead me to the truth.”
Isabella froze.
The words hurt more than she expected.
“So that's what this marriage was?”
Adriano's expression changed.
“It started that way.”
Her heart cracked.
“Started?”
He stepped toward her.
“Isabella....”
“No.”
She backed away.
“You don't get to say my name like that.”
“I didn't expect to care about you.”
She stared at him.
Adriano's voice lowered.
“That wasn't part of the plan.”
Her breathing became uneven.
“Then what am I to you now?”
For the first time, Adriano had no immediate answer.
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then he said quietly,
“My greatest weakness.”
Isabella's eyes widened.
Before she could respond, a gunshot shattered the window.
Adriano reacted instantly.
He grabbed Isabella and pulled her down.
Glass exploded across the floor.
Another shot struck the wall.
Adriano covered her body with his.
“Stay down.”
Isabella's heart hammered against her ribs.
“Adriano....”
“Don't move.”
He reached for his gun.
Then his phone rang.
Adriano froze.
The caller ID displayed a number he clearly recognized.
He answered.
A familiar voice spoke.
“Now you know what your father did.”
Adriano's face went cold.
The caller continued.
“But she still doesn't know what you did.”
The line went dead.
Isabella slowly looked at Adriano.
“What did you do?”
He said nothing.
And for the first time, she realized the truth she'd uncovered tonight wasn't the end of the secret.
It was only the beginning.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD