A LEGACY OF LIES

Thony’s POV I stood completely still. For a few seconds, I couldn’t understand what I was looking at. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. I had come to the hotel expecting to see Kamila, my best friend. The person who had called me earlier that evening, sounding strangely nervous, before suddenly telling me to meet her here. She had refused to explain anything over the phone. She had only said that it was important, so I came. But Kamila wasn’t here. Instead, a man was sitting calmly on the couch across the room. A man I knew. A man everyone knew. My heart began pounding. Alessandro Moretti, I had heard his name more times than I could count. People didn’t talk about Alessandro loudly. They whispered. They said he was dangerous. They said he was untouchable. They said there were things he had done that nobody dared speak about. And now he was sitting in front of me like he had been waiting for me. My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag. “What did you do with my best friend?” My voice trembled. I hated that it did. Alessandro didn’t answer immediately. He simply looked at me. His expression was unreadable. I swallowed. “Where is Kamila?” He leaned back slightly. “She is safe.” My shoulders relaxed for half a second. “Where is she?” “You’ll see her.” “When?” He didn’t answer. I took a step forward. “Alessandro, where is she?” He looked at me again. “You shouldn’t be here.” I frowned. “Then why did you let me come?” “I didn’t ask you to come.” “Kamila did.” Something changed in his expression at the mention of her name. Very slightly. But I noticed. “What happened to her?” “She is fine.” “Then let me see her.” “I can’t.” My frustration grew. “You can’t?” “No.” “Why?” He remained silent. I shook my head. “This is ridiculous.” I turned toward the door. If he wouldn’t tell me where Kamila was, I would find her myself. But before I could take another step, his voice stopped me. “If you leave, you won’t see her tonight.” I slowly turned around. My heart sank. “What does that mean?” “It means exactly what I said.” I stared at him. “You’re threatening me.” “No.” “You’re keeping my best friend from me.” “I’m keeping her safe.” “From what?” He didn’t answer. I took a deep breath. “Where is she?” “She is somewhere you can’t reach.” My eyes narrowed. “Then why am I here?” “Because you came looking for her.” “That doesn’t answer my question.” He stood. I instinctively took a step backward. He noticed. “You don’t have to be afraid of me.” I almost laughed. “I’m not afraid of you.” Another lie. He walked toward me. Slowly. He stopped a few feet away. For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then he said something I never expected to hear. “I want you to marry me.” I stared at him. “What?” “You heard me.” I actually laughed. Not because it was funny. Because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You want me to marry you?” “Yes.” “You’re insane.” He didn’t react. “You bring me here because my best friend is missing, and then you ask me to marry you?” “She isn’t missing.” “She is to me!” My voice rose. “She disappeared, she stopped answering my calls, and then I receive a message telling me to come here. I walk into this room and find you instead.” I pointed at him. “And now you’re asking me to marry you?” “Yes.” “Why?” He stared at me. “Because I need you.” The words caught me off guard. I quickly looked away. I didn’t know what I expected him to say. But it certainly wasn’t that. “You don’t even know me.” “I know enough.” “No, you don’t.” “I know more than you think.” I looked back at him. “What does that mean?” He didn’t answer. Instead, he reached inside his jacket. My body immediately got tense. He pulled out a photograph. He looked at it for a moment before placing it on the table. My eyes followed the movement. “What is that?” “Something you should see.” I walked toward the table. Alessandro didn’t stop me. I reached for the photograph. But just before my fingers touched it, he picked it up. I stared at him. “What are you doing?” “Not yet.” “Give it to me.” “No.” I raised my eyebrows. “You just showed it to me.” “I showed you enough.” “That doesn’t make any sense.” “You don’t need to see everything tonight.” I stared at him in disbelief. “Then why show me at all?” His eyes remained fixed on mine. “Because I wanted you to know that I wasn’t lying.” “About what?” He said nothing. I felt my patience disappearing. “About Kamila?” A pause. “Yes.” My stomach twisted. “What does that photograph have to do with her?” “Nothing you need to worry about tonight.” I shook my head. “You brought me here, showed me a photograph, refused to let me see my best friend, and asked me to marry you.” I stared at him. “And you expect me to just stand here and accept that?” “No.” “Then what do you expect?” He stepped closer. “I expect you to think about my offer.” I looked away. Marry him. The words kept repeating in my head. There was no way. Absolutely no way. I turned back toward the door. “I’m leaving.” “You can.” I stopped. “But Kamila stays where she is.” My hand froze on the doorknob. I closed my eyes. Of course. He knew exactly what he was doing. I turned around slowly. “You’re using her to force me.” “I’m giving you a choice.” “What choice?” “Marry me.” “And if I say no?” His expression didn’t change. “You’ll find out.” I stared at him. For the first time, I realized something. Whatever was happening, it was much bigger than I understood. And somehow, Alessandro Moretti had decided that I was part of it. I looked at the photograph still in his hand. “What is in that photograph?” His eyes met mine. “Something that will change the way you see everything.” My heart began beating faster. “Then show me.” He held my gaze for a long moment. Then he slowly turned the photograph around. I saw the edge of an image. A familiar face. My breath caught. I stepped forward. “Wait…” Alessandro immediately turned the photograph back toward himself. My eyes widened. “Who is that?” He slipped the photograph back into his jacket. “You’re not ready.” “I know that person.” He said nothing. I moved closer. “Alessandro.” His expression remained unreadable. “Who was that?” He walked past me. I turned to follow him with my eyes. Before he reached the door, he stopped. “Go home, Thony.” I stared at him. “Think about my offer.” Then he left. I stood alone in the hotel room. My hands were trembling. Kamila was somewhere I couldn’t reach. Alessandro Moretti wanted me to marry him. And there was a photograph in his possession containing a face I knew. I didn’t know what scared me more. The fact that Alessandro knew something I didn’t or the feeling that whatever was in that photograph was only the beginning.