Chapter 10 - THE VOICE ON THE RECORDING
The unknown caller requested a meeting at midnight.
Lorenzo refused.
He had learned long ago that people who controlled the time and place of a meeting usually wanted to control the outcome. Instead, he ordered the caller's number traced and sent two security teams to search the estate's communications room.
Nora remained with Giovanni.
Patricia had insisted that he be moved to a warmer room with continuous medical supervision. His condition was stable, but the day's events had exhausted him.
Nora sat beside his bed, rubbing his hand between both of hers.
“Do you know who Victor is?” she asked softly.
Giovanni's eyes shifted toward her.
“Lorenzo's uncle?”
His fingers moved once.
Nora swallowed.
“Is he alive?”
Giovanni closed his eyes.
It was not an answer.
A little after eleven, Lorenzo entered.
“We found the recording.”
Nora stood.
“What does it say?”
He looked toward his father.
“It hasn't been played yet. Matteo is checking the file for tampering.”
Giovanni's eyes opened.
Lorenzo sat beside him.
“Father, if this recording is about what happened before your stroke, I need to hear it.”
Giovanni's hand moved toward his son's wrist.
Lorenzo went still.
“Do you want me to listen?”
The old man squeezed once.
“Yes.
Lorenzo nodded.
“I will.”
He turned toward Nora.
“You should rest. You've had a difficult day.”
“I'm staying.”
He looked as if he might argue, then stopped.
“All right.”
At midnight, Matteo brought a small digital recorder into the room. He placed it on the table and pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then a man's voice emerged.
Giovanni's voice.
Stronger, younger, unmistakable.
“If you move the money, Lorenzo will find out.”
A second man answered.
“You won't have to worry about Lorenzo.”
“Victor, listen to me. The accounts are not yours.”
A chair scraped.
Then Victor's voice became colder.
“You should have retired when I gave you the chance.”
The recording ended abruptly.
Lorenzo stared at the device.
“That's my father.”
Nora looked at him.
“Your father?”
He shook his head.
“My uncle. Victor.”
Giovanni's breathing quickened. His hand began trembling.
Patricia stepped forward.
“Mr. Moretti, take a slow breath.”
But the old man was trying to speak.
His lips moved.
A rough sound escaped.
“Vi…”
Lorenzo leaned close.
“Victor?”
Giovanni blinked.
Then he forced out another word.
“Alive.”
Lorenzo stood very still.
“Are you telling me Victor is alive?”
Giovanni's fingers tightened around his son's hand.
One squeeze.
Then another.
Lorenzo looked at Matteo.
“Find him.”
Matteo nodded and left.
Nora's heart pounded. She had entered the estate looking for a job that would keep her and her unborn daughter safe. Now she was standing inside a family mystery that reached back years, involving missing money, false medical records, and a man everyone believed was dead.
Lorenzo turned toward her.
“I'm sorry you got caught in this.”
Nora looked at Giovanni.
“I wasn't caught in anything. I chose to care for him.”
The old man's eyes rested on her.
Then he moved his hand toward her belly.
Nora gently guided it there.
A small kick pressed against his palm.
Giovanni's face changed.
He smiled.
It was faint and uneven, but it was real.
Lorenzo watched the moment, and something in his expression softened.
“My father hasn't smiled like that in years.”
Nora wiped her cheek.
“Then he should have more reasons to.”
A knock sounded at the door.
Matteo returned, holding a printed photograph.
“We found a recent image of Victor Moretti.”
Lorenzo took it.
The photograph showed an older man leaving a private clinic in Manhattan. He wore a dark coat and carried a cane.
On the back was a handwritten message:
HE KNOWS GIOVANNI IS AWAKE.
Lorenzo looked toward his father.
Giovanni's eyes filled with fear.
Then the old man managed to speak again.
“Not… brother.”
Lorenzo leaned closer.
“What?”
Giovanni gathered every ounce of strength he had.
“Not… my… brother.”
He looked at Nora.
Then at Lorenzo.
And with a voice that barely rose above a whisper, he said the words that changed everything.
“Your… uncle… is… not… Victor.”
Lorenzo stared at him.
The man in the photograph had the face of his uncle.
But Giovanni was saying he was someone else.
Before Lorenzo could ask another question, the estate's power went out.
The room plunged into darkness.
A second later, the emergency lights flickered red.
Matteo drew his weapon.
“Sir, we've lost the outer cameras.”
From somewhere below came the sound of a door slamming.
Then a man's voice echoed through the corridor.
“Good evening, Lorenzo.”
Lorenzo stepped in front of Nora and his father.
The voice continued.
May you like
“It's time you met the real Victor Moretti.”
END OF CHAPTER 10
