CHAPTER NINE: ELENA'S SECRET
1829 Words
The road was almost empty as Adrian drove through the city.
Valentina sat quietly in the passenger seat, staring at the key they had found inside the old church.
For years, she had believed her family story was simple.
Her mother had died.
Her father had died.
She had disappeared.
Her uncle had taken control of the De Luca empire.
That was the story everyone knew.
But now she understood that almost every part of it was false.
Her mother might still be alive.
Her father was alive.
Elena, her father's former secretary, knew the truth.
And somewhere behind all of it was the mysterious Fourth Rose.
Adrian glanced at her.
“You haven't said anything for ten minutes.”
Valentina looked at him.
“I'm thinking.”
“About your mother?”
“About everything.”
She looked down at the key.
“What if Elena doesn't want to see me?”
“Then we'll convince her.”
“And what if she knows where my father is but refuses to tell us?”
Adrian's expression remained calm.
“Then we'll find another way.”
Valentina gave him a tired look.
“You always sound like you have an answer.”
“I don't.”
That surprised her.
Adrian continued driving.
“I just refuse to let fear make decisions for me.”
Valentina looked out the window again.
For the first time since returning home, she felt that someone truly understood what she was going through.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Adrian's phone rang.
Marcus.
Adrian answered.
“What did you find?”
Marcus spoke for several seconds.
Adrian's expression changed.
“Send me the location.”
He ended the call.
Valentina immediately turned toward him.
“What happened?”
“We found Elena.”
Her heart jumped.
“Where?”
“An old apartment building near the northern district.”
Valentina sat straighter.
“Is she still there?”
Marcus had found records showing that Elena had rented the apartment under another name for several years.
But there was something else.
“She left three days ago.”
Valentina's excitement disappeared.
“Three days?”
Adrian nodded.
“Someone warned her.”
“Or someone is controlling her,” Valentina said.
Adrian looked at her.
“That's possible.”
They drove to the apartment.
The building looked ordinary.
No security guards.
No expensive cars.
No obvious signs that someone connected to the powerful De Luca family had ever lived there.
Marcus was waiting outside.
He handed Adrian a folder.
“I searched the apartment.”
“And?”
“She left almost everything behind.”
Valentina took the folder.
“What did she leave?”
“Photographs. Documents. A diary.”
Valentina's eyes widened.
“A diary?”
Marcus nodded.
“It's inside.”
They climbed the stairs.
Elena's apartment was small and almost empty.
A table stood near the window.
Several photographs were scattered across it.
Valentina picked up the first one.
It showed her father and mother standing together.
She smiled sadly.
Her mother looked happy.
Her father had one arm around her.
Valentina turned the photograph over.
There was writing on the back.
Before everything changed.
She picked up another.
This one showed Elena standing beside Isabella.
Valentina studied Elena's face.
She looked younger.
Happy.
Almost like family.
“Why was Elena so close to my mother?” Valentina asked.
Marcus opened the diary.
“Maybe this explains it.”
Valentina sat down.
Adrian stood beside her.
The diary contained pages of handwriting.
Most of it described ordinary events—meetings, family dinners, business arrangements.
Then the entries became darker.
One entry caught Valentina's attention.
March 14
Isabella knows.
Valentina's heart beat faster.
She continued reading.
She found the documents Matteo was hiding. She now knows about the Fourth Rose.
Another page.
March 21
Matteo told me to prepare a safe place.
Another.
April 2
They are watching the house.
Valentina's hands began to shake.
“Keep going,” Adrian said gently.
She turned the page.
The next entry was dated April 7.
Isabella cannot stay in the De Luca estate anymore.
Then another.
April 8
Matteo has decided to send her away.
Valentina stopped.
“Send her away?”
Adrian nodded.
“Read the next page.”
She did.
He says Valentina must never know. He believes the less she knows, the safer she will be.
Valentina closed her eyes.
Her father had been trying to protect her.
But the next page changed everything.
April 12
The plan failed.
Valentina opened her eyes.
The page after it had only one sentence.
They found her.
She froze.
“Who found her?”
There was no answer in the diary.
The next several pages had been ripped out.
Someone had deliberately removed them.
Valentina stood.
“Whoever took those pages didn't want us to know what happened next.”
Adrian examined the torn edges.
“They were removed recently.”
Valentina looked at him.
“How can you tell?”
“The paper around the torn section is clean. If the pages had been removed years ago, the binding would look different.”
Marcus suddenly spoke from across the room.
“Boss.”
Adrian turned.
Marcus was holding a small photograph.
“What is it?”
“I think you should see this.”
Valentina walked over.
The photograph showed a woman standing outside a hospital.
The woman was Isabella.
Valentina's breath caught.
“When was this taken?”
Marcus pointed to the date printed on the back.
It was eight months after her mother's supposed death.
Valentina stared at the photograph.
“My mother was alive.”
Adrian looked at the photograph carefully.
“Apparently.”
Valentina's eyes filled with tears.
“Then why did my father tell everyone she was dead?”
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
He studied the photograph.
“Maybe because she was being hunted.”
Valentina wiped her eyes.
“Where is this hospital?”
Marcus turned the photograph over.
“There is a name.”
Valentina read it.
Saint Gabriel Medical Center.
Marcus quickly checked his phone.
“The hospital closed twelve years ago.”
“Of course it did,” Valentina whispered.
Everything connected to her family seemed to disappear after her mother did.
Adrian looked at Marcus.
“Find the old records.”
“I already started.”
A few minutes later, Marcus found something.
“There was a patient registered under the name Anna Morel.”
Valentina frowned.
“Anna Morel?”
Marcus nodded.
“The records say she was admitted for several weeks.”
“Is there a photograph?”
“No.”
“Any next of kin?”
Marcus looked at the screen.
“One person.”
Valentina's heart raced.
“Who?”
Marcus slowly looked up.
“Elena.”
Silence.
Valentina stared at Adrian.
“Elena wasn't just Matteo's secretary.”
Adrian nodded.
“She was protecting your mother.”
Suddenly, they heard a noise outside.
A car door slammed.
Marcus moved toward the window.
“There are two vehicles outside.”
Adrian immediately became alert.
“Are they ours?”
Marcus looked again.
“No.”
Adrian turned to Valentina.
“Stay behind me.”
They moved toward the back of the apartment.
Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs.
Valentina held the photograph tightly.
She didn't want to lose it.
A knock came at the door.
Three slow knocks.
Nobody answered.
Another three knocks.
Then a woman's voice came from the hallway.
“Valentina.”
She froze.
She knew that voice.
Adrian looked at her.
“You know her?”
Valentina nodded slowly.
“Elena.”
The door opened.
A woman stepped inside.
She was older than Valentina remembered from the photographs, but her eyes were unmistakable.
Elena.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Elena looked at Valentina.
“My God.”
Her voice trembled.
“You look just like your mother.”
Valentina stepped forward.
“You knew she was alive.”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
Valentina's voice hardened.
“Where is she?”
Elena looked toward Adrian.
Then Marcus.
Finally, she looked back at Valentina.
“Your mother is alive.”
Valentina felt as though the entire room had stopped.
“Where?”
Elena shook her head.
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because if I tell you, they will find her.”
Valentina stepped closer.
“Who?”
Elena looked terrified.
“The Fourth Rose.”
Adrian's expression became serious.
“Elena, what is the Fourth Rose?”
Elena swallowed.
“It isn't a project.”
Valentina frowned.
“Then what is it?”
Elena whispered:
“It is a person.”
The room fell silent.
Adrian stared at her.
“Who?”
Elena looked directly at Valentina.
“The person who has controlled the De Luca family from the shadows for years.”
Valentina's heart pounded.
“Tell me the name.”
Elena hesitated.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
“Victor De Luca.”
Valentina stared at her.
“Victor is dead.”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“Victor De Luca is alive.”
Before Valentina could respond, the lights suddenly went out.
A loud crash came from downstairs.
Elena grabbed Valentina's arm.
“They found me.”
Adrian immediately moved toward the door.
“Marcus, get them out.”
But Elena stopped him.
“No.”
She looked at Valentina.
“Your father left one final message for you.”
Valentina's eyes widened.
“What message?”
Elena reached inside her coat and pulled out a small envelope.
She handed it to Valentina.
“He told me to give you this only when you were ready to learn the truth.”
Valentina opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
Her father.
Her mother.
And a little girl standing between them.
Valentina recognized the girl immediately.
It was her.
But there was someone else in the photograph.
A man standing behind them.
Victor De Luca.
On the back of the photograph, Matteo had written:
The man behind us is the reason our family fell apart.
A second line appeared beneath it.
But he did not do it alone.
Valentina looked up.
“Who helped him?”
Elena's face went pale.
Before she could answer, a voice came from the hallway.
“You shouldn't have brought her here, Elena.”
Valentina recognized the voice.
Lorenzo.
Her uncle.
Elena stared toward the door.
Valentina slowly turned.
Lorenzo stepped into the room.
But unlike before, there was no anger in his eyes.
There was fear.
He looked at Valentina and said quietly:
“Your father was right.”
Valentina's heart stopped.
“About what?”
Lorenzo looked behind him.
Then back at her.
“You cannot trust anyone in this family.”
He lowered his voice.
“Not even me.”
Then the lights came back on.
And Elena was gone.
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