Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE PERFECT SMILE
Camilla disappeared from the mansion the next morning.
But Enzo knew better than to believe she had given up.
People like Camilla did not walk away.
They prepared.
Adeline noticed the change immediately.
The staff no longer avoided her.
They no longer looked at the floor when she walked by.
They looked at her differently.
With respect.
But Adeline knew respect was not enough.
The truth still mattered.
Enzo found her in the library that evening.
“You should leave.”
Adeline looked surprised.
“What?”
“This house is dangerous.”
She gave a small smile.
“I noticed.”
Enzo looked serious.
“I’m not joking.”
“I know.”
“Then why stay?”
Adeline was quiet.
Finally, she answered:
“Because my grandmother spent her whole life being afraid.”
Enzo listened.
“She worked here for twenty years. She knew things. She saw things. But she stayed silent because she thought powerful people always win.”
She looked at him.
“I want to prove she was wrong.”
For a moment, Enzo said nothing.
Then he asked:
“Why do you trust me?”
Adeline looked at his jacket hanging over her shoulders.
“Because when everyone watched me suffer…”
She paused.
“You were the only person who moved.”
That answer affected him more than he expected.
Enzo Marchetti was used to people wanting something.
Money.
Protection.
Power.
Nobody had ever looked at him and simply seen a person.
Before he could respond, the mansion alarm sounded.
Both of them turned.
A security guard rushed inside.
“Mr. Marchetti.”
“What happened?”
“The archive room was opened.”
Enzo’s expression changed.
“The archive room?”
Only a few people knew that room existed.
“What was taken?”
The guard swallowed.
“Your father’s old files.”
Enzo looked at Adeline.
Because suddenly everything connected.
The missing records.
The warnings.
The attack.
Someone was trying to erase the past.
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But they were too late.
Because Adeline had already found the first piece of the truth.
