Chapter 6 - The Man Behind the PhotographI spun around.
Enzo believed Isabella was still afraid of her father.
She was.
But fear and hatred weren’t the same thing anymore.
At 11:58 p.m., Alessandro walked onto the abandoned section of the pier alone.
At least, he looked alone.
Luca and his men were hidden nearby.
Isabella wore a microphone.
I remained in a secured vehicle with Sophia several blocks away.
I hated every second.
Enzo stepped from behind a warehouse.
He was older than I expected.
Gray hair. Expensive coat. Calm smile.
“Alessandro.”
“Where is Rosa’s brother?”
“Safe.”
“Isabella?”
“Also safe, until you corrupted her.”
Alessandro’s hands stayed visible.
“You stole a seven-year-old child.”
“I rescued her.”
“From her father?”
“From becoming you.”
Enzo’s smile disappeared.
“You had everything. Power. Money. Men willing to die because you nodded. And you couldn’t leave one meeting to watch your daughter sing.”
Alessandro didn’t defend himself.
“I failed her that night.”
Listening through the earpiece, Isabella closed her eyes.
“But you didn’t rescue her,” Alessandro continued. “You used her.”
Enzo shrugged.
“People become useful when you understand what they need.”
“You taught her I abandoned her.”
“You did.”
“I missed a performance. You stole eleven years.”
Enzo’s expression hardened.
Alessandro stepped closer.
“You needed her to hate me because if she ever remembered being loved, your control disappeared.”
That was when Isabella walked out.
Enzo froze.
“Bella.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“You told me he knew I survived.”
Enzo looked at Alessandro.
“He’s manipulating you.”
“I checked the records.”
“Records can be forged.”
“The blood in the car wasn’t mine.”
Silence.
Isabella stepped closer.
“You lied.”
“I protected you.”
“You kidnapped me.”
“I gave you a life.”
“You gave me your version of one.”
Enzo’s hand moved toward his coat.
Alessandro reacted instantly.
“Don’t.”
Men appeared around the pier.
Enzo laughed.
“You think this ends because you surrounded me?”
“No,” Isabella said. “It ends because you talked.”
Police lights appeared beyond the warehouse.
Enzo’s face changed.
Alessandro looked at Luca.
“You called them?”
“No.”
Isabella raised her phone.
“I did.”
Enzo stared at her.
“You stupid girl.”
He pulled a gun.
Everything happened at once.
Alessandro lunged.
A shot cracked through the air.
Enzo fell.
Luca kicked the weapon away.
Alessandro had been hit in the shoulder.
Isabella dropped beside him.
“Dad!”
It was the first time she had called him that.
His face twisted with pain.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“I’ve had worse.”
“That is an incredibly stupid thing to say.”
He laughed despite himself.
Police rushed forward.
Enzo was alive.
So was Rosa’s brother, found locked inside the warehouse.
But while paramedics treated Alessandro, Luca approached me.
“Elena.”
Something in his expression scared me.
“What?”
“We found Enzo’s phone.”
“And?”
“There were messages from someone inside the mansion.”
My stomach dropped.
“Rosa?”
Luca shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
He showed me the screen.
The messages went back months.
Sophia’s schedule.
My working hours.
Security codes.
Photographs.
The sender was saved under one letter.
M.
I looked at Luca.
“Who is M?”
His expression darkened.
“We have a problem.”
“What problem?”
“There is only one person in Alessandro’s household whose name starts with M.”
“Who?”
Before Luca could answer, my phone rang.
The mansion security system.
I answered.
A man whispered:
“You should have stayed at the pier.”
May you like
Then I heard glass breaking.
And Sophia screamed from the back seat.
