"How long have you been caring for my father?"
"Four months."
"Has anyone asked you to change his medication?"
Sofia's face changed.
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Dr. Valenti."
Adrian closed the ledger.
"What did he ask you to do?"
Sofia hesitated.
"He told me to give your father an additional tablet every evening. He said it would help him sleep."
"Did you?"
"No."
Adrian looked at her.
"Why not?"
She swallowed.
"Because the medication list didn't match the prescription. And because your father became worse whenever he took it."
For several seconds, Adrian said nothing.
Then he looked toward the door.
"Where is the doctor now?"
"I believe he's at the clinic."
Adrian took out his phone.
"Not for long."
***
That night, Dr. Valenti was taken into custody by two of Vittorio's oldest guards.
He denied everything.
He claimed the medication was harmless and that Sofia had misunderstood his instructions.
But when Adrian showed him the ledger, the doctor's confidence disappeared.
He asked for a lawyer.
Adrian gave him one.
Then he asked a question.
"Who paid you?"
The doctor refused to answer.
Adrian placed a second document on the table.
It contained bank transfers from an account belonging to one of Elena's companies.
Valenti stared at the page.
"You don't understand," he said.
"Then explain it."
"Your father was already deteriorating."
"That wasn't my question."
The doctor lowered his head.
"Signora Elena wanted him to remain dependent."
"Why?"
"Because she needed him alive long enough to sign the final transfer documents. But she needed him unable to interfere with the business."
Adrian leaned forward.
"What was in the medication?"
The doctor looked at the two guards.
Then he answered.
"Sedatives. High doses. Combined with his existing prescriptions, they affected his balance, speech, and alertness."
Adrian felt something cold settle inside him.
"Could it have killed him?"
Valenti said nothing.
"Could it?"
"Eventually."
Adrian stood.
He walked toward the window.
His father had spent months trapped inside his own body while someone he trusted slowly destroyed him.
And Elena had watched.
She had watched him struggle to lift a glass.
She had watched him fail to form sentences.
She had watched him become a prisoner inside the house he had built.
Adrian turned.
"Who else knows?"
The doctor hesitated.
"Roberto Mancini."
"Anyone in the security team?"
"Two men."
"Names."
Valenti gave them.
Adrian looked at the guards.
"Keep him somewhere safe. He'll be giving a statement tomorrow."
Then he walked out.
***
Elena noticed the change immediately.
The doctor stopped visiting.
Roberto stopped answering calls.
Two guards who had always followed her instructions were suddenly reassigned.
And Adrian began spending long hours in his father's study.
She understood that something had happened.
But she did not know what.
She decided to act before she lost control.
At midnight, she entered Vittorio's bedroom.
Sofia was sitting beside the bed, reading quietly.
Elena wore a dark robe and carried a glass of water.
"Leave us."
Sofia stood.
"Signora, your husband is asleep."
"I can see that."
"Would you like me to come back?"
Elena looked at her.
"I said leave."
Sofia stepped into the corridor.
But she did not go far.
She stopped beside the door.
Inside, Elena placed the glass on the bedside table.
She leaned toward Vittorio.
"You should have listened to me."
The old man's eyes opened.
Elena smiled.
"You had everything. Money, influence, a beautiful house, a wife who took care of you. But you never knew when to let go."
Vittorio attempted to move.
His hand twitched.
Elena bent closer.
"Your son is making the same mistake you made."
She straightened.
"Tomorrow, he will sign the documents. And if he refuses, I will make sure he never has the chance to inherit anything."
Vittorio's eyes widened.
Elena picked up the water.
"Do you know what your first wife did wrong?"
She waited.
"She believed that being loved made her untouchable."
Then she walked toward the door.
Sofia stepped away just in time.
Elena passed her without looking.
The maid waited until the footsteps disappeared.
Then she entered the bedroom.
Vittorio was trembling.
Sofia hurried to his side.
"Signore?"
He caught her hand.
His lips moved.
This time, the words were clearer.
"Adrian."
"I'll call him."
Vittorio squeezed her hand again.
Then he pointed toward the bedside table.
Beneath the photograph was another folded paper.
Sofia opened it.
It contained a short message.
SHE WILL COME FOR THE BOOK.
***
Elena did come for the book.
The following afternoon, while Adrian was away meeting Salvatore, she entered the library with two armed men.
She had already discovered that the hidden compartment had been opened.
The altar panel was still unlocked.
The ledger was gone.
For a moment, she stood perfectly still.
Then she turned toward the guards.
"Find it."
One of the men looked uncomfortable.
"Signora, Mr. Adrian has ordered us not to enter the library."
Elena stared at him.
"Who pays your salary?"
He did not answer.
"Who arranged your family's protection? Who made sure your brother got out of prison? Who gave you the house where your wife and children live?"
The guard looked down.
Elena stepped closer.
"Do not confuse a temporary order with permanent loyalty."
He hesitated.
Then he moved toward the corridor.
The second guard followed.
Elena remained alone.
She walked toward the altar.
Her fingers touched the carved flowers.
She had been searching for that book for twelve years.
Isabella had discovered the financial arrangement shortly before her death. Elena had never known exactly how much she had found.
But she knew enough to understand the danger.
The ledger contained evidence of her relationship with the De Luca organization.
It contained proof that she had financed the assassination of a Bellandi captain.
And it contained the name of the man who had arranged Isabella's final medical treatment.
Elena closed her eyes.
She remembered the hospital room.
The machines.
The smell of disinfectant.
Vittorio standing beside the bed, holding Isabella's hand.
She remembered how he had cried.
And she remembered how easy it had been to comfort him afterward.
Some secrets were too expensive to bury.
But Elena had spent twelve years paying the price.
She was not going to lose now.
***
Adrian returned to the estate at sunset.
He found Sofia waiting outside his father's bedroom.
She looked frightened.
"Signore."
"What happened?"
"Signora Elena came to the library."
Adrian stopped.
"Was she alone?"
"She had two guards."
"Did she find anything?"
"I don't think so."
Adrian glanced toward the bedroom.
"Is my father awake?"
"Yes."
He entered.
Vittorio was sitting upright in his wheelchair.
A blanket covered his knees.
The old man looked at his son and then at the ledger in his hands.
Adrian approached.
"I found everything."
Vittorio closed his eyes.
For a moment, his face seemed to collapse under the weight of years.