Chapter 3 - The Man at the Door
“Why did you think you could disappear with my child?”
Alessandro’s voice was quiet.
That made it worse.
If he had shouted, I could have fought back.
If he had threatened me, I could have hated him.
But he stood in the hallway looking at me as though he had spent six weeks searching for an answer he desperately didn't want to hear.
I swallowed.
“Your child?”
His eyes hardened.
“You heard me.”
Liam stepped between us.
“She doesn't owe you anything.”
Alessandro finally looked at him.
“I wasn't speaking to you.”
“You're speaking in my apartment.”
“Then this concerns you too.”
Liam's jaw tightened.
“What does that mean?”
Alessandro didn't answer.
His gaze returned to me.
“May I come inside?”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
He nodded once.
“Fair.”
That surprised me.
I expected arrogance.
Instead, he simply stood there.
Waiting.
“You knew who I was,” I said.
His expression changed.
“Yes.”
The word hit me harder than a slap.
“When?”
“Before the gala.”
My stomach dropped.
“You knew I was Elizabeth.”
“Yes.”
“And you still approached me?”
“I didn't know why you were there.”
“You knew my name.”
“I knew the name.”
“That isn't an answer.”
His jaw tightened.
“I knew Daniel Harper had a daughter.”
“But you didn't know it was me?”
“I suspected.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You suspected.”
“Yes.”
“And Room 1520?”
“What about it?”
“Was that planned?”
His eyes sharpened.
“No.”
“Did you send me there?”
“No.”
“Did someone in your family?”
“No.”
“Are you lying?”
“No.”
I stared at him.
I wanted to believe him.
That frightened me more than anything.
Because some part of me still remembered the man in Room 1520.
The man who had listened.
The man who had looked at me as though I was the only person in the room.
The man who had told me he hated mornings because they reminded him the world was waiting for him again.
I hated that I remembered all of it.
Alessandro stepped closer.
“Elizabeth.”
“Don't call me that.”
His eyes flickered.
“Emma, then.”
“That's not who I am.”
“I know.”
The words were soft.
“You haven't been Emma for a very long time.”
I felt my throat tighten.
Liam looked between us.
“You two need to have this conversation somewhere safer.”
Alessandro nodded.
“Agreed.”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“I am not going anywhere with you.”
“Then stay here.”
He reached into his coat.
Liam immediately tensed.
Alessandro slowly removed a phone.
He held it out.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
I looked.
My blood turned cold.
It was me.
Walking out of the diner.
Taken that afternoon.
Another photograph.
Me entering the storage facility.
Another.
Liam leaving the apartment.
Then another.
A photograph of my hospital appointment.
Six days earlier.
I looked at Alessandro.
“How long have you been watching me?”
“I wasn't.”
“Then who was?”
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
He lowered the phone.
“I expect you to understand that someone has been watching you long before I found you.”
The room became silent.
Alessandro's voice changed.
“I didn't come here to take the baby.”
I looked at him.
“Then why are you here?”
“To keep you alive.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“You think I need you?”
“No.”
His answer was immediate.
“I think someone wants your child.”
My hand instinctively moved to my stomach.
Alessandro noticed.
Something painful crossed his face.
“That's why I came.”
Liam folded his arms.
“And what exactly do you plan to do?”
“Move her.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere secure.”
“I said no.”
Alessandro looked at me.
“Then you choose the location.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“You don't trust me.”
“No.”
“Fine.”
He took out another document.
“Read this.”
I hesitated.
Then took it.
The first page contained a police report.
The second contained photographs.
The third contained a name.
Stefano Vitali.
My blood ran cold.
“What does your uncle have to do with this?”
Alessandro's expression became grim.
“Everything.”
I looked at him.
“You think Stefano killed my parents.”
“I know he was involved.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“How?”
“Because I found evidence.”
“What evidence?”
He pulled another photograph from his coat.
It showed my father.
Standing outside a warehouse.
Beside Stefano.
But there was someone else.
A young man.
He looked almost exactly like Alessandro.
I stared.
“Who is that?”
Alessandro didn't answer immediately.
“My brother.”
My eyes lifted.
“You have a brother?”
“Had.”
“What happened to him?”
“He disappeared twenty-seven years ago.”
“Disappeared?”
“My family said he died.”
“And you believe them?”
“No.”
He looked at the photograph.
“Not anymore.”
I studied the man's face.
Something about him felt familiar.
Then I looked at my father's handwriting beneath the photograph.
Three words.
MARCO IS ALIVE.
I felt dizzy.
“Your father knew.”
“Yes.”
“My father knew your brother was alive.”
“Yes.”
“And that's why he was investigating the Vitalis?”
Alessandro nodded.
“Probably.”
“Probably?”
“I don't know the whole story.”
I stared at him.
“Then why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn't.”
The answer stopped me.
Alessandro stepped closer.
“You should verify everything I say.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he looked toward my stomach.
His voice softened.
“But please don't make the mistake of thinking you can protect yourself alone.”
I wanted to tell him he was wrong.
I wanted to tell him I had survived six years without him.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Then I heard breathing.
Slow.
Deliberate.
A whisper followed.
“Tell the Vitali bastard to leave.”
My blood froze.
The call ended.
Alessandro saw my expression.
“What happened?”
I handed him the phone.
He looked at the screen.
Then his entire demeanor changed.
The softness disappeared.
He turned toward the hallway.
“Liam.”
“What?”
“Pack a bag.”
Liam stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because you're leaving too.”
“Where?”
Alessandro looked at both of us.
“Somewhere they can't reach you.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He met my eyes.
“This isn't a negotiation anymore.”
His voice was calm.
“Someone just threatened you inside your own home.”
I looked at Liam.
Then at Alessandro.
And finally at the dark window.
Across the street, a black sedan had appeared.
The same black sedan from the storage facility.
Alessandro noticed it too.
He moved toward the window.
May you like
“Get down.”
The gunshot shattered the glass.
