Chapter 9 - THE DEAD MAN'S SIGNATUREConnor Costello had been dead for eighteen years.
Luca had watched the funeral.
He had buried him himself.
But the name was there.
On the screen.
And beneath it was a date.
Three months before Luca's collapse.
Marco examined the evidence.
"It's possible someone forged the name."
Luca shook his head.
"Not this."
He knew his father's signature.
He had seen it on contracts.
On letters.
On checks.
On the final document that divided the family empire.
The signature was authentic.
Luca ordered the family archives opened.
They found an old ledger.
One entry had been hidden beneath a false bottom.
Medical research fund.
Recipient: Voss Laboratories.
Amount: 18 million dollars.
Date: twelve years before Luca's collapse.
Luca stared at it.
"Why would my father fund neurological research?"
Marco said nothing.
Elena whispered:
"Maybe he knew what was going to happen."
Luca looked at her.
"He knew."
"But when?"
"Maybe before I was even born."
They searched further.
The evidence became stranger.
Connor Costello had created a secret trust.
The beneficiary was not Anthony.
Not Luca.
Not any family member.
It was an unknown child.
A child whose identity had been sealed.
Luca's hands went cold.
They opened the birth file.
Nothing.
Only a code.
And a photograph.
Luca recognized the child.
He was twelve.
The photograph was of himself.
But the document had been created before he was born.
Something was deeply wrong.
Then they found an audio cassette.
Old.
Dusty.
Luca played it.
His father's voice filled the room.
"If Luca is ever harmed, it means the family has failed."
Static.
Then:
"The boy must never know about the second heir."
Luca froze.
Second heir.
Elena looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
The recording continued.
"Anthony believes power belongs to the strongest."
A pause.
"It does not."
Another voice appeared.
Dr. Voss.
"Your son will become dangerous."
Connor answered:
"Only if he survives."
The recording ended.
Luca stared at the machine.
"Only if he survives."
He replayed it.
Again.
Then Maya walked into the room.
"Who is the second heir?"
Luca looked at her.
"I don't know."
"Is it someone bad?"
"I don't know."
"Could it be me?"
The room went silent.
Luca crouched in front of her.
"Why would you think that?"
"Because everyone keeps saying things about family."
She pointed at the tape.
"Maybe they were talking about me."
Luca felt a chill.
The trust.
The secret heir.
The warning.
Everything seemed connected.
Then Marco's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
He handed the phone to Luca.
"Listen."
A voice came through.
Old.
Weak.
But unmistakable.
"Hello, son."
Luca stopped breathing.
It was his father's voice.
Connor.
Impossible.
Luca's grip tightened around the phone.
"Who is this?"
The voice laughed softly.
"You finally started asking the right questions."
Luca stood.
"You're alive."
A pause.
"Was I ever dead?"
The call ended.
Elena stared at him.
Luca said nothing.
For twelve years, he had believed his life had been ruined by an accident.
Then he discovered it had been murder.
Now he was discovering something worse.
The man he buried might still be alive.
May you like
And if Connor Costello was alive...
What exactly had Luca's father been doing for the last eighteen years?
