Chapter 4 - THE MAN WHO CAME FOR MIA
The man arrived at noon.
He wore a navy suit.
Gray hair.
No weapon visible.
He introduced himself as Victor Bell.
“I'm here for the child.”
Alessandro stood between him and Mia.
“You'll leave.”
Victor smiled.
“This doesn't concern you.”
“It does now.”
Victor looked at me.
“Ms. Reyes, you don't understand what you've been carrying.”
“My daughter.”
“A fortune.”
I froze.
Victor explained that Daniel Reyes had hidden millions before his disappearance.
Nobody knew where.
But there was evidence that Daniel had placed ownership of certain assets under a child's identity.
His child.
Mia.
I looked at Alessandro.
“Is this true?”
He nodded.
“Possibly.”
Victor smiled.
“Give me the child and you walk away.”
“No.”
Alessandro's answer was immediate.
Victor sighed.
“You're making a mistake.”
“No.”
Alessandro stepped closer.
“You came into my home.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“You threatened a mother.”
His voice dropped.
“That was your mistake.”
Security escorted Victor out.
But before leaving, Victor looked at me.
“Your daughter will never be safe.”
Alessandro closed the door.
Then he turned to me.
“We need to move.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere nobody knows.”
“Your people will know.”
“Not this time.”
He took us to an old farmhouse outside the city.
It belonged to his mother.
Nobody had used it in fifteen years.
The place was surrounded by trees.
No cameras.
No guards.
Just a house, a barn, and a lake.
For the first time in months, I slept without waking every hour.
Then I found something.
A photograph inside a drawer.
Alessandro as a teenager.
Standing beside a younger boy.
The boy had the same dark eyes.
I turned the photograph over.
Alessandro and Luca — Summer 2001.
“Who is Luca?”
Alessandro appeared behind me.
His face changed.
“Where did you find that?”
“Your mother kept it.”
He took the photograph.
“Luca was my brother.”
“Rosa said he died.”
“He disappeared.”
“Because of Daniel?”
Alessandro stared at the lake.
“No.”
May you like
He turned.
“Because of me.”
