CHAPTER 4 — THE CALL FROM THE DEAD
Julian stared at the screen.
FATHER
His pulse stopped.
That number...
It had belonged to Alessandro Rossi.
The man who had built the Rossi Empire from a single construction company into one of Europe's largest business dynasties.
The man Julian had buried three years earlier beneath the ancient cypress trees overlooking Lake Como.
The man whose funeral had been attended by presidents, royalty, and billionaires.
Dead men didn't make phone calls.
The satellite phone vibrated again.
The call would disconnect in five seconds.
Julian answered.
"...Hello?"
Silence.
Then—
A man's voice.
Calm.
Measured.
Older.
"Julian."
His knees nearly buckled.
He knew that voice.
Every child recognized the voice that had once told bedtime stories.
The voice that had taught him how to shake hands, negotiate contracts, and stand back up after failure.
"Father?"
"No."
A pause.
"My name is Matteo Varga."
"I was your father's closest friend."
Julian closed his eyes.
"What is this?"
"A promise."
"What promise?"
"The one I made Alessandro Rossi the night before he died."
The Last Request
Matteo spoke quietly.
"He knew someone was coming for Elena."
Julian's heart skipped.
"What?"
"Not who."
"But he knew someone would eventually target the Rossi bloodline."
"That's impossible."
"Nothing about the last three years has been impossible."
Julian couldn't argue.
Matteo continued.
"Your father left instructions."
"If Elena ever disappeared..."
"If you ever found her again..."
"I was to contact you."
Julian whispered,
"Why now?"
"Because you've already stepped into the trap."
A Father Who Saw the Future
Julian walked onto the balcony overlooking the sea.
The night wind carried the sound of waves crashing against the cliffs below.
"Tell me everything."
Matteo sighed.
"Your father wasn't building hotels."
Julian frowned.
"What?"
"He was building safe houses."
"The luxury resorts..."
"The ports..."
"The private islands..."
"They were all designed with hidden evacuation systems."
Julian's confusion deepened.
"For what?"
"To protect witnesses."
"Victims."
"Children."
"From people powerful enough to make entire families disappear."
Julian leaned against the railing.
"My father never told me."
"He couldn't."
"Because once you know..."
"...they start watching you too."
The Syndicate
"Who are 'they'?"
For several seconds...
Matteo said nothing.
Finally—
"The Obsidian Circle."
Julian had never heard the name.
"They're not a mafia."
"They're not a corporation."
"They're something much older."
"They own security companies."
"Private intelligence firms."
"Luxury hospitality chains."
"Medical research facilities."
"They don't steal money."
"They steal people."
Julian's voice hardened.
"Human trafficking?"
"Worse."
"They erase identities."
"They create new ones."
"They decide who disappears..."
"...and who never officially existed."
Julian's blood turned cold.
Elena.
The bruises.
The fake employee records.
The guarded hallways.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Elena's Secret
"There is something else."
Matteo's tone changed.
"Something Alessandro never wanted you to discover."
"What?"
"Elena knew."
Julian froze.
"Knew what?"
"She found documents."
"Six months before she disappeared."
Julian remembered.
Elena had spent weeks helping renovate one of the family's oldest archives.
She had laughed about finding boxes older than both of them.
"What documents?"
"Names."
"Transactions."
"Children listed as deceased..."
"...who were still alive."
Julian struggled to breathe.
"My father was investigating them?"
"Quietly."
"He trusted almost no one."
"Except Elena."
Meanwhile...
Deep beneath the Grand Alcazar...
Elena screamed.
Another contraction tore through her body.
The pain stole her breath.
Sophia knelt beside her.
"Easy."
"Keep breathing."
A frightened young maid wiped sweat from Elena's forehead.
"She's bleeding."
Sophia looked toward the steel door.
"Where is Dr. Keller?"
No answer.
Another contraction came.
Stronger.
Closer.
Elena grabbed Sophia's wrist.
"My baby..."
Sophia squeezed her hand.
"We'll save your child."
"I promise."
A guard suddenly entered.
His face had turned pale.
"Director..."
"They're here."
Sophia stood.
"Who?"
"The Circle."
Her expression changed instantly.
"They weren't supposed to arrive until tomorrow."
Camila's Confession
At the same moment...
Camila sat alone inside Suite 2409.
She slowly removed the diamond necklace Julian had bought her.
Then she opened a hidden compartment beneath the hotel desk.
Inside rested a satellite transmitter.
She activated it.
A distorted voice answered immediately.
"Report."
Camila took a deep breath.
"He knows Elena is alive."
Silence.
"And?"
"He found the locker."
Another pause.
"Terminate Phase Two."
Camila's eyes widened.
"No."
"That's an order."
"Elena's in labor."
"Then the child is no longer necessary."
Camila felt her blood run cold.
"What?"
"Kill the mother."
"Recover the infant."
The line went dead.
For several seconds...
Camila simply stared at the transmitter.
Then she whispered,
"No."
She crushed the device beneath her heel.
The Blueprint
Back on the balcony...
Matteo spoke one final sentence.
"Your father left you something."
"What?"
"Blueprints."
"For the Grand Alcazar."
Julian frowned.
"I already own copies."
"Not these."
"These show everything the hotel was never supposed to have."
"Underground tunnels."
"Medical laboratories."
"Holding cells."
Julian's voice became dangerously quiet.
"Where are they?"
"Inside Villa Rossi."
"In your father's wine cellar."
"The bottle labeled..."
Matteo smiled faintly.
"...1991 Barolo."
The call disconnected.
The Hidden Elevator
Julian immediately left his suite.
Instead of heading toward the lobby...
He returned to the employee corridors.
Something Matteo had said wouldn't leave his mind.
Hidden evacuation systems.
His father designed every Rossi property himself.
If the Grand Alcazar belonged to the Rossi family once...
Then there had to be hidden passages.
He examined the hallway carefully.
Marble.
Decorative columns.
Paintings.
Then—
One painting hung slightly crooked.
A landscape of Lake Como.
Julian straightened it instinctively.
Click.
A quiet mechanical sound echoed behind the wall.
Part of the marble panel slowly slid open.
A concealed elevator.
No buttons.
Only a fingerprint scanner.
Beneath it...
A small bronze plaque.
Emergency Access — Rossi Family Only
Julian stared in disbelief.
His father had hidden an entire escape system inside the hotel.
He placed his thumb on the scanner.
The machine paused.
Then—
ACCESS GRANTED
The hidden elevator doors silently opened.
Cold air drifted upward from the darkness below.
Before Julian could step inside—
A desperate scream echoed from somewhere beneath the hotel.
It was Elena.
Then another voice shouted through the underground corridors.
"She's hemorrhaging!"
Julian's heart stopped.
Without hesitation...
He stepped into the hidden elevator.
The doors slid shut.
As the elevator descended into darkness...
He had no idea that someone else had already activated the emergency lockdown.
May you like
And once the elevator reached the bottom...
There would be no way back up.
