Chapter 6 - The Vitali Estate
The Vitali estate didn't look like a home.
It looked like a fortress.
Black iron gates opened onto a private road lined with ancient trees.
Security cameras followed our car.
Men in dark suits watched from discreet positions.
The mansion appeared at the end of the drive.
Stone.
Glass.
Perfect symmetry.
Cold beauty.
I stared through the window.
“This is where you grew up?”
Alessandro nodded.
“Yes.”
“You hated it.”
He glanced at me.
“How do you know?”
“You look different.”
“How?”
“Like you want to leave.”
A faint smile appeared.
“I always wanted to leave.”
We entered through the front doors.
The silence was immediate.
A woman appeared at the top of the staircase.
Elegant.
Silver-haired.
Straight-backed.
She wore a dark green dress and a pearl necklace.
The same necklace from my mother's photograph.
Alessandro stopped.
“Grandmother.”
She looked at him.
Then at me.
Her eyes widened.
Not with surprise.
Recognition.
“Elizabeth.”
I froze.
She knew my name.
Alessandro noticed.
“You've seen her before?”
His grandmother didn't answer.
She walked down the stairs.
Slowly.
When she reached me, she lifted a trembling hand and touched my cheek.
“My God.”
I stepped back.
“Do you know me?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I knew your mother.”
“How?”
“She was my granddaughter.”
The room went silent.
Alessandro stared at her.
“You never told me Isabella was part of the family.”
His grandmother looked at him.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“Your father.”
Alessandro's face hardened.
“My father is dead.”
“And yet his secrets aren't.”
She turned toward me.
“Your mother was Victor's sister.”
I swallowed.
“Why did she change her name?”
“Because she discovered what Stefano had done.”
“What did he do?”
Her expression became haunted.
“He killed Marco.”
I stared.
“But there was no body.”
“Because Marco survived.”
Alessandro stepped forward.
“Where is he?”
His grandmother closed her eyes.
“I don't know.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“And you let him disappear?”
“I helped him.”
Alessandro looked furious.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because you were a child.”
“I wasn't a child forever.”
“No.”
She looked at him sadly.
“But by the time you were old enough, Stefano had already surrounded you.”
I felt a chill.
“Surrounded him?”
She nodded.
“Your uncle controlled the board. The lawyers. The security department.”
“And my father?”
“Victor was afraid.”
Alessandro stared at her.
“My father was afraid of Stefano?”
“Yes.”
I looked around the mansion.
“So who actually controlled this family?”
His grandmother looked at me.
“Stefano.”
A door opened behind us.
A man's voice spoke.
“Not anymore.”
We turned.
An older man stood in the doorway.
Gray hair.
Scarred cheek.
Amber eyes.
Alessandro froze.
The color drained from his face.
I looked at him.
“Who is that?”
Alessandro couldn't answer.
The man stepped forward.
“Hello, little brother.”
My breath caught.
Marco.
Alive.
The man everyone believed had died twenty-seven years ago.
Alessandro stared at him.
“You're dead.”
Marco gave a faint smile.
“Apparently not.”
Alessandro moved forward.
Then stopped.
His expression was unreadable.
“Why?”
Marco looked at their grandmother.
“She knows.”
Alessandro turned.
“Tell me.”
His grandmother's voice trembled.
“Stefano tried to kill Marco.”
“Why?”
“Because Marco was the rightful heir.”
“And what happened?”
“Your father helped him escape.”
Alessandro stared.
“My father helped Marco?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he let me believe my brother was dead?”
“Because Stefano threatened you.”
Silence.
Alessandro's jaw tightened.
“And Elizabeth?”
Marco looked at me.
“Elizabeth was the key.”
I felt my heart race.
“To what?”
“The trust.”
Alessandro's grandmother answered.
“Your father created a legal trust before his death. It contains the evidence proving what Stefano did.”
I looked at Marco.
“And why does it belong to me?”
“Because your mother was the last legitimate Vitali daughter.”
My stomach dropped.
Marco stepped closer.
“Your father believed that if the trust were controlled by a Vitali, Stefano would find a way to destroy it.”
“So he gave it to me.”
“Yes.”
“But I was a child.”
“Exactly.”
“No one would suspect you.”
Marco nodded.
“And when you turned twenty-five, the trust became active.”
I looked at Alessandro.
“My birthday was three months ago.”
“Yes.”
“That means…”
“The trust has already activated.”
Liam suddenly entered the room.
He had been outside speaking with security.
“There's a problem.”
Everyone turned.
He looked at Alessandro.
“Someone accessed the trust account.”
“When?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
Alessandro's expression hardened.
“Who?”
Liam held up the phone.
“We don't know.”
Then he turned the screen toward me.
A transfer had been initiated.
Twenty million dollars.
From the Vitali trust.
To an offshore account.
My stomach dropped.
“I didn't authorize that.”
“I know,” Liam said.
Alessandro looked at Marco.
“Who has access?”
Marco's expression changed.
“Three people.”
“Who?”
“Myself.”
Alessandro's grandmother.
“And Stefano.”
The room went silent.
Alessandro immediately reached for his phone.
“Lock every account.”
Liam shook his head.
“Too late.”
“What?”
“The transfer has already cleared.”
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
“Where did it go?”
Liam stared at the screen.
Then his face went pale.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
He looked at me.
“The receiving account isn't offshore.”
My heart stopped.
“Then where?”
Liam swallowed.
“Chicago.”
“Whose account?”
He turned the screen around.
The name appeared.
ELIZABETH HARPER.
I stared.
“No.”
Liam whispered:
“Someone transferred twenty million dollars into your name.”
Alessandro's grandmother covered her mouth.
Marco stepped backward.
And Alessandro looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.
Then the mansion's security alarm began screaming.
Every light went red.
A voice came over the intercom.
“Mr. Vitali.”
Alessandro grabbed my hand.
“Stay behind me.”
The security chief's voice trembled.
“We have an intruder.”
“Where?”
A pause.
“Inside the mansion.”
Then another voice came through the intercom.
A voice I had heard before.
Stefano.
“Hello, Elizabeth.”
I froze.
His voice continued.
“Did you enjoy meeting your family?”
Alessandro pulled me closer.
Stefano laughed.
“Because now that you've activated the trust…”
The lights went out.
May you like
His final words echoed through the mansion.
“…you've made yourself worth killing.”
