Chapter 3: The Letter From the Dead
For eight years, I had carried the same image in my mind.
My first wife, Elena, standing in our kitchen on a Sunday morning, laughing as Sophia—then only a baby—grabbed at her necklace with tiny fingers.
That was the last truly peaceful memory I had of my family.
Two days later, Elena was gone.
The official story said her car lost control on a mountain road.
A tragic accident.
A terrible mistake.
A chapter of my life that could never be reopened.
But I had never believed it.
Men like me did not survive by accepting convenient answers.
I investigated.
I searched.
I questioned everyone who had been near her.
But every path ended in darkness.
Every person who knew something suddenly knew nothing.
And eventually, even Vincent Moretti had to admit defeat.
Or at least pretend to.
Now, eight years later, my dead wife's handwriting was sitting in my hand.
A letter I was never supposed to see.
A warning that began with the words:
*Don't trust our daughter.*
I stared at the envelope.
My fingers tightened around it.
Daniel watched me carefully.
He knew better than anyone that I could handle threats.
I could handle enemies.
I could handle betrayal.
But anything involving my daughter was different.
"Sophia?"" I whispered.
The name sounded strange in my own mouth.
Like I was afraid of what came next.
Vanessa stood across the room, studying my reaction.
She wanted me confused.
She wanted me desperate.
But she had made one mistake.
She thought fear made me weaker.
It never had.
Fear made me careful.
"Where did you get this?"" I asked.
Vanessa crossed her arms.
"I told you. It was sent to me.""
"By who?""
She hesitated.
A fraction of a second.
Most people wouldn't notice.
I did.
"Someone who knew Elena.""
"That's not an answer.""
Her jaw tightened.
"Maybe because you don't want the answer.""
Daniel stepped forward.
"Boss, don't open it yet.""
I looked at him.
"Why?""
"Because if this is connected to Adrian Vale, there could be more than one person manipulating the situation.""
I looked back at the envelope.
He was right.
A letter from a dead woman.
A secret about my daughter.
A wife who had been poisoning me.
A rival who supposedly caused my accident.
Too many pieces.
Too many coincidences.
But there was one thing Daniel didn't understand.
I had spent eight years wondering what happened to Elena.
I had spent eight years waking up with questions.
I was not leaving that letter unopened.
I broke the seal.
The sound was small.
But inside my head, it sounded like a gunshot.
I unfolded the paper.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Elena.
My Elena.
The woman who used to leave notes beside my coffee.
The woman who hated violence but loved the man who lived surrounded by it.
The woman who knew every scar I carried.
I began reading.
"Vincent,
If you are reading this, something has happened to me.
I don't know who I can trust anymore.
Not your friends.
Not your business partners.
Not even the people who claim to love you.
My breathing slowed.
Daniel watched my face.
Vanessa watched my hands.
I continued.
"I need you to understand something about Sophia.
She is innocent.
She is the only person in this house who has no idea what is happening.
My eyes stopped.
The room became silent.
I looked at Vanessa.
Her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
"You said the letter warned me about Sophia," I said.
Vanessa didn't answer.
I looked back down.
The next line made my stomach turn.
"If someone tells you not to trust our daughter, they are lying.""
My eyes moved back to the first sentence.
The one Vanessa had used to trap me.
The one designed to make me doubt my child.
My blood ran cold.
Daniel stepped closer.
"What does it say?""
I didn't answer immediately.
I kept reading.
"Someone may try to make you believe Sophia is dangerous. They may try to make you think she knows more than she should.
Don't believe them.
Sophia is the reason I discovered the truth.""
I stopped.
The room shifted.
Vanessa's face lost color.
"No," she whispered.
It was the first honest reaction I had seen from her all morning.
Daniel noticed too.
"What truth?""
I folded the letter slightly.
"Keep reading.""
The next part was harder.
"Eight years ago, I discovered someone inside our family was moving money from Vincent's accounts.
I discovered someone was meeting with Adrian Vale.
I discovered someone was planning to destroy everything you built.
But I never had the chance to tell you.""
My grip tightened.
Adrian Vale.
Again.
Always Adrian Vale.
But there was something else.
Someone inside our family.
Someone close enough to access my accounts.
Someone close enough to know my movements.
Someone close enough to kill Elena.
I looked at Vanessa.
"Who sent this to you?""
She looked away.
"Answer me.""
"I don't know.""
A dangerous silence followed.
Daniel looked at me.
"She's lying.""
Vanessa suddenly turned toward him.
"You have no idea what you're talking about.""
Daniel smiled coldly.
"Actually, I do.""
He pulled out his phone.
"I tracked the envelope.""
My eyes moved to him.
"You tracked it?""
"I suspected something like this might happen.""
He tapped the screen.
"The package was delivered to Vanessa three weeks ago.""
Three weeks.
That was before today.
Before Sophia exposed her.
Before I revealed I could walk.
Before the confrontation.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
"Because I wasn't sure whether Vanessa was involved or being used.""
I stared at him.
"And now?""
His eyes moved to Vanessa.
"Now I know.""
Vanessa laughed softly.
Not because she was amused.
Because she was cornered.
"You all think this is simple.""
She walked toward the window.
"You think I'm the villain because you found a few documents and a letter.""
Nobody answered.
She looked outside.
"You don't know what Vincent Moretti really is.""
My expression hardened.
"Be careful.""
She turned around.
"No, Vincent. You need to hear this.""
Her voice became louder.
"You built an empire on fear. You ruined people. You destroyed families. You made enemies everywhere you went.""
Daniel stepped forward.
"Watch your words.""
But I raised my hand.
Let her speak.
Because anger revealed things.
And Vanessa was angry.
"You think everyone who gets close to you wants your money?""
She pointed at the folder.
"Maybe some people are just trying to survive you.""
For a moment, I almost believed the pain in her voice.
Almost.
Then I remembered the orange juice.
I remembered Sophia's face.
I remembered the sound of my daughter's fear.
And whatever sympathy remained disappeared.
"You drugged me.""
Her expression changed.
"You hit my daughter.""
She looked away.
"I lost control.""
"No.""
My voice was quiet.
"You showed control.""
The words hit her harder than a shout.
Because they were true.
People didn't accidentally reveal cruelty.
They revealed what they hid.
Daniel's phone suddenly rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed.
"What?""
I noticed immediately.
"What is it?""
He ended the call.
Then looked at me.
"Boss...""
I waited.
"Someone just accessed Elena's old medical records.""
My eyes narrowed.
"Who?""
Daniel swallowed.
"The request came from inside this house.""
The room went still.
I looked around.
The walls.
The furniture.
The place where my family lived.
The place where someone had been hiding secrets for years.
"Who accessed them?""
Daniel looked at Vanessa.
"No.""
His voice was low.
"It wasn't her.""
That surprised me.
"Then who?""
Daniel handed me the phone.
On the screen was a name.
A name that made my entire body freeze.
Because it belonged to the one person I thought I could trust more than anyone.
The person who had raised my daughter when I couldn't.
The person who had been in my home every single day.
The person who knew all my secrets.
May you like
The request had been made by:
*Maria Bellini.*
