Inside was a narrow storage room containing several cardboard boxes, a suitcase, and a wooden chest.
There was no dust on the chest.
Someone had opened the unit recently.
Marco noticed it too.
"Boss."
Adrian raised his hand.
Nobody moved.
Luca checked the corridor.
"Clear."
Adrian entered first.
He opened the chest.
Inside were photographs, letters, and a small cassette recorder.
Elena found a notebook with her mother's handwriting.
She opened it carefully.
The first page contained a date.
Twenty-six years earlier.
Beneath it was a sentence.
If Elena ever reads this, it means I could no longer keep her safe.
Elena sat on the floor.
She began reading.
Sofia's words described the months before Elena's birth.
She wrote about Matteo.
About Vittorio.
About the arguments.
About the night Matteo disappeared.
And then, near the middle of the notebook, Elena found a passage that made her stop.
Vittorio came to see me today.
He said Matteo was dead.
He said I should accept the money and leave.
I told him that my child would never belong to him.
He asked whether I understood what that meant.
I said yes.
He told me he could make the child disappear.
I believed him.
But when he left, Samuel returned.
He told me something I had not known.
Matteo had not betrayed Vittorio.
He had been protecting him.
Sofia's handwriting became uneven.
The final lines were difficult to read.
Lorenzo is the one who arranged everything.
He has the original records.
He has the names of the men who helped him.
And he has something that can destroy the Moretti family.
Elena looked up.
"What does that mean?"
Adrian took the notebook.
He read the passage twice.
Then he noticed a small photograph tucked between the pages.
It showed Vittorio standing beside Lorenzo Vescari.
Behind them was a third man.
Dominic Moretti.
All three were smiling.
On the back, Sofia had written:
THE NIGHT THEY DECIDED WHO WOULD DIE.
Adrian stared at the photograph.
His uncle had been there.
Not merely involved.
Present.
Marco approached.
"Boss, we need to leave."
"Why?"
"Someone accessed the building's security system five minutes ago."
Adrian looked at Luca.
"How many?"
"Unknown."
A metallic sound came from the corridor.
Someone had opened the outer door.
Adrian closed the notebook.
"Take Elena downstairs."
She stood immediately.
"No."
"Elena."
"I'm not leaving without the documents."
Marco moved toward her.
Adrian stopped him.
"Let her decide."
Elena collected the photographs and notebook.
Luca opened the rear exit.
They moved into the narrow alley behind the building.
A black car was waiting at the end of the street.
Its headlights were off.
Adrian recognized the driver.
One of Dominic's men.
"Move," he ordered.
They crossed the alley and entered a neighboring building.
A moment later, a car door slammed.
Then another.
Luca checked the entrance.
"They're here."
Adrian took Elena's hand.
"Stay behind me."
This time, she did not argue.
They escaped through the building's rear staircase and reached the harbor road.
Marco's car was waiting.
They drove away before the men could close the distance.
As the city lights disappeared behind them, Elena opened the notebook again.
A loose piece of paper slipped from the binding.
It contained a telephone number.
And beneath it, one final sentence.
MATTEO KNOWS WHO REALLY KILLED VITTORIO.
***
Dominic Moretti received the news at 1:17 a.m.
He was sitting in his private office, drinking a glass of red wine.
The room overlooked the gardens of the Moretti estate.
A fireplace burned quietly.
On the desk lay a photograph of his older brother.
Vittorio had been dead for three years.
Dominic still kept the photograph facing the door.
He liked remembering the expression on his brother's face.
The certainty.
The arrogance.
The belief that no one could ever take what belonged to him.
Dominic had spent most of his life standing in that man's shadow.
He had watched Vittorio become the head of the family.
He had watched him marry Isabella.
He had watched him raise Adrian.
And when Vittorio died, Dominic expected to inherit the organization.
Instead, Adrian returned from abroad and took control.
The family accepted him.
The soldiers accepted him.
Even the business partners accepted him.
Dominic received a title and a comfortable office.
Nothing more.
He had smiled at the announcement.
He had congratulated his nephew.
Then he began planning.
"Sir."
A man entered.
Dominic did not look up.
"What happened?"
"They found the storage unit."
"Did they retrieve the documents?"
"Yes."
Dominic placed his glass on the desk.
"And the girl?"
"She's with Adrian."
For several seconds, Dominic remained silent.
Then he laughed softly.
Not because anything was funny.
Because the situation had become predictable.
"Samuel De Luca."
"Yes, sir."
"Where is he?"
"We don't know."
Dominic stood.
"Find him."
"And the girl?"
Dominic walked to the window.
Outside, the gardens were perfectly maintained.
"Don't touch her."
The man looked surprised.
"Sir?"
"Did I speak unclearly?"
"No."
Dominic turned.
"Adrian will protect her. That is exactly what I need him to do."
He returned to his desk and opened a drawer.
Inside was a photograph.
It showed Matteo Bellandi standing beside a younger Sofia.
Dominic placed it next to Vittorio's portrait.
"Let him believe he's saving someone," he whispered.
"Men become careless when they think they're doing something noble."
***
Adrian took Elena to a safe house outside the city.
It was an old villa surrounded by olive trees.
The property had belonged to his mother.