CHAPTER THREE: THE MAN WHO SAVED HER
2141 Words
Valentina did not leave her father's study immediately.
She stood beside the desk, staring at the photograph in her hands.
Three men.
Her father, Matteo De Luca.
Lorenzo De Luca.
And Adrian Moretti.
The three men looked strangely serious in the photograph. Matteo stood in the middle, his hand resting on Adrian's shoulder.
There was something about the picture that bothered her.
Her father had never allowed strangers to get that close to him.
Not even powerful men.
Yet Adrian Moretti was standing beside him like a trusted friend.
Valentina turned the photograph over again.
Adrian Moretti.
The name continued to echo in her mind.
She remembered his face from that terrible night.
She had been twelve, frightened and confused, but she remembered his voice.
Your father wants you to leave.
If Adrian had really been the person who helped her escape, why had he disappeared afterward?
Why had he allowed everyone to believe she was dead?
And most importantly, why had Lorenzo reacted with fear when she mentioned his name?
Valentina slipped the photograph into her coat.
“Sofia.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know where Adrian Moretti is?”
Sofia's eyes widened.
“I don't think you should look for him.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Sofia lowered her voice.
“Adrian Moretti doesn't meet people unless he has a reason.”
“Then I'll give him one.”
Valentina walked toward the door.
Sofia followed her.
“Miss Valentina, please. Mr. Lorenzo already warned you.”
Valentina stopped.
“That's exactly why I'm going.”
She walked out.
---
Across the city, inside a private office overlooking the skyline, Adrian Moretti stood beside a large window.
He was thirty-one years old, calm, intimidating, and known throughout the city's criminal world as a man who rarely made mistakes.
His phone rested on the desk behind him.
A message had arrived less than five minutes earlier.
She found the box.
Adrian stared at the city.
He had known this day would come.
For ten years, he had wondered whether Valentina would ever return.
He had watched from a distance.
He had made sure nobody found her.
But now she had walked straight back into the one place he had spent years keeping her away from.
His office door opened.
A man entered.
His name was Marcus, Adrian's most trusted lieutenant.
“She knows about you,” Marcus said.
Adrian didn't turn around.
“I expected that.”
“She found the photograph.”
Adrian's expression changed slightly.
“The photograph?”
“Yes.”
Adrian finally turned.
“Who else knows about the box?”
“Lorenzo.”
Adrian walked toward the desk.
“Of course he knows.”
Marcus hesitated.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“Someone attacked one of our warehouses last night.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
“Any survivors?”
“One.”
“Bring him to me.”
Marcus nodded.
“And Adrian…”
He stopped at the door.
“Valentina isn't the frightened child you remember.”
Adrian looked toward the window.
“I know.”
---
That evening, Valentina stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom.
She had changed into a black dress and tied her hair back.
She was not going to wait for Adrian to come to her.
If he knew something about her father, she would find him herself.
She took the photograph from her drawer.
There was one more clue written on the back.
A location.
The Black Rose Club.
Valentina remembered hearing about the place.
It was owned by the Moretti family.
She picked up her coat.
Before leaving, she looked at herself in the mirror.
For years, she had imagined returning home.
In those fantasies, she had pictured herself crying when she saw her family again.
Instead, she felt nothing.
Perhaps she had cried enough ten years ago.
Now she wanted answers.
She walked downstairs.
Lorenzo was sitting in the living room.
He immediately looked up.
“Where are you going?”
“Out.”
“With whom?”
“That's none of your business.”
“You are not leaving this house.”
Valentina stopped.
“You don't give me orders.”
“I am trying to protect you.”
She laughed quietly.
“Protect me?”
Her eyes hardened.
“Where was your protection when I was twelve?”
Lorenzo went silent.
Valentina walked toward the door.
“Stay away from Adrian Moretti.”
She turned around.
“Give me one reason.”
“He is dangerous.”
“So are you.”
Lorenzo's face tightened.
Valentina opened the door.
“And if you really want to protect me,” she added, “start telling me the truth.”
She left.
---
The Black Rose Club was hidden behind an ordinary-looking building in the center of the city.
From the outside, it appeared abandoned.
Inside, however, it was completely different.
Dark walls.
Expensive furniture.
Private rooms.
Men dressed in black suits.
The atmosphere was quiet, but everyone seemed to know exactly who controlled the place.
Valentina walked inside.
Several people looked at her.
She ignored them.
A large man approached.
“Private members only.”
“I need to see Adrian Moretti.”
The man's expression changed.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No.”
“Then you can't see him.”
Valentina placed the photograph on the table between them.
The man's eyes moved to it.
He immediately became serious.
“Wait here.”
He disappeared through a door.
A few minutes later, another man appeared.
He was tall, dressed in a perfectly fitted black suit.
His dark hair was slightly messy, and his expression was unreadable.
Valentina recognized him instantly.
Adrian.
The boy who had helped her escape.
Only he was no longer a boy.
He walked toward her slowly.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Adrian stopped a few feet away.
“You shouldn't have come here.”
Valentina looked directly into his eyes.
“You told me that ten years ago.”
Something flickered across his face.
“You remember.”
“I remember everything.”
Adrian glanced at the photograph.
“Where did you get that?”
“My father's study.”
His expression became serious.
“Then you found the box.”
“Yes.”
“Did you read the letter?”
“Yes.”
“What did it say?”
Valentina folded her arms.
“You already know.”
Adrian stared at her.
“I want to hear it from you.”
“My father said there were people inside the family who couldn't be trusted.”
Adrian said nothing.
“He also said I shouldn't believe the person who tells me he betrayed me.”
She took a step closer.
“Did my father betray me?”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
Valentina studied him.
“You sound certain.”
“I am.”
“How?”
“Because I was there.”
Valentina's heart sank.
“You were there the night he died?”
Adrian's silence answered her.
She stepped closer.
“Tell me what happened.”
“I can't.”
“You can.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because knowing the truth will put you in danger.”
Valentina's voice became cold.
“I'm already in danger.”
Adrian looked at her carefully.
“You don't understand.”
“Then make me understand.”
He walked toward a private room.
“Come with me.”
Valentina followed.
The room was quiet and heavily secured. Adrian closed the door behind them.
He remained standing.
“Your father knew someone was planning to take control of the De Luca family.”
“Who?”
“We never discovered the full identity.”
“Never?”
“We suspected someone close to him.”
“Lorenzo?”
Adrian did not answer.
Valentina noticed.
“You believe it was him.”
“I believe Lorenzo knows more than he has admitted.”
She sat down.
“What happened that night?”
Adrian looked away.
“Your father called me.”
“For help?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me that if anything happened to him, I had to get you out of the city.”
Valentina's eyes filled with questions.
“Why didn't he take me himself?”
“He was already being watched.”
“By whom?”
“We don't know.”
“Then what happened?”
Adrian's expression darkened.
“When I arrived at the house, everything was already falling apart.”
Valentina listened silently.
“I found your father injured.”
Her breath caught.
“He told me to find you.”
“Was he alive?”
“Yes.”
“What happened afterward?”
Adrian hesitated.
“He gave me something.”
“What?”
“A key.”
“To what?”
“I don't know.”
Valentina frowned.
“You don't know?”
“He told me it would lead to the truth one day.”
“Where is it?”
Adrian looked at her.
“I don't have it anymore.”
“Who does?”
“I don't know.”
Valentina stood.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
“Then why tell me any of this?”
“Because you deserve to know that your father didn't abandon you.”
Her expression softened for a moment.
That was the one thing she had secretly wanted to hear for years.
Adrian continued.
“He loved you.”
Valentina looked down.
“My whole life, I thought he had left me.”
“He didn't.”
“Then why did everyone say I was dead?”
“Because that was the only way to keep you alive.”
Valentina looked up.
“Who knew I was alive?”
“Very few people.”
“Who?”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Your father.”
“Obviously.”
“Me.”
“Who else?”
“An old family doctor.”
“And?”
Adrian remained silent.
Valentina realized there was another name.
“Who?”
Before Adrian could answer, the lights suddenly went out.
Valentina froze.
A second later, the sound of shouting came from outside.
Adrian immediately moved toward the door.
“Stay here.”
“What is happening?”
“Someone found you.”
He opened the door and looked into the hallway.
Men were moving quickly through the club.
Marcus appeared.
“Adrian!”
“What happened?”
“We have a problem.”
“Explain.”
“Someone attacked the entrance.”
Adrian looked toward Valentina.
“Get her out through the back.”
Marcus nodded.
Valentina stepped forward.
“I can walk by myself.”
“This isn't the time to argue,” Adrian said.
“I don't take orders from you.”
Adrian looked at her.
For the first time, his calm expression broke.
“Valentina, listen to me. Whoever came here isn't interested in the club.”
She stared at him.
“They came for me.”
“Yes.”
A loud crash came from downstairs.
Everyone became silent.
Adrian reached for the door.
“Marcus, take her.”
Valentina grabbed his arm.
“You're coming with us.”
Adrian looked at her hand, then at her face.
“I have to stay.”
“No.”
“Valentina—”
“You said my father trusted you.”
“He did.”
“Then don't make me regret trusting you too.”
For a moment, Adrian said nothing.
Then he nodded.
“Fine.”
The three of them moved toward the hidden exit.
But before they reached it, Adrian's phone rang.
He answered.
A voice spoke from the other end.
Adrian's face immediately changed.
“What?”
Valentina watched him carefully.
He ended the call.
“What happened?” she asked.
Adrian looked at her.
“Your uncle just left the De Luca estate.”
“Why?”
“He took something from your father's study.”
Valentina's eyes widened.
“The black box?”
“No.”
Adrian's voice became quiet.
“He took the key.”
Valentina froze.
The key her father had given Adrian.
The key that was supposed to lead to the truth.
Suddenly, she understood.
Her return had not gone unnoticed.
Someone had been waiting for her to find the box.
And now the race for the truth had begun.
Adrian opened the hidden door.
“From this moment,” he said, “you cannot trust anyone.”
Valentina looked at him.
“Not even you?”
Adrian held her gaze.
“Especially not me.”
Then he stepped into the darkness.
And Valentina followed.
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