Alessandro felt the room tilt.
"Where?"
"Near the gallery entrance."
"Why was it called a medical emergency?"
"Because Vittorio ordered everyone to say she had suffered a heart attack."
"Why?"
"Because Salvatore threatened to reveal the truth about the family. He had enough documents to destroy your father."
Alessandro stepped closer.
"Did my father know Salvatore had killed her?"
Carlo's eyes filled with tears.
"Yes."
The answer came quietly.
But it destroyed something inside Alessandro.
"Why didn't he stop him?"
"Because he was afraid."
"Of Salvatore?"
"Of losing you."
Alessandro stared at the old man.
Carlo continued.
"Your father believed that if the police investigated Isabella's death, they would uncover everything. He believed that the only way to protect you was to bury the truth."
"That wasn't protection."
"No."
"It was cowardice."
Carlo lowered his head.
"Yes."
Alessandro turned away.
For years, he had imagined that his father had been a strong man.
A difficult man.
A ruthless man.
But still a man who had loved his family.
Now he understood that Vittorio had loved him enough to destroy the truth.
And not enough to defend his wife.
Alessandro looked back.
"Where is Salvatore's evidence?"
Carlo shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Who does?"
"His nephew."
"Adrian."
Carlo nodded.
"He has been looking for it since Salvatore died."
Alessandro's expression changed.
"Why?"
"Because there is another document. Something your mother discovered."
"What?"
Carlo hesitated.
"Your father's final agreement with Salvatore."
***
The agreement was found in a private bank account in Switzerland.
It had been signed by Vittorio Moretti and Salvatore Vescari.
The document contained an arrangement that would transfer control of several companies to Salvatore if Vittorio died unexpectedly.
But the final clause was handwritten.
If Alessandro Moretti assumes control, he must remain unaware of the original transactions until the transfer is complete.
Beneath it was a second signature.
Not Vittorio's.
Not Salvatore's.
Marco Bellini.
Alessandro read the document in silence.
Then he placed it on the table.
He did not call Marco immediately.
Instead, he asked his accountant to trace the payments.
The results arrived four hours later.
Marco had received money from an offshore company for nearly a decade.
The amounts were small.
Regular.
Carefully structured.
But they had continued long after Salvatore's death.
Alessandro leaned back.
He had trusted Marco with his life.
He had given him access to the family accounts.
He had allowed him to stand beside Sofia.
And all this time, Marco had been receiving money from the man who had destroyed his mother.
The betrayal was not sudden.
It had been sitting at his table for years.
***
Marco entered the library at 9:30 p.m.
Alessandro was seated behind his desk.
The document lay in front of him.
Marco looked at it.
Then he closed the door.
"You found it."
Alessandro nodded.
"How long?"
Marco did not pretend to misunderstand.
"Since the beginning."
"How much?"
"Not enough to matter."
Alessandro looked at him.
"Do you think the amount is the problem?"
"No."
"Then tell me why."
Marco stood silently.
Finally, he spoke.
"Salvatore paid me to keep your father informed."
"About what?"
"Your movements. Your conversations. The people you trusted."
Alessandro's expression hardened.
"Why?"
"Because Vittorio believed you were too young to take control of the organization."
"My father was dead when most of those payments arrived."
"Salvatore's people continued the arrangement."
"And you accepted."
"Yes."
Alessandro stood.
"Did you tell Adrian about the notebook?"
"No."
"Did you tell him about the attack?"
"No."
"Did you help him take Elena?"
"No."
"Why should I believe you?"
Marco looked directly at him.
"Because if I wanted you dead, you would have been dead years ago."
Alessandro remained silent.
Marco continued.
"I have done terrible things. I have lied to you. I have accepted money I should have refused. But I never betrayed you in the way Adrian believes I did."
"You betrayed me every day you stood beside me and said nothing."
Marco lowered his eyes.
"Yes."
"Did you know my mother was going to be killed?"
"No."
"Did you know my father would let it happen?"
Marco looked at the floor.
"I suspected."
Alessandro moved around the desk.
"Then why did you stay?"
Marco's voice broke.
"Because your mother saved my life."
Alessandro stopped.
"What?"
"When I was a child, my father was killed in a robbery. I was sleeping in a car outside the old estate. Your mother found me. She brought me inside. She paid for my education. She treated me like family."
Marco swallowed.
"She told me that one day I would have to choose between doing what was easy and doing what was right."
He looked at Alessandro.
"I failed her."
For a moment, neither man spoke.
Then Alessandro said something that surprised them both.
"Yes. You did."
Marco nodded.
"But I won't let Adrian take Sofia."
Alessandro studied him.
"That is not your decision."
"No. It's my promise."
***
Elena was being held in an abandoned property near the coast.
Adrian had taken her because he believed she knew the location of the original evidence.