Chapter 12 - The BrotherThe Dead Man Had Been Someone Else All Along
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
Matteo stared at the black screen.
"That wasn't Enrico."
Sophia's voice was quiet.
"No."
Elena looked at Matteo.
"You know who it is."
Matteo didn't answer.
"Matteo."
His jaw tightened.
"My brother."
Sophia whispered:
"I thought you were an only child."
"That's what everyone was told."
"What happened?"
"My father had two sons."
"And?"
"My brother disappeared."
"When?"
"Twenty-four years ago."
Elena closed her eyes.
"His name was Marco."
Sophia looked at her.
"You knew him."
"I knew of him."
Matteo turned.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because Marco was working with your father."
"Then he was part of it."
"Not exactly."
She reached into the box and pulled out another photograph.
Marco.
Standing beside a younger Elena.
The same black ring on his finger.
Sophia looked between the pictures.
"Then why pretend to be Enrico?"
"Because Enrico was the man everyone believed he was."
Matteo's expression hardened.
"Marco killed him."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Elena hesitated.
"Because Marco wanted something your father never gave him."
"What?"
"The Bellandi name."
Matteo frowned.
"He had it."
"Not publicly."
She looked at Sophia.
"Your grandmother chose you."
Sophia blinked.
"Me?"
"She wanted a different heir."
Matteo stared.
"My daughter?"
"She believed your bloodline needed to continue through someone she could control."
Sophia shook her head.
"This makes no sense."
Elena looked at her.
"Your grandmother created a succession document."
"Where is it?"
"Inside the ledger."
Sophia looked down at the drive.
"And Luca?"
"Leverage."
The phone rang.
Matteo answered.
Marco's voice.
"Three hours."
"For what?"
"The exchange."
"What do you want?"
"The ledger."
"That's all?"
"No."
Marco paused.
"I want Sophia."
Matteo's expression went cold.
"No."
"You'll bring her."
"Never."
"Then your son dies."
Matteo looked at Luca's photograph.
"You don't understand."
"I understand perfectly."
Marco laughed.
"You spent twenty years believing Elena chose you."
Matteo's eyes narrowed.
"She didn't."
"She chose your daughter."
The line went dead.
Sophia stepped closer.
"Why me?"
Elena answered.
"Because you were born with something your grandmother couldn't take away."
"What?"
"A name."
Sophia shook her head.
"That isn't enough."
Elena looked at Matteo.
"Tell her."
Matteo stared at his daughter.
"The Bellandi family had an old rule."
"What rule?"
"Only one child could inherit."
"And?"
"My father broke it."
"How?"
"He made your grandmother the keeper."
Sophia frowned.
"Keeper of what?"
"The money."
She looked down at the drive.
"The accounts?"
"No."
Matteo's voice became almost a whisper.
"Names."
"Whose names?"
"Judges."
"Politicians."
"Police chiefs."
"Bankers."
"Government officials."
"Every person who had ever been bought."
Sophia stared.
"That's why they want me."
"Yes."
"Because of the ledger."
"No."
Matteo looked at her.
"Because your mother trusted you enough to hide the original inside you."
Sophia's face drained.
"What do you mean?"
Elena began to cry.
"Sophia..."
"What did you do to me?"
Elena answered:
"When you were seven, I made you swallow the key."
May you like
Sophia stared at her mother in horror.
"The key is inside you."
