Chapter 6: The Enemy In The House
The footsteps above them were slow.
Calm.
Confident.
The footsteps of someone who knew nobody would dare stop him.
Enzo’s expression changed completely.
The controlled mask disappeared.
For the first time, Adeline saw something close to hatred.
“Stay here,” he said.
She grabbed his arm.
“No.””
His eyes moved to her hand.
“Adeline.””
“I’m tired of everyone telling me where I can stand.””
The words surprised him.
Good.
She was tired of being treated like a piece on someone else’s chessboard.
Julian stepped beside them.
“Listen to him.””
Adeline looked at her father.
“You too?””
“Yes.””
His voice softened.
“Because I already lost you once.””
The figure finally appeared at the top of the stairs.
Matteo Marchetti.
Older than Enzo.
Similar features.
Same dangerous eyes.
But where Enzo carried silence, Matteo carried arrogance.
He smiled.
“What a beautiful reunion.””
Enzo stared.
“You’re supposed to be dead.””
Matteo laughed.
“People say that when they wish something was true.””
Adeline looked at Enzo.
“Who is he?””
Enzo didn’t take his eyes off the man.
“My uncle.””
Matteo descended the stairs.
“The favorite son who betrayed his own family.””
“No,” Matteo said.
“I was the son who understood reality.””
Julian stepped forward.
“You destroyed everything.””
Matteo looked amused.
“And you ran.””
The accusation hit.
Julian said nothing.
Matteo smiled.
“That’s the difference between us.””
He looked at Adeline.
“I accepted what I was.””
Adeline felt a chill.
“You know me.””
“I knew you before you knew yourself.””
She hated those words.
Everyone kept saying them.
Everyone knew her.
Except her.
“Why?””
Matteo tilted his head.
“Because your mother discovered something she should never have discovered.””
“What?””
He smiled.
“That’s the question, isn’t it?””
Enzo moved forward.
“You came here for the documents.””
“Of course.””
“You knew they were hidden.””
“I knew everything your father tried to bury.””
Adeline looked between them.
“Stop talking like I’m not here.””
Nobody moved.
She stepped forward.
“I want the truth.””
Matteo smiled.
“There she is.””
Enzo’s voice turned cold.
“Don’t.””
But Matteo continued.
“Your mother wasn’t killed because of an accident.””
Adeline froze.
Julian looked down.
“You said she disappeared.””
Matteo nodded.
“Because she did.””
“What happened?””
Matteo walked closer.
“Your mother discovered that the Marchetti empire was built on more than money.””
Enzo’s face hardened.
“Enough.””
“No.””
Matteo looked at Adeline.
“She discovered someone inside the family was selling information to enemies.””
Adeline frowned.
“What does that have to do with me?””
Matteo’s smile disappeared.
“Everything.””
The room became silent.
“Your mother hid evidence.””
“Where?””
Matteo looked directly at her.
“Inside you.””
Adeline felt the air leave her lungs.
“That’s impossible.””
“Is it?””
He stepped closer.
“You were six years old. You remember more than you think.””
A memory flashed.
A woman kneeling.
A necklace.
A hidden compartment.
A sentence.
Never let them find this.
Adeline touched her throat.
Her necklace.
The one thing she had always owned.
The one thing she had never removed.
Julian noticed.
His face changed.
“No.””
“What?””
Julian reached toward the necklace.
“Where did you get that?””
Adeline stepped back.
“My mother gave it to me.””
Julian looked devastated.
“Your mother never gave that to you.””
The silence was deafening.
“Then who did?””
Nobody answered.
Matteo smiled.
“Now you understand.””
Enzo suddenly moved.
Fast.
He grabbed Matteo by the collar.
“You knew.””
Matteo didn’t resist.
“I suspected.””
“You let her walk into this house.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Matteo looked at Adeline.
“Because I wanted to see if the key still existed.””
Adeline touched the necklace.
Her voice shook.
“I’m not a key.””
“No.””
Matteo smiled.
“You’re the door.””
Before anyone could react, the lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the house.
A gunshot exploded.
Adeline screamed.
When the emergency lights flickered back on, Matteo was gone.
And Enzo was on the floor.
Blood spreading across his shirt.
“Enzo!””
Adeline dropped beside him.
His eyes opened.
Barely.
“Don’t…”
His voice was weak.
“Don’t let them take the necklace.””
She looked at him.
“Why?””
His hand closed around hers.
Because for the first time, Enzo Marchetti looked afraid.
“Because your mother didn’t hide the evidence inside the necklace.””
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A pause.
“She hid it inside you.””
