Chapter 3 - The Second SecretMarco moved first.
He grabbed Ethan and pulled him away from the table.
A guard kicked the birthday chair across the room.
Nothing happened.
Then Marco saw it.
A small black device had been taped beneath the seat.
Nobody breathed.
Alessandro stared at it.
The room suddenly seemed too small.
Two devices.
Two hiding places.
One birthday.
Lily had known about both.
Alessandro turned toward Sophia.
“How did your daughter know?”
Sophia shook her head violently.
“I don't know.”
“Think.”
“I don't know!”
Her voice cracked.
The hall fell silent again.
Alessandro had heard grown men deny crimes with less conviction.
Sophia looked genuinely terrified.
Lily tugged her sleeve.
“Mommy.”
Sophia looked down.
“It's okay.”
“No,” Lily whispered. “You promised.”
The words hit Alessandro like a bullet.
“You promised what?”
Sophia froze.
Lily's eyes widened.
“Nothing.”
Alessandro stood.
“What did she promise?”
Sophia said nothing.
He walked toward her.
Not threateningly.
Worse.
Calmly.
“Sophia.”
She began to cry.
“I promised Lily I would never tell.”
“Tell me what?”
Sophia glanced at the portrait above the fireplace.
“The truth about her father.”
Alessandro stopped.
“Who is Lily's father?”
Sophia looked toward Ethan.
Then toward Alessandro.
“He worked for your family.”
Alessandro waited.
“His name was Daniel Romano.”
The name meant nothing.
Until Marco suddenly looked up.
“I know that name.”
Alessandro turned.
Marco's face had gone pale.
“Daniel Romano was one of your father's drivers.”
“No.”
Marco nodded.
“He disappeared the night Gabriel Moretti supposedly died.”
Alessandro stared at Sophia.
“You told everyone you were widowed.”
“I am.”
“Daniel died?”
Sophia's tears fell silently.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He was found in a burned car.”
“When?”
“Twenty years ago.”
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
Twenty years ago.
The same year Gabriel vanished.
The same year his father told everyone that an internal betrayal had been erased.
Lily suddenly whispered:
“Daddy didn't die in the fire.”
Sophia closed her eyes.
Alessandro looked at the child.
“What?”
Lily began to cry.
“He came home once.”
“When?”
“Before Mama came here.”
Sophia grabbed her daughter's hand.
“Enough.”
Alessandro's voice became sharp.
“Let her speak.”
Sophia flinched.
Lily sniffed.
“Daddy said a bad man was coming.”
“Who?”
“He said, ‘The king is coming back.’”
Alessandro felt cold.
His father used to call Gabriel Moretti “the king.”
Only family knew that.
Only family.
The security chief rushed toward them.
“Sir.”
Alessandro looked over.
“What?”
“We checked the device under the chair.”
“And?”
Marco's face was grim.
“It isn't connected to the cake.”
Alessandro frowned.
“What is it?”
“A decoy.”
The room went silent.
A decoy.
That meant whoever planned this wanted them to find it.
Alessandro looked at the cake.
The real danger was still hidden.
And then his phone vibrated again.
Another message.
ONE DEVICE WAS FOR THE BOY.
A second message followed.
THE OTHER IS FOR YOU.
Then a third appeared.
THE CAKE ISN'T THE TARGET.
Alessandro stared at the screen.
Ethan was the target.
But apparently not the only one.
He raised his eyes toward the ballroom.
Every face stared back.
Then he saw something.
A guest had disappeared.
One chair was empty.
The chair belonging to Victor Dane.
Alessandro's attorney.
May you like
Victor was gone.
And the doors were still locked.
