Contract with the Devil

The Father She Never Knew

I had spent my entire life believing I knew the worst thing that could happen to me.

Losing my mother.

Growing up without answers.

Living with a hole in my heart that never truly healed.

I was wrong.

Because the worst thing was discovering that the people who knew the truth had been standing beside me all along.

And they had chosen silence.

---

"Your father?"

The word felt strange.

Almost foreign.

I looked at Adrian.

Then at Alessandro.

Neither of them looked surprised.

That hurt more than the revelation itself.

"You knew."

My voice was quiet.

Alessandro didn't answer immediately.

That was enough.

"You knew."

"Elena..."

"No."

I stepped back.

"Everyone knows things about my life except me."

The anger came faster than the tears.

"My mother. Her secrets. Your family. My father."

I looked at Alessandro.

"And you."

His expression changed.

"I wanted to tell you."

"When?"

"Before."

"Before what?"

"Before it became dangerous."

I laughed softly.

"Dangerous?"

I shook my head.

"My entire life is dangerous, Alessandro."

The truth hurt because it was true.

---

Adrian watched us silently.

Finally, he spoke.

"Sofia didn't hide your father because she wanted to punish him."

I looked at him.

"Then why?"

"Because she was trying to protect you."

"From him?"

A pause.

"Yes."

My stomach twisted.

"Who was he?"

Adrian looked at Alessandro.

Then back at me.

"His name was Daniel Rossi."

The name meant nothing.

But the way Alessandro reacted did.

"You knew him."

Alessandro's face hardened.

"Yes."

"How?"

"He was connected to my family."

Of course he was.

Everyone was.

Every road led back to De Luca.

"What does that mean?"

Alessandro looked away.

"Daniel worked with my father."

A cold feeling spread through me.

"My father was a criminal?"

Nobody answered.

Because silence was an answer.

---

"Why didn't my mother tell me?"

Adrian's expression softened.

"Because Sofia believed a child deserved a childhood."

I looked down.

"And now?"

"Now you are old enough to know."

I hated that sentence.

Everyone kept deciding when I was ready.

When I could handle the truth.

When I deserved answers.

But maybe they were right.

Maybe the truth really was that dangerous.

"Did my father love her?"

The question surprised everyone.

Even me.

Adrian looked away.

"I don't know."

That hurt.

More than anger would have.

"Then what do you know?"

"I know he was involved in something bigger than Sofia understood."

"What?"

"The same thing that destroyed her."

---

Alessandro walked away from the window.

For the first time, his anger was visible.

Not toward me.

Toward himself.

"I should have found him."

I looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because Daniel knew things."

"What things?"

"The truth about my father."

I froze.

"So my father could have stopped everything?"

"Maybe."

"Or he could have caused it."

Alessandro didn't answer.

And that scared me.

---

Later that night, I found an old box in my room.

I didn't know who had placed it there.

Inside was a small collection of photographs.

The first one was my mother.

Young.

Smiling.

Happy.

The second one was Alessandro.

Twenty-two years old.

A stranger compared to the man I knew now.

And the third...

was my father.

Daniel Rossi.

Standing beside Sofia.

But something was wrong.

Something I couldn't explain.

They didn't look like a happy couple.

They looked like two people hiding from the same enemy.

I turned the photograph over.

There was a message written on the back.

My mother's handwriting.

If Elena ever finds this, it means the truth could no longer stay hidden.

My hands trembled.

I continued reading.

Daniel was not the person I feared. He was the person who tried to warn me.

I stopped.

Another secret.

Another person who wasn't what everyone believed.

Then I read the final sentence.

And my entire world changed.

The person who betrayed me was the one person I never thought would.

A knock came at the door.

I quickly hid the photograph.

"Come in."

Alessandro entered.

He looked at me.

And immediately knew something was wrong.

"What happened?"

I stared at him.

For the first time, I had a question I wasn't sure I wanted answered.

"Alessandro..."

"Yes?"

"Who was my mother's best friend?"

He froze.

Just for a second.

But I saw it.

Recognition.

Fear.

"Why?"

"Because I think that's the person she was talking about."

The silence was unbearable.

Then Alessandro whispered:

"Sofia's best friend died the night she disappeared."

My blood ran cold.

"Who was she?"

He looked at me.

And said the name that changed everything.

"Isabella De Luca."