Chapter 2: The Secret Behind the Second Recording
Vittorio stared at the message on Emma’s phone until the words stopped looking like words.
*“If Vittorio sees the second recording, he’ll know why Lucy was never supposed to inherit anything.””*
For several seconds, nobody breathed.
The breakfast room, once filled with the ordinary sounds of silverware and morning conversations, felt like a courtroom waiting for a verdict.
Vittorio slowly raised his eyes.
“Emma.””
The young maid looked terrified.
“Yes, sir?””
“Who sent this?””
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
Emma shook her head quickly.
“It came from a blocked number. I never replied. I was scared.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“That proves nothing.””
Vittorio turned toward him.
“Nothing?””
Marcus forced a laugh.
“You’re reading too much into a message from an unknown person. Someone is trying to create drama.””
Vittorio watched him carefully.
A person who was innocent would be confused.
A person who was guilty would be calculating.
Marcus was calculating.
“Why are you so desperate for me not to see what’s on that phone?”” Vittorio asked.
Marcus’s face hardened.
“I’m not.””
“You tried to take it.””
“I was trying to stop a misunderstanding.””
“You attacked the evidence.””
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
The word hung in the air.
Evidence.
Because everyone in that room knew what this was becoming.
Not a family argument.
Not a disagreement.
A betrayal.
Bianca suddenly walked toward Emma.
“You have been manipulating this family.””
Emma stepped back.
“I haven’t.””
“You secretly recorded private conversations.””
“Because nobody believed me.””
Bianca’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re a servant in this house. Don’t forget your place.””
The sentence made Vittorio’s expression change.
He had heard Bianca say many cruel things that morning.
But that one revealed something deeper.
She didn’t see Emma as a person.
She saw her as someone beneath her.
“Her place?”” Vittorio repeated.
Bianca looked at him.
“Yes.””
Vittorio nodded slowly.
“I see.””
That frightened Bianca more than anger would have.
Because Vittorio’s anger was familiar.
His silence was not.
He was a businessman who had built a global empire by waiting until he had every piece of information before making a move.
And now he was collecting pieces.
“Emma,” he said, “where is the second recording?””
The young woman looked down.
“I don’t have it.””
“Why?””
“Because I sent it somewhere safe.””
Marcus immediately looked alarmed.
“Where?””
Emma looked at him.
“I’m not telling you.””
Vittorio noticed the fear in her eyes.
Not fear of him.
Fear of Marcus.
He stepped closer.
“Emma, listen to me. You protected my daughter when nobody else did. But now I need the truth.””
Emma swallowed.
“I sent it to my sister.””
“Your sister?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I thought something might happen to me.””
The room went silent again.
Lucy looked up at her father.
“Daddy… is Emma in trouble?””
Vittorio looked at his daughter.
He hated that she was asking that question.
A six-year-old child should worry about cartoons, school, and birthday cakes.
Not whether adults around her were safe.
“No,” he said softly.
Then he looked at everyone else.
“Because I’m going to make sure she isn’t.””
Bianca scoffed.
“You’re acting like we’re criminals.””
Vittorio looked at her.
“I haven’t accused anyone.””
“But you’re thinking it.””
“Yes.””
Her confidence cracked.
“Vittorio.””
“No.””
He interrupted her.
“You don’t get to say my name like everything is normal.””
The words struck harder than shouting.
Bianca stepped back.
For years, she had known exactly how to control him.
She knew when to apologize.
When to cry.
When to act hurt.
But this time, none of it worked.
Because the one thing she had underestimated was simple.
A father’s love.
Vittorio looked down at Lucy.
“Sweetheart, I need to ask you something.””
Lucy nodded.
“Okay.””
“Has Bianca ever done this before?””
The little girl became very still.
Her fingers tightened around his shirt.
That small movement told him everything.
“Lucy.””
“I don’t want her to be mad.””
Vittorio closed his eyes for a moment.
The sentence cut deeper than any insult.
“She won’t hurt you.””
Lucy looked at him.
“But she said you would leave if I made trouble.””
Vittorio felt his heart break.
“I would never leave you.””
“You promise?””
“I promise.””
Lucy hesitated.
Then she whispered:
“She made me sit there before.””
Everyone looked toward the bowl.
“How many times?””
Lucy looked down.
“I don’t know.””
Bianca immediately spoke.
“She’s exaggerating.””
Vittorio didn’t even look at her.
“How many times, Lucy?””
The child’s voice became smaller.
“Lots.””
A heavy silence followed.
Then Lucy added:
“Sometimes Marcus was there.””
Vittorio slowly turned.
Marcus’s face lost its color.
“What did you say?””
Lucy pointed toward him.
“He laughed.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No.””
“He laughed when I cried.””
“Lucy, that’s not true.””
Vittorio’s voice exploded.
“Do not call my daughter a liar.””
The entire room shook with the force of it.
Marcus stopped.
He had seen Vittorio angry before.
But never like this.
Never when the target was his child.
A phone rang.
Everyone looked toward the sound.
It was Vittorio’s phone.
He checked the screen.
The caller ID made him freeze.
*Alessandro Romano.*
His father.
A man who had not spoken to him in months.
Vittorio answered.
“Father.””
The old man’s voice came through immediately.
“Vittorio, where are you?””
“At home.””
A pause.
“Is Lucy with you?””
Vittorio frowned.
“Yes.””
Another pause.
Then his father said something that made the room disappear around him.
“Take her and leave the house.””
Vittorio stood completely still.
“Why?””
“Because if what I suspect is true, Bianca is not the only person you need to worry about.””
Vittorio looked at Bianca.
She was watching him.
Listening.
“What are you talking about?””
His father lowered his voice.
“The inheritance documents.””
Vittorio’s grip tightened around the phone.
“What about them?””
“I found changes in the trust.””
The air left his lungs.
“What changes?””
“Your daughter’s name was removed.””
Vittorio looked at Lucy.
Then at Bianca.
“No.””
“I’m afraid so.””
“Who authorized it?””
His father didn’t answer immediately.
That silence was worse than any answer.
“Father.””
Finally, Alessandro spoke.
“The signature belongs to someone inside your house.””
Vittorio felt cold.
“Whose signature?””
The old man exhaled.
“Yours.””
The room spun.
“That’s impossible.””
“I know.””
“Someone forged my signature?””
“Yes.””
Vittorio looked around the breakfast room.
At Bianca.
At Marcus.
At the people who had been standing closest to his family.
Then Alessandro added:
“Vittorio, there’s something else.””
“What?””
“The second recording Emma mentioned.””
Vittorio’s eyes narrowed.
“How do you know about that?””
“Because I have been investigating Bianca for weeks.””
Nobody moved.
“What?””
“Listen carefully. Do not confront her yet.””
Vittorio almost laughed.
“Father, she humiliated my daughter.””
“I know.””
“She hurt Lucy.””
“I know.””
“Then tell me why I shouldn’t confront her.””
Alessandro’s voice became serious.
“Because Bianca is not acting alone.””
Vittorio looked toward Marcus.
His half-brother immediately looked away.
“Who is she working with?””
A long pause.
Then his father answered.
“Someone who has been trying to destroy the Romano family for years.””
The call ended.
Vittorio lowered the phone slowly.
Bianca watched him.
“You’re really going to believe your father over your wife?””
Vittorio didn’t respond.
Because something had changed.
A few minutes ago, he thought he was dealing with cruelty.
Now he understood.
The dog bowl was not the beginning.
It was a symptom.
Someone had been moving pieces around his family.
Someone had been hiding behind smiles, luxury, and loyalty.
Vittorio walked to the center of the room.
Then he placed the dog bowl on the table.
Right in front of Bianca.
Her face turned pale.
“What are you doing?””
He looked at her calmly.
“Waiting.””
“For what?””
“For the truth.””
Bianca stared at him.
Vittorio leaned closer.
“Because breakfast was the only thing you controlled in this house.””
Her breathing changed.
“And now?””
“Now you control nothing.””
For the first time, Bianca looked genuinely afraid.
Then the front doors of the mansion suddenly opened.
A servant rushed inside holding an envelope.
“Mr. Romano…”
Vittorio turned.
“What is it?””
The servant’s hands shook.
“This was delivered for you.””
Vittorio took the envelope.
There was no name.
No return address.
Only three words written across the front.
*FOR LUCY ROMANO.*
He opened it slowly.
Inside was a photograph.
A photograph of Lucy.
Taken inside the house.
While she was standing beside the dog bowl.
May you like
But on the back of the photograph was a message that made Vittorio’s blood run cold.
*“Ask your wife why she was never supposed to be Lucy’s mother.””*
