He had kept it closed since her death.
The rooms were clean, but the furniture had not changed.
A piano stood near the windows.
A collection of books remained on the shelves.
The kitchen still smelled faintly of lemon polish.
Elena stood in the entrance.
"Your mother lived here?"
"Sometimes."
"Did you love her?"
Adrian looked at the piano.
"Yes."
"Did she know about my mother?"
"I don't know."
Elena nodded.
There were too many unanswered questions.
She had stopped expecting immediate explanations.
Adrian gave her a bedroom.
Marco secured the property.
Luca checked the perimeter.
Then, shortly before dawn, Adrian found Elena sitting on the terrace.
She was holding an old photograph.
He sat opposite her.
"Couldn't sleep?"
"No."
"Neither could I."
She looked at him.
"Do you think your father loved my mother?"
Adrian considered the question.
"I think he loved the idea of being able to keep everyone."
"That isn't the same thing."
"No."
She looked at the photograph again.
"My mother never said anything bad about him."
"Maybe she didn't want you to hate someone you had never met."
"Maybe."
Silence settled between them.
Then Elena asked something he had not expected.
"Do you hate him?"
Adrian looked toward the dark garden.
"I spent years trying to become the opposite of him."
"Did you succeed?"
He gave a quiet, humorless smile.
"Some days."
She studied him.
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only honest one I have."
Elena folded the photograph.
"I don't want revenge."
"Neither do I."
"Then what do you want?"
Adrian looked at her.
"The truth."
She nodded.
For the first time that night, she believed they wanted the same thing.
***
At 8:40 the following morning, Marco returned with information.
The telephone number from Sofia's notebook belonged to a private clinic in the northern district.
The clinic had closed six years earlier.
Its former owner, Dr. Elias Romano, was living in a retirement residence near the coast.
He had treated Sofia during her pregnancy.
And according to Samuel, he was the only person who could authenticate the original birth records.
Adrian arranged a meeting.
He did not tell Dominic.
He did not tell the family's legal department.
He did not even tell the men who normally handled his private appointments.
Only Marco and Luca knew where he was going.
Elena insisted on accompanying him.
This time, Adrian did not argue.
The retirement residence was a quiet building overlooking a small garden.
Dr. Romano was eighty-one.
He walked slowly and spoke with difficulty, but his memory remained sharp.
When Elena introduced herself, the old doctor closed his eyes.
"Sofia's daughter."
"Yes."
He took her hand.
"She was a brave woman."
Elena sat beside him.
"Did you know my father?"
The doctor looked at Adrian.
Then back at Elena.
"I knew two men who believed they had the right to decide your future."
"Which one was my father?"
"Matteo Bellandi."
Elena lowered her eyes.
"Is he alive?"
The doctor hesitated.
"I believe so."
Adrian leaned forward.
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"Did you see him after Sofia disappeared?"
"Once."
"When?"
"Four years ago."
The doctor reached toward a drawer.
He removed an envelope.
Inside was a photograph of a man standing outside a church.
His hair was gray.
His face was thinner.
But Elena recognized something in his eyes.
The same eyes she saw in her own reflection.
On the back was an address.
An isolated house near the northern coast.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" she asked.
The doctor looked at her.
"Because your father asked me not to."
"Why?"
"Because he believed the men who wanted him dead were still watching."
Adrian studied the photograph.
"Who else knows about this address?"
The doctor gave him a tired smile.
"Apparently, too many people."
Before Adrian could ask another question, Marco's phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then looked toward Adrian.
"Boss."
Adrian stood.
"What?"
"Dominic just called an emergency family meeting."
"When?"
"Tonight."
"Why?"
Marco hesitated.
"He says someone has stolen confidential family records."
Adrian looked at the photograph in his hand.
His uncle had moved faster than expected.
And he was already preparing the family to believe that Adrian was the traitor.
***
The Moretti estate was illuminated that evening.
Black cars lined the driveway.
Security officers stood beneath the marble columns.
Inside, members of the family gathered around a long dining table.
Dominic stood at the head.
He wore a charcoal suit and a dark tie.
He looked like a man preparing to deliver difficult news.
Adrian entered with Marco.
He did not bring Elena.
She remained at the villa under Luca's protection.
Dominic smiled.
"My nephew."
"Uncle."
"I was beginning to worry."
"About me?"
"About the family."
Adrian took his seat.
Around the table were six senior members of the organization.
Two had served under Vittorio.
One had been Adrian's personal adviser.
The others controlled different parts of the family's legitimate businesses.
Dominic placed a folder on the table.
"Someone has accessed confidential records belonging to this organization."
Adrian glanced at the folder.
"What records?"
"Old financial documents. Private correspondence. Names of people who should never have been exposed."
"Who has them?"
Dominic looked directly at him.
"That is what I intend to discover."
Adrian leaned back.
"Then why are we here?"
"Because the person responsible may be sitting at this table."
The room became silent.
Dominic opened the folder.
He removed several photographs.