Chapter 10 - The Truth About Vittorio
I refused to believe her.
Not immediately.
Vittorio had lied.
He had hidden things.
But he had also helped us find Elena.
Why would he rescue the woman he had supposedly kidnapped?
Elena explained.
“Vittorio didn't take me.”
“Then why say his name?”
“He gave them the location.”
My jaw tightened.
“What?”
“He didn't know they would take me.”
Vittorio had been trying to protect his own family.
He had given Lorenzo information about Elena's movements in exchange for his mother's safety.
He believed Lorenzo only wanted to question her.
He had been wrong.
“Where is his mother?” I asked.
Elena shook her head.
“She was never in danger.”
I understood.
Lorenzo had manipulated him.
He had used fear to turn a loyal lieutenant into an unwilling informant.
Vittorio had helped the enemy without understanding the consequences.
But there was still something missing.
“Who controls Lorenzo?”
Clara answered.
“Someone who has been using him for years.”
“Who?”
She handed me a photograph.
It showed a woman standing beside my father.
My mother's younger sister.
Isabella.
My aunt.
I stared at the image.
“She died fifteen years ago.”
“No,” Clara said.
“She disappeared.”
Elena nodded.
“She has been alive the entire time.”
Everything suddenly connected.
Isabella had access to my father's old network.
She knew about the Winter Ledger.
She knew about Elena's father.
She knew how to manipulate Lorenzo.
And she had one motive.
Revenge.
My father had taken control of the family business after her husband died.
She believed he had stolen everything from her.
But why target Elena?
Because Elena had discovered the financial trail.
And why Mia?
Because the USB was the last piece of evidence.
Isabella wanted it.
We returned to the estate immediately.
But we arrived too late.
The guards were unconscious.
The front door stood open.
Mia was gone.
So was Bunny.
My blood turned cold.
Elena grabbed my arm.
“Alessandro…”
I looked at the empty hallway.
Isabella hadn't wanted me.
She had wanted the child.
May you like
And now she had the USB.
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