Chapter 8: The Uncle Who Was Never Dead
“Hello, niece.””
The voice was older than I remembered.
But the smile was the same.
Cold.
Controlled.
Certain.
I stood beneath the hotel canopy, unable to move.
The rain fell harder around us, but I barely noticed.
Because the man standing in front of me was impossible.
Victor Marchetti.
My mother’s older brother.
The man whose name appeared in family photographs.
The man everyone told me had died years before I was born.
The man whose existence had become nothing more than a story.
Except he was standing in front of me.
Alive.
Watching me.
Like he had been waiting for this exact moment.
My phone was still pressed against my ear.
“Desmond?””
No answer.
I looked at the screen.
The call had ended.
Of course it had.
Victor smiled slightly.
“Still relying on him?””
I stepped back.
“Who are you?””
The question sounded ridiculous.
I knew who he was.
But I needed to hear the answer.
Victor tilted his head.
“You know exactly who I am.””
“No.””
My voice hardened.
“I know who I was told you were.””
For the first time, his expression changed.
A flicker of amusement.
“Your mother always said you were intelligent.””
“Don’t talk about my mother.””
His smile disappeared.
“Fair enough.””
The hotel doors opened behind me.
People moved in and out, unaware that my entire world was collapsing in the space between the rain and the pavement.
I lowered my voice.
“How are you alive?””
Victor looked toward the street.
“Your mother was very good at protecting secrets.””
“Did she know you were alive?””
Silence.
That was the answer.
My heart tightened.
“No.””
Victor looked back at me.
“She knew.””
The words hit me.
“She knew?””
“Yes.””
“And she never told me?””
“She was trying to protect you.””
I almost laughed.
Everyone was using the same excuse.
Protect you.
Protect you.
Protect you.
As if hiding the truth was the same thing as love.
“You all keep saying that.””
Victor studied me.
“You sound like your mother.””
“I’ll take that as an insult.””
“It wasn’t.””
I stared at him.
“You’re the reason she was afraid.””
The rain seemed to become louder.
Victor didn’t deny it.
Interesting.
Most liars rushed to defend themselves.
He didn’t.
“What happened to her?””
His face became unreadable.
“You’re asking the wrong question.””
“What question should I ask?””
“Why did she trust the wrong people?””
My hands curled into fists.
“Who?””
He looked at me.
“You still don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
He stepped closer.
Not threatening.
Not aggressive.
Almost like he was speaking to a child.
That made it worse.
“Your mother built Corvina with one belief.””
“What belief?””
“That loyalty mattered.””
He smiled sadly.
“She was wrong.””
I felt anger rise.
“Don’t reduce her life to a mistake.””
“I’m not.””
His voice became sharper.
“I’m telling you she underestimated how far people would go for power.””
“People like you?””
A pause.
Then:
“Yes.””
The answer shocked me.
Victor looked past me at the hotel.
“Your mother and I wanted the same thing once.””
“What?””
“Control.””
I stared.
“There it is.””
He looked back at me.
“The truth?””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“The excuse.””
For the first time, he looked almost impressed.
“You really are her daughter.””
I hated that.
I hated the pride in his voice.
Like he had earned the right to know me.
“You disappeared.””
“Yes.””
“You let everyone believe you were dead.””
“Yes.””
“You let my mother carry that secret.””
“Yes.””
“And now you appear because I became majority owner?””
His silence was enough.
“You weren’t here for me.””
“No.””
The honesty surprised me.
“I was here because of Corvina.””
There it was.
The difference between him and Desmond.
Desmond lied because he wanted me to believe he loved me.
Victor didn’t pretend.
He wanted something.
And he was willing to admit it.
“What do you want?””
Victor looked at me.
“The company.””
I almost smiled.
“At least you’re honest.””
“I always have been.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You’ve just been honest about the things that benefit you.””
A small smile appeared.
“You have your mother’s temper too.””
“I don’t care what I have.””
My voice lowered.
“I care about what you did.””
Victor’s expression changed.
“What did you hear?””
“That you knew about the ownership agreement.””
His eyes narrowed.
“From who?””
“Does it matter?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because if Desmond told you, he’s finally choosing the right side.””
The words caught me off guard.
“Right side?””
Victor looked toward the hotel.
“Desmond was never supposed to be part of this.””
I froze.
“What does that mean?””
“He was supposed to help your mother.””
“He did.””
Victor looked at me.
“And then he married you.””
The accusation was clear.
I felt my stomach twist.
“You think he married me for the company.””
“I think he had a choice.””
I remembered Desmond’s face.
The guilt.
The fear.
The pain.
But I also remembered the lies.
The betrayal.
I didn’t know what to believe.
Victor reached into his coat.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He pulled out a small black notebook.
My breath caught.
Because I recognized it.
My mother’s handwriting.
Her journal.
“No.””
My voice barely came out.
Victor held it up.
“She kept records.””
“Where did you get that?””
“It was meant to be mine.””
“Give it to me.””
He smiled.
“Still giving orders.””
“It belongs to me.””
“Does it?””
The question angered me.
“Yes.””
“Then prove it.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
“Your mother created a system.””
My heart started racing.
“What system?””
“A test.””
“For who?””
“For you.””
I hated how familiar this sounded.
Another secret.
Another test.
Another person deciding I needed to earn my own life.
“She believed you would eventually discover the truth.””
Victor opened the notebook.
“But she didn’t want everyone to have access to it.””
“What did she hide?””
He looked at me.
“The answer to why you signed that agreement.””
My breathing stopped.
“You know?””
“Yes.””
“Then tell me.””
He closed the notebook.
“Not here.””
I almost laughed.
Again.
Not here.
“Where then?””
“A place where nobody can hear us.””
“No.””
Victor raised an eyebrow.
I stepped closer.
“I’m done following people into rooms where they control the conversation.””
For a moment, silence.
Then Victor smiled.
A real smile this time.
Not kind.
Respectful.
“You’ve changed.””
“I had to.””
“Good.””
He handed me the notebook.
I didn’t take it immediately.
“What’s the catch?””
“No catch.””
“Impossible.””
Victor looked at me.
“You’re learning.””
Finally, I took it.
The moment my fingers touched the cover, my phone vibrated.
A message.
From an unknown number.
I opened it.
*Don’t read the notebook.*
My heartbeat increased.
Another message appeared.
*Your mother didn’t hide it from you because she didn’t trust you. She hid it because she knew what it would make you become.*
I looked up.
Victor was watching me.
“You received something.””
I locked the screen.
“Why do you care?””
“Because I know who sent it.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Who?””
Victor looked toward the hotel entrance.
Then whispered:
“The same person who killed your mother.””
Everything stopped.
The rain.
The noise.
My thoughts.
“What?””
Victor’s face was serious now.
No games.
No manipulation.
Just warning.
“You think tonight was about Desmond.””
He shook his head.
“You think it was about ownership.””
Another shake.
“It wasn’t.””
My fingers tightened around the notebook.
“Then what was it about?””
Victor looked directly at me.
“It was about forcing you to open the door.””
“What door?””
“The one your mother spent years keeping closed.””
I looked down at the notebook.
At my mother’s handwriting.
At the secrets everyone wanted.
Then Victor said the words that made my blood run cold.
“Wren, your mother didn’t leave you Corvina.””
I looked up.
“She left you the evidence to destroy it.””
The hotel lights suddenly flickered.
And from inside the building, an alarm began to sound.
Victor turned toward the entrance.
His expression changed.
“They found us.””
“Who?””
He grabbed my arm.
Not violently.
Urgently.
“The people who have been waiting for you to remember.””
I pulled away.
“Remember what?””
Victor looked at me.
And whispered:
“The night you signed the agreement.””
My heart stopped.
Because I had always believed I forgot nothing about that night.
May you like
But now I wondered…
What if I did?
