Chapter 7: The Man Upstairs
Luca slowly lowered the phone.
Adrian's voice was still echoing through the mansion.
“Luca?””
Elena grabbed his sleeve.
“That’s him.””
Victoria shook her head.
“No.””
Luca looked at her.
“You recognize the voice.””
Victoria's face tightened.
“I recognize the voice of the man who has been hunting us.””
The three of them stood frozen in the hidden room.
Then the voice came again.
“Luca, I know you're down there.””
It was unmistakable.
Older than Luca remembered.
Deeper.
But familiar.
His father's voice.
Luca felt the air leave his lungs.
Elena whispered, “That's not Adrian.””
“No,” Luca said.
Victoria stared toward the staircase.
“That’s your father.””
A floorboard creaked above them.
Then another.
Slow footsteps began descending.
Luca reached for the silver key.
“Stay behind me.””
Victoria grabbed his arm.
“Don't.””
He pulled away.
“You've lied to me all night.””
“I lied because I was afraid.””
“Of him?””
Victoria nodded.
“Yes.””
“Then tell me something true.””
She swallowed.
“Your father never died.””
Luca stared at her.
“Why did you let me bury an empty coffin?””
“Because he wanted you to.””
The footsteps stopped.
Silence.
Then a voice floated down the staircase.
“You always were stubborn, Luca.””
Luca looked up.
A man appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Tall.
Thin.
His hair was completely silver now.
He wore a dark tailored suit and carried a black cane.
Luca knew the face.
He had seen it in old photographs.
Dreams.
Memories.
His father.
Everett Vale.
Luca couldn't speak.
Everett smiled.
“Hello, son.””
Victoria began crying.
Elena stepped backward.
Luca finally found his voice.
“You're dead.””
Everett tilted his head.
“That was the idea.””
Luca's fists clenched.
“You let me mourn you.””
“I needed to know what you would become without me.””
“You watched me.””
“Yes.””
“You watched everything.””
“Yes.””
The calmness of the answer made Luca's anger burn hotter.
“You destroyed my life.””
Everett smiled faintly.
“No, Luca. I built it.””
Luca stepped toward him.
“You manipulated me.””
“I protected the family.””
“What family?””
Everett's smile disappeared.
“The one you nearly destroyed.””
Luca glanced at Victoria.
“What does she have to do with this?””
Everett looked at her.
“Victoria was supposed to bring you to me.””
Victoria shook her head.
“I tried to warn him.””
“You failed.””
“I couldn't do it.””
Everett raised his cane.
“Because you developed feelings.””
Luca stared at her.
“You were working for him?””
Victoria's tears spilled over.
“At first.””
“At first?””
“I was supposed to find Adrian.””
“And?””
“I found him.””
“You knew where he was.””
“Yes.””
Luca's voice cracked.
“You knew my brother was alive.””
“Yes.””
“Eight years.””
Victoria nodded.
Luca stepped away from her.
Every moment of their relationship suddenly looked different.
Every dinner.
Every late-night conversation.
Every time she'd asked about his father.
Every time she'd insisted they move forward with the engagement.
Everett looked toward Elena.
“And then there was her.””
Elena stiffened.
“What did I do?””
“Your father left something unfinished.””
Elena's eyes narrowed.
“My father is dead.””
Everett smiled.
“So was I.””
Luca stepped between them.
“What did Elena's father leave?””
Everett looked at the silver key.
“That.””
Luca raised it.
“This?””
“No.””
He pointed toward the second key inside the box.
“That.””
Luca stared at it.
“What does it open?””
Everett said nothing.
Victoria suddenly rushed toward the staircase.
Everett caught her wrist.
She cried out.
Luca lunged.
“Let her go!””
Everett released her.
Victoria stumbled into Luca's arms.
Her bracelet struck the floor.
The same bracelet that had left marks on Elena.
Luca looked at it.
Then at Victoria.
She whispered, “I'm sorry.””
Everett laughed.
“You still don't understand.””
Luca turned.
“Understand what?””
Everett pointed toward the hidden wall.
“Your brother wasn't hiding from me.””
Luca froze.
“He was hiding from you.””
The room went silent.
Luca's phone buzzed.
A new message.
*DON'T BELIEVE HIM.*
The sender was Adrian.
Luca looked up.
Everett's eyes dropped to the phone.
For the first time, his expression changed.
Fear.
Only for a fraction of a second.
But Luca saw it.
Everett turned toward the stairs.
“Where are you going?””
Everett said nothing.
Luca followed.
At the top of the staircase, the mansion was still filled with dinner guests.
Everyone had heard the voices.
Everyone was staring.
Then the front doors opened.
A man walked inside.
Bloodless.
Exhausted.
Older than the photograph.
But alive.
Adrian.
Luca stopped breathing.
His brother looked directly at him.
Then at their father.
May you like
And whispered:
“Don't let him reach the study.””
