Chapter 5: The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Gone
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
The house that had always felt like a place of safety suddenly felt unfamiliar.
My father.
The words echoed in my head.
Impossible.
My father had been dead for seven years.
I remembered the funeral.
The empty chair at the dining table.
The photograph everyone placed in the hallway.
The phone calls where relatives told me I had to be strong.
There was no way he could be standing outside my house.
I looked at Elena.
“You’re wrong.””
Her eyes filled with fear.
“I wish I was.””
A knock came from the front door.
Three slow knocks.
Not aggressive.
Not rushed.
Almost confident.
Like whoever was outside already knew they belonged there.
Lucy ran toward me.
“Daddy?””
I immediately lifted her into my arms.
“Stay with me.””
Bianca stood frozen near the stairs.
For the first time since I met her, she looked completely powerless.
“You knew,” I said.
Her eyes moved toward mine.
“I knew he was alive.””
The sentence hit harder than anything else.
I stared at her.
“What did you say?””
Bianca looked down.
“I didn’t know everything.””
“You knew my father was alive?””
“I found out later.””
My anger rose.
“Later?””
She swallowed.
“I was trying to get away from him.””
Elena stepped forward.
“Don’t pretend you’re the victim now.””
Bianca looked at her.
“You have no idea what he did.””
“And you still helped him.””
“No!””
Bianca’s voice cracked.
The sound surprised everyone.
“I thought I could control the situation.””
I almost laughed.
“You thought you could control my father?””
Before she answered, the front door opened.
Nobody touched it.
Nobody unlocked it.
The security system beeped once.
Then stopped.
A man stepped inside.
Older.
Gray hair.
Expensive black coat.
Calm expression.
But I knew that face.
I had seen it thousands of times growing up.
My father.
Vittorio Sr.
Lucy buried her face against my shoulder.
I couldn’t move.
He looked at me like we had seen each other yesterday.
“Hello, son.””
My voice barely came out.
“You’re alive.””
He smiled faintly.
“Yes.””
The simplicity of his answer made my anger explode.
“You let everyone believe you were dead.””
“I had reasons.””
“You abandoned your family.””
His expression hardened.
“You don’t know the truth.””
I stepped forward.
“No. I know enough.””
He looked around the room.
His eyes landed on Lucy.
Then Bianca.
Then Elena.
“You found the recordings.””
I froze.
“How do you know about the recordings?””
Nobody answered.
My father smiled.
That smile was the same one I remembered from childhood.
The smile of someone who always knew more than everyone else.
“Because I created the situation that made them necessary.””
My stomach dropped.
“What does that mean?””
He walked closer.
“Your life was becoming careless.””
I stared at him.
“Careless?””
“You trusted too easily. You gave people power over you.””
I looked at Lucy.
My daughter was shaking.
“And your solution was to test me?””
My father didn’t deny it.
That was worse.
“I needed to know who was loyal.””
The room went silent.
I looked at Bianca.
Then Marcus.
Then Elena.
“This was all a test?””
My father nodded.
“Everyone around you showed their true nature.””
My hands tightened.
“You used my daughter.””
His expression changed slightly.
“I protected your daughter.””
“No.””
My voice became colder.
“You watched her suffer.””
For the first time, my father looked away.
Just briefly.
But I saw it.
A weakness.
A regret.
Elena stepped beside me.
“Tell him everything.””
My father looked at her.
“You shouldn’t have come back.””
“I came back because Lucy needed someone to protect her.””
My father’s jaw tightened.
Then he reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small folder.
“I know what Bianca and Marcus planned.””
I didn’t take it.
“Why should I trust anything you say?””
“Because this contains the evidence.””
He placed it on the table.
“Bank transfers. Messages. Their entire arrangement.””
I stared at the folder.
Then at him.
“You had this the whole time?””
“Yes.””
“And you did nothing?””
His silence answered.
My chest tightened.
“You’re no different from them.””
That sentence finally affected him.
His face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Then my phone rang.
I looked down.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
“Vittorio.””
Everyone watched me.
“Who is this?””
A pause.
Then:
“You’re looking in the wrong direction.””
My blood went cold.
“What?””
The voice continued.
“Your father wasn’t the one who started this.””
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Then slowly looked around the room.
Because suddenly I realized something.
May you like
My father’s arrival hadn’t solved the mystery.
It had opened a bigger one.
