Chapter 5 - The Truth About Emma's Birth
Emma refused to believe it.
"That's impossible."
Marco placed another file on the table.
Luca opened it.
Birth records.
Hospital records.
Financial transfers.
All connected to one name.
Victor Romano.
Emma stared at the documents.
"Why would he care about me?"
Luca remained silent.
Margaret finally spoke.
"Because your father wasn't just an accountant."
Emma looked at her.
"What was he?"
"A witness."
"To what?"
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
"Victor killed Giovanni."
Luca froze.
His father hadn't died from natural causes.
He had been murdered.
Margaret continued.
"Daniel saw everything."
Emma whispered:
"Then why wasn't Victor arrested?"
"Because he controlled the evidence."
"And my father?"
"He disappeared before he could testify."
Emma shook her head.
"You said he died in an accident."
"I lied."
Emma stepped backward.
Her whole childhood suddenly felt like a carefully constructed illusion.
"You lied to protect me."
"Yes."
"And now?"
Margaret looked at Luca.
"Now I can't."
The room fell silent.
Then Luca received a call.
Marco answered.
His expression changed.
"Boss."
"What?"
"The hospital."
Luca's face hardened.
"What happened?"
"Someone attempted to access Margaret's medical records."
Emma stood.
"Why?"
Marco looked at her.
"Because they aren't looking for the ledger anymore."
Luca understood.
"They're looking for something else."
That night, someone attacked the safe house.
But this time, they were prepared.
Security lights illuminated the property.
Doors locked.
Guards moved into position.
Emma stayed beside Margaret.
Then the electricity failed.
Darkness.
A gunshot.
Glass shattered.
Luca rushed into the room.
"Stay down!"
Emma pulled her mother behind the sofa.
A figure moved through the hallway.
Luca pursued him.
The intruder escaped through a rear window.
But he left something behind.
A small envelope.
Emma opened it.
Inside was an old photograph of her father.
On the back:
Ask your mother why Daniel called you "the key."
Emma turned toward Margaret.
"Mom?"
Margaret began crying.
"I never wanted you to know."
"Know what?"
"Your father discovered that Victor had hidden the original ledger somewhere nobody would ever search."
"Where?"
Margaret looked at Emma.
"Inside something connected to you."
Emma stared.
"What?"
"Your father's final gift."
Emma suddenly remembered.
A necklace.
She had worn it since childhood.
A small silver pendant her father had given her before he died.
She had never taken it off.
Luca noticed.
"May I?"
Emma handed it to him.
He examined the pendant.
There was a tiny seam.
He pressed it.
The pendant opened.
Inside was a microchip.
Everyone froze.
Luca stared.
"The ledger wasn't the secret."
Emma whispered:
"Then what is?"
Luca looked at the chip.
"Evidence."
Marco connected it to a secure computer.
A video appeared.
Daniel Carter.
Again.
But this time he was standing beside Giovanni.
And beside them stood Victor.
Daniel spoke.
"Victor has been stealing from the family for years."
Giovanni nodded.
"If something happens to me, Daniel will release this."
Victor looked directly into the camera.
He smiled.
A cold smile.
"I suppose we should all hope nothing happens."
The video ended.
Then another file opened.
A list of names.
At the bottom:
Protection Protocol: Emma Carter.
Luca stared.
"Your father arranged for you to be protected."
"By whom?"
The answer appeared on screen.
Luca Romano.
Emma looked at him.
He was stunned.
"My father knew you?"
"Apparently."
"But you were young."
Luca shook his head.
"I was nineteen."
Emma stared.
"Why would he trust you?"
Luca looked at the screen.
"Because my father trusted him."
Everything connected.
Daniel had not simply been an accountant.
He had been Giovanni's secret investigator.
He had hidden evidence.
And before dying, he had created a protection plan for his daughter.
Luca was supposed to find Emma if Victor ever returned.
But Luca had found her by accident.
Or so they thought.
Then Marco entered.
"Boss."
"What?"
"We found Victor's location."
Luca stood.
"Where?"
Marco hesitated.
"At Margaret's old dialysis clinic."
Emma's blood ran cold.
"My mother."
May you like
Luca grabbed his coat.
"Let's go."
