Chapter 3 - The Penthouse DoorSomeone Had Been Watching Sophia for Years
Sophia read the message three times.
She was unable to understand the words.
Then she looked at Matteo.
"What does that mean?"
Matteo took the phone from her.
"Nothing."
"That's not true."
"It's not something we discuss here."
"We?"
He ignored the question.
Sophia noticed something else.
The guards outside were suddenly moving.
Fast.
Doors opened.
Voices echoed from the corridor.
Matteo's security chief entered without knocking.
"Boss."
Matteo looked up.
"What?"
"We have a problem."
"There are always problems."
"Three men were seen entering the underground garage."
Matteo's face hardened.
"How many?"
"Three confirmed. Possibly five."
"Weapons?"
"Assault rifles."
Sophia felt the room tilt.
Matteo looked at her.
"Stay here."
"You're kidding."
"No."
"You brought me into this."
"And I'm getting you out."
A gunshot cracked from somewhere below.
Sophia flinched.
Another followed.
Then another.
The penthouse erupted.
Men shouted.
Footsteps thundered.
Matteo drew a pistol from beneath his jacket with the calm of someone reaching for a pen.
He moved toward the private elevator.
Sophia followed.
"Where are we going?"
"Down."
"That makes no sense."
"Because the attackers are coming up."
The elevator doors opened.
Matteo shoved Sophia inside.
The security chief joined them.
The doors closed.
Sophia's breathing was ragged.
"Who are they?"
"Men who think I'm responsible for something."
"For what?"
"My father's death."
She stared.
"Your father is dead?"
"He has been for twenty-four years."
"You were a child."
"Exactly."
The elevator descended.
Sophia noticed blood on Matteo's sleeve.
"You're hurt."
"Not mine."
The elevator stopped.
Matteo drew his weapon up.
The doors opened.
A body lay ten meters away.
One of his guards.
Sophia covered her mouth.
Matteo stepped out.
"Stay behind me."
A shot exploded.
Matteo fired once.
Silence.
Sophia stared.
"He's dead?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Chest."
"No. I meant the shooter."
Matteo looked at her.
"Also."
The security chief almost smiled.
Sophia did not.
They moved through the underground garage.
A black SUV waited with its engine running.
Matteo opened the rear door.
Sophia stopped.
"I need to see Luca."
"You can't."
"He is in a hospital."
"That hospital is no longer safe."
"My brother is unconscious!"
Matteo looked into her eyes.
Then he said something she would never forget.
"Someone has been trying to kill your family longer than you have been alive."
Sophia froze.
"What?"
"Your brother's accident wasn't random."
"You said the driver was found."
"I said we found him."
"Who ordered it?"
Matteo's expression became cold.
"I'm going to find out."
"No."
Sophia stepped closer.
"You don't get to decide what happens to my family."
Matteo stared at her.
"You walked into my world today."
"I was dragged."
"Exactly."
He opened the SUV door.
"Now you have to survive it."
Before Sophia could respond, a phone rang.
Not Matteo's.
Sophia's.
She answered.
A man's voice whispered:
"Don't trust Bellandi."
Her blood turned to ice.
"Who is this?"
"Your mother knew what he did."
"Tell me."
A pause.
Then:
"Ask him why Elena died twice."
The line went dead.
Sophia looked up.
Matteo was watching her.
"What happened?"
She said nothing.
He stepped closer.
"Who called?"
Sophia looked directly into his eyes.
"Someone who knows my mother."
Matteo's face remained still.
Too still.
"Did he say anything else?"
"Yes."
"What?"
Sophia whispered:
"He said my mother died twice."
For the first time since she met Matteo Bellandi, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.
And then, from somewhere behind them, a child's voice came through the dark garage.
"Signor Bellandi."
Matteo spun.
An old man stood between two parked cars.
He had a bloodstained envelope in his hand.
"She's alive."
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The old man looked at Sophia.
"Elena never died."
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