Chapter 3: The Phone Call From the Dead
Luca stared at the screen like the phone itself had become impossible.
The ringtone echoed through the office.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
I watched his face change.
Not fear.
Something worse.
Hope.
Because for two seconds, he looked like a younger brother waiting for his older brother to call him home.
Then reality returned.
Michael was dead.
Luca answered.
“Hello?””
Nothing.
Just silence.
Then a voice.
A recording.
Michael’s voice.
“Luca, if you’re hearing this, something happened.””
Luca froze.
I stopped breathing.
The message continued.
“I didn’t have time to explain everything. Don’t trust everyone around you.””
The recording ended.
Luca lowered the phone.
“Where did that come from?””
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.””
He replayed it.
Again.
And again.
Then he looked at the folder.
At Vanessa’s documents.
At the picture of Michael.
“Emma.””
“Yes?””
“I need to know something.””
“What?””
“Did Vanessa know about this?””
Before I could answer, the office door opened.
Vanessa stood there.
Her face was pale.
“You found it.””
Luca slowly turned.
The room became silent.
“You knew.””
It wasn’t a question.
Vanessa looked at the phone.
“I can explain.””
Luca laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“Everyone always says that right before they explain something they should have told me years ago.””
Vanessa stepped inside.
“Michael was paranoid.””
“He was my brother.””
“He was under pressure.””
“He was protecting his family.””
She shook her head.
“No. He was destroying yours.””
I saw Luca’s expression change.
“Careful.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“He left you a mess.””
“No.””
Luca stood.
“He left me a warning.””
The argument continued until Vanessa finally said the sentence that revealed everything.
“Michael never trusted me.””
Luca went still.
“Why?””
Vanessa looked away.
“Because he knew I was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
She didn’t answer.
And that was when Luca knew.
She was hiding something bigger.
Later that night, Rachel came to the mansion with Ben.
She brought something.
A small wooden box.
“I should have shown you this two years ago.””
Luca opened it.
Inside was Michael’s old watch.
And a note.
Written in his handwriting.
My heart sank when I saw Luca’s face.
Because whatever Michael had left behind…
It was meant for him.
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And it started with one sentence:
“Luca, the person you are about to marry is not who you think she is.””
