Chapter 11 - The Room Where I Buried My Memories
My father's vault sat beneath the Rossi Hotel, behind three security doors and a corridor lined with photographs of the men who had built our family.
I had entered it only twice since his funeral.
The first time, I took his pistol.
The second time, I placed Isabella's wedding ring inside the glass case that held my mother's jewelry.
I'd told myself I wanted the ring protected.
The truth was that I couldn't bear to see it on my hand.
I entered the brass key from Matteo's rabbit into the final lock.
The door opened.
Inside, the air smelled of cedar and old paper. Shelves held family documents, photographs, jewelry, and the objects my father had collected through decades of ruthless ambition.
On the far wall stood a smaller safe.
I opened it using my own code.
There was a sealed envelope inside, addressed to me in Isabella's handwriting.
Beneath it lay a flash drive and a handwritten ledger.
The first page of the ledger carried a list of dates, payments, vehicle movements, and security assignments.
Several entries had been marked with a red circle.
One name appeared beside almost every suspicious transaction.
Luca.
Another name appeared beside the vehicle movements.
Anton.
I turned the page.
My own signature appeared at the bottom of several authorization forms.
I remembered signing them. Routine security adjustments. Operational changes. Documents my brother had placed before me while I was distracted by business.
I hadn't examined them.
The last page contained a note in Isabella's handwriting.
Vincent, the man who wants to control your empire doesn't need to kill you if he can make you destroy your own family.
I sank into the chair.
The flash drive contained video files, financial records, and scanned documents. Most importantly, it held a copy of the original security footage from the garage.
The man in the original video wasn't me.
It was Luca.
The digital copy had been altered to replace his face with mine.
But why would he keep the original?
I opened another file.
It showed Luca entering the garage, speaking to Anton, and placing a small object beneath Isabella's SUV.
Anton stood nearby, looking uncomfortable.
Luca said something the camera couldn't capture.
Anton shook his head.
Then Luca grabbed him by the collar and whispered directly into his ear.
Anton stepped away.
Luca continued working.
The footage ended.
I called Anton immediately.
He answered on the first ring.
“I know about the route,” I said. “I know about the money. And I know Luca planted something beneath Isabella's car.”
Silence.
“Did you know he intended to kill her?”
“No,” Anton whispered. “I swear I didn't.”
“Then explain what happened.”
His breathing grew ragged.
“Luca told me he wanted to force you to surrender control of the western operations. He said the bomb would damage the vehicle but leave everyone alive. He claimed the explosion would frighten you into negotiating.”
“You believed him?”
“I wanted to believe him.”
I closed my eyes.
“Who built the bomb?”
“I don't know. Luca arranged everything through an outside contractor.”
“Then why did Isabella die?”
Anton was silent for so long that I thought the call had disconnected.
Finally, he spoke.
“Because the device was more powerful than Luca expected. And because Isabella refused to leave the vehicle.”
I remembered Matteo's words.
She told him to close his eyes.
She locked the door.
She refused to leave him.
“Did Luca attempt to stop it?” I asked.
“No.”
The simplicity of that answer was monstrous.
“He knew the device was armed. He walked away.”
I ended the call.
My brother had not merely betrayed me.
He had threatened Isabella, manipulated our security, and left my wife to die because she refused to abandon her child.
I wanted to kill him.
The thought arrived with such clarity that I frightened myself.
I picked up Isabella's envelope.
Inside was a final letter.
Vincent, if you have found this, then I am either gone or have finally managed to make you listen. Please don't let what happened to me turn you into someone Matteo will fear.
I read that sentence until the words blurred.
Don't seek revenge because you cannot bear your grief. Seek the truth because our son deserves to grow up in a world where he doesn't have to be afraid of his own father.
I pressed the letter against my chest.
Then I saw a second note tucked beneath it.
If Luca knows I've hidden the evidence, he will come for Matteo.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Clara.
Matteo is asking for you. He says he remembers the rest.
I hurried toward the elevator.
Halfway across the hotel lobby, a second message arrived.
Vincent, come alone. Something is wrong with the guards.
Then the call came.
May you like
It was Clara, and she was whispering.
“They're inside the house.”
