CHAPTER 5:The Man Behind The Answers
916 Words
The message remained on Lorenzo's phone.
Stop looking at where your father hid the truth.
Start looking at the people who inherited it.
Two sentences.
But they changed everything.
Because for the first time, the enemy did not feel like a stranger.
The danger was not hidden somewhere in the past.
It was standing among them.
Alessia looked at the photograph again.
Marco Rinaldi.
Their adviser.
Their guide.
The person who had helped them uncover every secret.
The person who always seemed to have the right answer.
Too many answers.
A cold feeling settled inside her.
"How long has he known?"
Lorenzo did not respond immediately.
That worried her more than anything.
Because Lorenzo always had a response.
Always had a plan.
But now he looked lost.
"I don't know."
The words sounded strange coming from him.
Alessia studied his face.
"You trust him."
It was not a question.
Lorenzo looked away.
"I did."
The correction mattered.
He had already started separating the past from the present.
"Tell me about him."
Lorenzo placed the photograph on the desk.
"Marco was my father's closest adviser."
"Business?"
"Everything."
He paused.
"He helped my father build the Moretti Group."
"And you?"
A shadow crossed his face.
"He trained me."
The answer carried more weight than she expected.
Lorenzo walked toward the window.
"When I was young, my father was always busy."
His voice became quieter.
"Marco was the person who taught me how to negotiate. How to read people. How to survive in that world."
Alessia watched him.
A person who had been like family.
Someone who had earned his trust.
Someone who might have betrayed him.
"Why would he do this?"
Lorenzo shook his head.
"I don't know."
Then he looked at her.
"But we need to find out before we accuse him."
The statement surprised her.
Six years ago, Lorenzo would have defended his family without question.
Now he was willing to question everyone.
Even the people closest to him.
They left the hidden room before anyone noticed.
The documents remained secured.
But neither of them could stop thinking about what they had found.
The next morning, Marco arrived at the hotel.
As always, he looked calm.
Professional.
Almost too calm.
"Good morning."
His smile appeared natural.
But Alessia sees it differently now.
She wondered how many times that smile had hidden something.
"Marco."
Lorenzo's voice was colder than usual.
Marco noticed immediately.
"Something happened?"
A dangerous question.
Because it meant he was testing them.
"We found a hidden room."
For a fraction of a second, Marco froze.
Only a second.
But Alessia noticed.
So did Lorenzo.
Then Marco smiled.
"Interesting."
"Interesting?"
Lorenzo stepped closer.
"You knew it existed."
Silence.
The first c***k appeared.
Marco looked between them.
Then sighed.
"I was hoping you would find it later."
Alessia's heart tightened.
"You knew?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
Marco looked at the old hotel walls.
"Because some truths destroy people before they save them."
The same excuse.
Again.
Everyone believed they had a reason to hide things.
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
"You don't get to decide what we can handle."
Marco looked at him.
"I learned that from your father."
The words struck.
Because they were true.
"Did you change the agreement?"
The question came directly.
Marco became still.
"No."
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
Lorenzo noticed.
"You didn't say you didn't know about it."
A pause.
Marco looked away.
Alessia stepped forward.
"What happened to my father?"
For the first time, Marco's expression changed.
Not guilt.
Pain.
"I don't know."
She searched his face.
"You worked with him."
"Yes."
"You knew he was investigating the hotel."
"Yes."
"Then why did he disappear?"
Marco's silence was the answer.
"Marco."
Lorenzo's voice lowered.
"What aren't you telling us?"
The older man looked at both of them.
Then said something neither expected.
"Your fathers were not trying to destroy each other."
A pause.
"They were trying to protect something."
Alessia held her breath.
"What?"
Marco looked toward the lake.
"The original ownership agreement."
Lorenzo frowned.
"We already know about it."
"No."
Marco turned back.
"You know the copy."
Silence.
"The original document was never destroyed."
Alessia stepped closer.
"Where is it?"
Marco's expression became serious.
"Hidden somewhere your fathers believed nobody would ever search."
"Where?"
Marco looked at Lorenzo.
Then at Alessia.
"Inside the one place both families considered untouchable."
A pause.
"The Moretti family vault."
Lorenzo's face changed.
Impossible.
The vault was the most protected place connected to his family.
No one entered without permission.
No one.
"Why would they hide it there?"
Marco answered quietly.
"Because they knew the person who wanted it gone would never look there."
Alessia felt a chill.
"Who?"
Marco did not answer.
Instead, he reached into his coat.
And placed a small envelope on the table.
"This was left for me years ago."
Lorenzo picked it up.
"By who?"
Marco looked at him.
"Your father."
Alessia watched as Lorenzo opened it.
Inside was a single page.
Only one sentence.
But it changed the way they saw everything.
If my son finds this, it means I failed to protect him.
Lorenzo stopped breathing.
Then he read the next line.
The person closest to me is the person I fear most.
Slowly, Lorenzo looked up.
Because now they knew.
The enemy was not just someone connected to the hotel.
The enemy was someone who had been inside the family.
Someone his father had trusted.
Someone who had been close enough to destroy everything.
- Writer
