A mafia's obsession

CHAPTER 30: THE FORGOTTEN NAMES

Morning arrived quietly at Lawson Manor.

Kelvin was already awake, sitting in his study with the old photograph spread across his desk.

His eyes lingered on the burned-out faces.

Someone had wanted those identities erased.

But why?

A knock sounded on the door.

"Come in."

Damien entered carrying a slim folder.

"Our investigators found something."

Kelvin looked up immediately.

"What is it?"

"The photograph was taken twenty-three years ago."

"At the annual Lawson Charity Gala."

Kelvin frowned.

"I was only a child."

Damien nodded.

"Yes."

"But we've managed to identify one of the guests who attended that evening."

He handed Kelvin the file.

"The photographer who covered the event."

---

An hour later...

Kelvin and Damien arrived at a quiet retirement home on the outskirts of Noctis.

An elderly man sat peacefully in the garden, feeding birds.

His name was Samuel Harris.

He had been one of Valestia's most respected photographers before retiring.

Samuel looked up as Kelvin approached.

"I've been expecting you."

Kelvin exchanged a glance with Damien.

"You know who I am?"

Samuel smiled warmly.

"You have your mother's eyes."

The words caught Kelvin off guard.

He sat beside the old man.

"I need your help."

Samuel nodded.

"I suspected this day would come."

Kelvin carefully removed the damaged photograph from his folder.

"Do you remember this picture?"

Samuel adjusted his glasses.

A smile appeared on his face.

"I took it myself."

He studied it for several moments.

"Someone burned part of it."

"Yes."

"Can you remember who was standing beside my parents?"

The old man closed his eyes, searching his memory.

After a long silence, he spoke.

"It wasn't just another family."

"It was your father's closest friend..."

Kelvin leaned forward.

"Who?"

Samuel opened his eyes.

"Edward Romano."

"And his wife, Isabella."

Kelvin repeated the names quietly.

"Edward Romano..."

"I've never heard of him."

"You wouldn't have."

Samuel sighed.

"After the fire..."

"...the Romano family disappeared."

---

Back in the city...

Mackenzie spent the afternoon meeting with a bride-to-be at Giovanni Events.

As the consultation ended, Sophia walked into her office carrying two cups of coffee.

"You've been distracted lately."

"Have I?"

"You've stared out the window at least six times in the last hour."

Mackenzie smiled sheepishly.

"I've just been thinking."

Sophia smirked.

"Thinking about a certain billionaire?"

Mackenzie laughed.

"Maybe."

Before Sophia could tease her further, Mackenzie's phone buzzed.

A message from Kelvin.

Would you like to have lunch tomorrow?

A smile instantly brightened her face.

She replied.

I'd love to.

Sophia watched her type.

"I don't even need to ask who that was."

---

That evening...

Lawson Manor.

Kelvin stood in the library, staring at an old family tree hanging on the wall.

Every branch of the Lawson family had been carefully documented.

But nowhere...

Not once...

Did the name Romano appear.

Damien joined him.

"I searched every family record."

"And?"

"Nothing."

"No business partnership."

"No legal documents."

"No photographs."

"It was as though Edward Romano never existed."

Kelvin folded his arms.

"My father trusted him enough to stand beside him in a family photograph."

"He didn't simply disappear."

"He was erased."

---

Across the city...

In a dimly lit office, Ricardo DeLuca listened as one of his men delivered a report.

"Kelvin has learned the name."

Ricardo smiled faintly.

"So..."

"The past has finally spoken."

Vincent looked puzzled.

"Should we stop him?"

Ricardo shook his head.

"No."

"Edward Romano is only the first piece."

He stood and walked toward the window overlooking the city.

"The deeper Kelvin digs..."

"...the closer he'll come to the truth."

"And when he finally uncovers it..."

Ricardo's smile disappeared.

"...he'll wish he hadn't."

---

Later that night...

Kelvin walked onto the balcony of Lawson Manor.

The city lights stretched endlessly before him.

He took the old photograph from his pocket once more.

This time...

He whispered the unfamiliar name into the night.

"Edward Romano..."

"Who were you?"

Far away...

Inside a dusty storage room beneath an abandoned church...

A locked wooden chest rested untouched for over two decades.

Carved into the lid were two initials.

E.R.

And hidden inside...

Was a secret capable of changing the future of the Lawson family forever.