Chapter 4: The Letter From A Dead Man
Adrian stared at the date.
His fingers stopped moving.
His mind refused to accept what his eyes were seeing.
The letter was dated three years after his father’s death.
Three years.
Not three days.
Not three months.
Three years.
The exact amount of time Adrian had spent awake, hunting answers, destroying enemies, and convincing himself that he was the only person left who cared about the truth.
But now the truth was sitting in his hand.
Written by a dead man.
“Impossible,” Adrian whispered.
Nobody answered.
Because everyone in the room knew what he was thinking.
If the letter was real, then everything Adrian believed about the last three years was built on a lie.
Marcus Vale stood silently near the doorway.
Dominic looked like he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the courage.
Even Lily had stopped moving.
The child stared at the envelope like she understood its importance.
Adrian slowly opened it.
The paper inside was old.
Carefully folded.
There were only a few lines.
His father’s handwriting.
The same sharp letters Adrian remembered seeing on business documents when he was a child.
The same handwriting that had signed birthday cards and written instructions.
The same handwriting he had seen on his final goodbye.
Adrian read.
*My son,*
*If you are reading this, then I failed to keep you away from this world.*
His breathing became heavier.
*I wanted you to have a normal life. I wanted Dominic to have a normal life. But the Moretti name has always carried a debt.*
Adrian swallowed.
The room disappeared.
Only the letter remained.
*There is someone inside our family who betrayed us. Someone I trusted more than anyone. Someone who knows every weakness we have.*
Adrian’s eyes moved to the next line.
Then stopped.
Because the next sentence was the one that changed everything.
*Do not trust the person who tells you they saved you.*
Adrian lowered the paper.
Slowly.
His eyes moved toward Marcus.
The security chief didn’t move.
But his silence said enough.
“You knew about this letter.””
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.””
Adrian’s expression became colder.
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
Dominic looked at Marcus.
“You had it all this time?””
“I was protecting it.””
“No.””
Adrian’s voice cut through the room.
“You were hiding it.””
Marcus accepted the accusation.
“Yes.””
That answer almost made Adrian angrier.
He expected excuses.
Lies.
Defenses.
But Marcus simply admitted it.
“Why?””
Marcus looked at him.
“Because your father told me not to give it to you unless you slept.””
The room froze.
Adrian stared.
“What?””
Marcus took a breath.
“Those were his exact instructions.””
Adrian laughed quietly.
A broken sound.
“My father knew I wouldn’t sleep?””
“He knew you better than anyone.””
“That’s impossible.””
Marcus looked at the letter.
“No. It’s exactly why he wrote it.””
Adrian looked down.
His father had always understood him.
That was the problem.
His father knew Adrian would sacrifice anything.
Even himself.
“You’re telling me my father planned this?””
“No.””
Marcus shook his head.
“He planned a warning.””
A pause.
“But someone changed the game.””
Dominic stepped forward.
“What does that mean?””
Marcus looked at him.
“It means your father expected betrayal.””
The younger brother went pale.
“And he expected us to survive it.””
Adrian folded the letter.
“Where is the rest?””
Marcus hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
“There’s more.””
“Yes.””
“How much?””
Marcus looked toward the hallway.
“Enough to destroy this family.””
A cold silence followed.
Then Adrian walked toward him.
“Give me everything.””
Marcus didn’t move.
“I can’t.””
Adrian stopped.
The room temperature seemed to drop.
“Excuse me?””
“There are conditions.””
Adrian stared.
“You’re giving me conditions?””
Marcus looked him directly in the eyes.
“For three years, you’ve been looking for the person who betrayed your family.””
“Yes.””
“You assumed that person was your enemy.””
“Yes.””
Marcus lowered his voice.
“But what if it was someone trying to protect you?””
Adrian’s face hardened.
“Don’t.””
“Someone who made you hate them because hatred kept you alive.””
“Marcus.””
“Someone who destroyed your peace because peace would have gotten you killed.””
Adrian grabbed Marcus by the collar.
The guards outside heard the movement and immediately rushed toward the door.
But Marcus didn’t fight back.
“You think I don’t know what I lost?””
Adrian’s voice was quiet.
Dangerously quiet.
“I lost my father.””
His grip tightened.
“I lost three years.””
His eyes burned.
“I lost myself.””
Marcus looked at him.
“And you think I don’t know?””
For the first time, Marcus looked exhausted.
Not like a soldier.
Like a man carrying guilt.
“I was there that night, Adrian.””
Adrian froze.
Marcus continued.
“I saw your father make his last decision.””
“What decision?””
Marcus looked away.
“He chose to save you.””
The words struck harder than anything else.
Adrian released him.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“My father died.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No.””
The answer was simple.
Impossible.
Terrifying.
“No, Adrian.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“Your father disappeared.””
The room went silent.
Dominic covered his mouth.
Because even he didn’t know.
Adrian looked at Marcus.
“You’re lying.””
“I wish I was.””
“Then where is he?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
That was the first time Adrian felt real fear.
Because Marcus always answered.
Always.
Unless the answer was something worse than silence.
Lily slowly walked forward.
Everyone looked at her.
She held the rabbit against her chest.
“Adrian?””
He looked down.
“What?””
“Your heart is beating too fast.””
The observation was innocent.
But it reminded him.
Three years ago, doctors had warned him.
Stress could kill him.
His body had already reached its limit.
And yet this little girl had somehow been the one person who could make him sleep.
Why?
Why her?
Why now?
Adrian looked at Lily.
“Why did you come to my room last night?””
She blinked.
“Because you were crying.””
The room became still.
Adrian’s face changed.
“I wasn’t.””
“Yes, you were.””
“I don’t cry.””
Lily tilted her head.
“Everyone cries.””
“Not me.””
She walked closer.
“Your eyes were crying.””
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone knew.
Adrian Moretti was a man who could face violence without blinking.
But a child seeing through him was something he had no defense against.
Lily touched the letter.
“Your daddy wrote that?””
Adrian looked at her.
“Yes.””
“Is he the bad man?””
“No.””
The answer came instantly.
Too instantly.
Lily nodded.
“Good.””
“Why?””
“Because if he was bad, you would have a different face.””
Adrian frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“You look angry when you hate someone.””
She touched his chest.
“But you look hurt when you miss someone.””
Nobody in the room moved.
Nobody breathed.
Because Lily had just said the one thing Adrian refused to admit.
He didn’t hate his father’s disappearance.
He missed him.
A sound interrupted them.
A notification.
Everyone turned.
Adrian’s phone.
Another message.
Unknown number.
He opened it.
This time there was no text.
Only a video.
His finger hovered above the screen.
Marcus looked alarmed.
“Don’t.””
Adrian looked at him.
“You know what it is.””
Marcus said nothing.
That was confirmation.
Adrian pressed play.
The screen showed an old recording.
A room.
A desk.
A man sitting behind it.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
Adrian stopped breathing.
Because the man looked directly into the camera.
And spoke.
“Adrian.””
His father’s voice.
After three years.
“By the time you see this, I will no longer be the person you remember.””
Adrian’s hand began shaking.
The video continued.
“I need you to listen carefully.””
The man on the screen leaned forward.
“Your enemy is not the person who betrayed us.””
A pause.
“It is the person who convinced you that betrayal happened.””
Adrian looked at Dominic.
Then Marcus.
Then the screen.
His father’s final words appeared.
“Your brother did not betray you.””
A long silence.
Then:
“He saved you from me.””
The video ended.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Until Lily quietly whispered:
“Adrian…”
He looked down.
Her face was pale.
“What?””
She pointed at the screen.
“The man in the video…”
Her voice trembled.
“He’s here.””
Adrian turned sharply.
“What?””
Lily looked toward the window.
Not the hallway.
Not the door.
The window.
“He’s outside.””
Adrian moved instantly.
He crossed the room and pulled back the curtain.
The garden below was empty.
Only rain.
Only trees.
Only darkness.
Then his eyes stopped.
On the glass.
Someone had written a message from the outside.
Three words.
May you like
Three words that made Adrian’s blood freeze.
*I NEVER LEFT.*
