Chapter 5: The Truth Hidden in the Photograph
616 Words
The mansion had grown unusually quiet.
Outside, workers repaired the shattered gates while armed guards patrolled every corner of the estate. Inside, the atmosphere was tense. Every servant spoke in hushed voices, and every member of the Romano family seemed to be waiting for Dante’s next move.
Alina couldn’t stop staring at the old photograph lying on the library table.
Her father.
Standing beside Dante’s father.
They looked like friends.
No… more than friends.
They looked like brothers.
She heard footsteps behind her.
“You’ve been looking at that picture for an hour.”
She turned to find Dante standing in the doorway, his jacket draped over one shoulder.
“I need answers,” she said quietly.
“So do I.”
She looked back at the photograph.
“My mother always told me my father worked in international shipping.”
Dante’s expression remained unreadable.
“My father told the same lie about yours.”
Alina frowned.
“What do you mean?”
He stepped closer and placed an old leather folder beside the photograph.
“I had my archives searched.”
Inside were faded documents, newspaper clippings, and handwritten notes.
“The man in this picture wasn’t simply a businessman,” Dante said.
“He was my father’s closest ally.”
Alina’s hands trembled as she turned another page.
“But according to these records… they disappeared from public life on the same day.”
Dante nodded.
“Something happened twenty-three years ago.”
“Do you know what?”
“No.”
Before either of them could continue, Enzo entered without knocking.
“Boss.”
“What is it?”
“We found a survivor from the warehouse attack.”
Dante’s eyes sharpened.
“Is he willing to talk?”
Enzo gave a grim smile.
“He asked for you by name.”
⸻
An hour later, Dante and Enzo entered the underground interrogation room. Alina remained behind the one-way glass, watching nervously.
The wounded man looked exhausted.
When he saw Dante, he laughed weakly.
“So… the Devil finally came.”
“You wanted to speak.”
“I did.”
The prisoner coughed before continuing.
“You’re fighting the wrong enemy.”
Dante folded his arms.
“Explain.”
“Lorenzo didn’t start this war.”
Silence filled the room.
“It began years ago.”
The prisoner leaned forward despite his injuries.
“Someone inside your own family wants the Romano empire to fall.”
Enzo reached for his weapon instinctively.
“Who?”
The man smiled sadly.
“I don’t know his name.”
“But I know one thing…”
He looked directly at Dante.
“The answers you’re looking for died with your father.”
Suddenly, alarms blared throughout the mansion.
A guard rushed into the room.
“Boss! Someone breached the west security wall!”
Dante cursed under his breath.
“Enzo, secure the prisoner.”
As they turned toward the exit, a single gunshot echoed through the corridor.
The lights flickered.
When they rushed back into the interrogation room, the prisoner’s head had fallen forward.
A sniper’s bullet had pierced the reinforced window.
He was dead.
The only man who might have known the truth had been silenced forever.
Dante stared at the shattered glass, his jaw clenched.
“This wasn’t just an attack,” he said quietly.
“They’re erasing the past.”
Watching from the observation room, Alina felt a chill run through her body.
For the first time, she understood that whatever secret connected their fathers was so dangerous that people were still willing to kill to keep it buried.
And now…
She and Dante were the only ones left to uncover it.
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