Chapter 12: The Truth Anthony Took to the Grave
The sound of the gunshot followed Ricardo for the rest of his life.
Not because of the violence.
Because of the silence afterward.
Anthony collapsed.
Dante rushed forward.
Ricardo stood frozen.
His brother.
The man he grew up with.
The man who had betrayed him.
The man who had protected him.
All at once.
“Call an ambulance!”” Dante shouted.
Ricardo didn’t move.
He stared at Anthony.
“Why?””
Anthony struggled to breathe.
“Because…”
Blood stained his shirt.
“Because I was too weak to tell you the truth.””
Ricardo dropped beside him.
“Tell me now.””
Anthony looked at him.
“The person who ordered the accident…”
He coughed.
“It was never me.””
Ricardo grabbed his shoulder.
“Who?””
Anthony’s eyes moved toward the ceiling.
Like he was remembering something painful.
“Your father.””
The words felt impossible.
Again.
Ricardo shook his head.
“No.””
Anthony laughed weakly.
“That’s what I said.””
Dante looked away.
The ambulance sirens grew closer.
Anthony continued.
“Carlo found out Isabella had a daughter.””
Ricardo looked at Clara’s photo in his hand.
“He wanted Clara?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Anthony closed his eyes.
“Because Mateo had something Carlo wanted.””
“What?””
Anthony struggled.
“The accounts.””
Ricardo frowned.
“What accounts?””
“The money your father stole from his partners.””
Dante’s expression changed.
“Offshore accounts.””
Anthony nodded.
“Mateo knew where they were.””
Ricardo understood.
His father didn’t want Clara.
He wanted leverage.
“She was a hostage.””
Anthony nodded.
“And Isabella found out.””
Ricardo felt anger rise.
“What happened the night of the accident?””
Anthony looked at him.
“Your father ordered someone to scare Isabella.””
“Scare?””
“It was supposed to be a warning.””
Anthony’s voice broke.
“But things went wrong.””
Ricardo closed his eyes.
The image of Isabella in the hospital returned.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Anthony looked ashamed.
“Because Carlo threatened Leo.””
Ricardo froze.
“He said if I spoke…”
Anthony swallowed.
“He would make sure your son disappeared.””
The ambulance arrived.
Doctors rushed in.
Before they carried Anthony away, he grabbed Ricardo’s wrist.
“Your father left something behind.””
Ricardo looked at him.
“What?””
Anthony whispered:
“His journal.””
Then he lost consciousness.
Two hours later, Anthony was gone.
Ricardo sat alone in the hospital hallway.
Dante approached.
“We found the journal.””
Ricardo looked up.
“Where?””
“In Carlo’s old office.””
Ricardo stood.
“Open it.””
Dante hesitated.
“Boss…”
“What?””
“There’s something else.””
Ricardo waited.
Dante placed another photograph on the table.
It showed Carlo.
Standing beside a woman.
A woman Ricardo didn’t recognize.
But Clara did.
She had followed them to the hospital.
When she saw the picture, she stopped breathing.
“That’s her.””
Ricardo looked at her.
“Who?””
Clara pointed at the woman.
“The woman who called you.””
Everyone went silent.
The woman who claimed to help Isabella.
The woman who knew the secret.
Evelyn Carter.
Dante looked confused.
“But she said she protected Isabella.””
Clara shook her head slowly.
“No.””
Her voice trembled.
“My grandmother told me about her.””
Ricardo stepped closer.
“What did she say?””
Clara looked at the picture.
“She said Evelyn wasn’t Isabella’s protector.””
A pause.
“She was the person Isabella was running from.””
Ricardo stared.
The final piece shifted into place.
The woman who claimed to know the truth.
The woman who brought them closer to Isabella.
The woman who knew every secret.
Had been hiding one of her own.
Then Ricardo’s phone rang.
A message.
From Evelyn.
*You know too much now.*
A second message arrived.
A photograph.
Isabella.
Alive.
But this time, she wasn’t alone.
She was standing beside someone Ricardo never expected to see.
May you like
Someone who should have been dead.
Mateo Bennett.
