He was thinking about a little girl who had held his hand when everyone else was somewhere else.
He wondered what kind of life she had.
And why her mother looked at him as though he represented a danger she had spent years trying to escape.
***
The investigation began with a photograph.
Marco placed it on Alessandro's bedside table the following morning.
It showed Elena Bellini standing outside a small apartment building.
Beside her was a man carrying a shopping bag.
Alessandro studied the image.
"Who is he?"
"Her brother, according to the employment records."
"Name?"
"Daniel Bellini. Thirty-four. Former accountant."
"Former?"
"He disappeared from the banking sector five years ago."
Alessandro looked up.
"Why?"
"His employer accused him of stealing confidential financial records. The case was closed without prosecution, but he never returned to his previous profession."
Alessandro looked at the photograph again.
"Anything else?"
Marco hesitated.
"There's a connection."
"What connection?"
"Daniel Bellini worked for one of our companies."
Alessandro's expression hardened.
"Which one?"
"Moretti Maritime."
Silence followed.
That company had been involved in a financial scandal years earlier.
A scandal that had nearly destroyed Alessandro's father.
A scandal that had ended with the disappearance of several million euros and the death of one senior accountant.
Alessandro leaned back.
"Bring me the old files."
Marco nodded.
"And Marco?"
"Yes, boss?"
"Do not involve the girl."
"I wouldn't."
Alessandro looked at him.
"That wasn't a request."
***
At the mansion, Elena was trying to convince Sofia that everything would return to normal.
The little girl had become fascinated by Alessandro.
She spoke about him constantly.
She wanted to know whether he liked cartoons, whether he had a favorite color, and whether his enormous house had a room full of toys.
Elena answered patiently.
But she had noticed something troubling.
The guards were watching her more closely.
The staff members were whispering.
And Marco had asked several questions about her brother.
She knew what that meant.
Someone had begun investigating her past.
That night, after Sofia fell asleep, Elena sat alone in the kitchen.
She opened an old photograph on her phone.
It showed her brother Daniel standing beside a younger Alessandro Moretti.
They were both smiling.
The photograph had been taken eleven years earlier.
Before the scandal.
Before the accusations.
Before Daniel disappeared.
Elena stared at the screen.
Then she whispered something she had not said aloud in years.
"You promised you would protect him."
***
Alessandro was discharged from the hospital two days later.
He returned to the mansion under strict medical instructions.
No meetings.
No alcohol.
No late-night work.
Marco was instructed to handle all urgent matters.
Alessandro ignored half of those instructions before reaching his office.
But something about the mansion had changed.
He noticed it immediately.
A small drawing had been placed on the corner of his desk.
It showed a large black house, a tiny pink figure, and a man lying on the floor.
Above the figures, written in uneven letters, were the words:
GET WELL SOON.
He stared at the drawing.
A knock came at the door.
"Come in."
Sofia entered holding Elena's hand.
"I made that for you."
Alessandro looked at the paper.
"Thank you."
"Do you like it?"
"I do."
She approached his desk.
"Mommy says I should say sorry for making trouble."
Alessandro looked toward Elena.
"You didn't make trouble."
Sofia smiled.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Why do you have so many guards?"
Elena immediately intervened.
"Sofia."
But Alessandro raised a hand.
"It's all right."
He considered the question.
"Because some people don't like me."
"Why?"
"Because I make decisions they don't agree with."
Sofia thought about it.
"Do you make bad decisions?"
Elena closed her eyes.
Marco, standing outside the office, nearly smiled.
Alessandro leaned back.
"Sometimes."
"Then you should say sorry."
The room fell silent.
Alessandro looked at the child.
He had spent his entire adult life surrounded by men who told him what he wanted to hear.
Yet this little girl had just given him advice that none of his closest associates would have dared offer.
He nodded slowly.
"Perhaps I should."
***
That evening, Vittorio Romano disappeared.
His apartment was empty.
His office had been cleared.
His personal vehicle was found abandoned near the harbor.
Marco returned to Alessandro with the news.
"He knew we were watching him."
Alessandro stood beside the window.
"Who warned him?"
"We're checking."
"Check faster."
Marco placed another file on the desk.
"There is something else."
Alessandro turned.
"Daniel Bellini."
The name brought back the old photograph.
"What about him?"
"He wasn't stealing money from us."
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
"Explain."
"Eleven years ago, Daniel discovered that someone inside the company had been transferring funds through shell accounts. He tried to report it."
"To whom?"
"Your father."
Alessandro said nothing.
Marco continued.
"The report disappeared. Daniel was accused of theft. A week later, his supervisor died in what was officially described as a car accident."
Alessandro opened the file.
The supervisor's name was Vittorio Romano.
For a moment, he did not move.
Then he looked up.
"Where is Daniel now?"
"Unknown."
"Find him."
Marco nodded.
But Alessandro's attention had shifted.
He was thinking about Elena.
About the way she had looked at him in the hospital.
About the photograph.
About the words she had whispered when she believed nobody was listening.
You promised you would protect him.
***
Elena was preparing dinner when Alessandro entered the staff kitchen.
The sight of him made her stop.
"Mr. Moretti."
"Elena."
She placed the knife on the cutting board.
"Do you need something?"
"I need to ask you about your brother."
Her face changed.
"I don't know where he is."
"That isn't what I asked."
Elena looked toward the door.