Chapter 11: The Voice From The Past
Chapter 11: The Voice From The Past
For twenty years, Leo Rossi believed one thing without question.
His father was dead.
Marco Rossi had died in a car accident.
That was the official story.
A tragic accident.
A closed chapter.
A painful memory.
But now…
A voice from the past was speaking through his phone.
“Dad?”
Leo’s grip tightened around the device.
Everyone in the room froze.
Mateo looked at him.
Beatrice covered her mouth.
Because they all heard the same thing.
A voice.
A voice that should not exist.
“Leo.”
The voice came again.
Older.
Rougher.
But unmistakable.
“You need to listen carefully.”
Leo could barely breathe.
“This isn’t possible.”
A quiet laugh came through the phone.
“You always were stubborn.”
His knees almost weakened.
Because that was exactly how his father used to speak to him.
“Where are you?”
Leo demanded.
A pause.
Then:
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does.”
“No.”
The voice became serious.
“What matters is that you stop looking for enemies outside your family.”
Leo looked around the room.
At Mateo.
At Beatrice.
At the files scattered across the table.
“Then who should I be looking at?”
Silence.
Then his father answered.
“Yourself.”
The call ended.
No explanation.
No location.
Nothing.
Just more questions.
Leo stared at the phone.
For the first time in years, he looked lost.
Not because he was afraid.
Because everything he believed about his life was changing.
Mateo broke the silence.
“Leo…”
He turned.
“Find out where that call came from.”
Mateo nodded.
Already moving.
Beatrice watched Leo carefully.
She had seen him angry.
She had seen him dangerous.
She had seen him terrified for Lily.
But this was different.
This was a man facing a ghost.
“Do you believe it was him?”
Leo didn’t answer immediately.
Then:
“Yes.”
The answer surprised her.
“Why?”
“Because nobody else knows how to make me feel like a child again.”
For a moment, the powerful crime boss disappeared.
And Beatrice saw the boy who lost his father.
The investigation into the call lasted hours.
Finally, Mateo returned.
“We traced it.”
Leo looked up.
“Where?”
Mateo hesitated.
“A private medical facility outside the city.”
Leo frowned.
“Medical facility?”
Mateo nodded.
“And there’s more.”
He placed another file down.
“The facility has been operating under a fake company name for twenty years.”
Leo opened the file.
The owner information was hidden.
But one name appeared.
Daniel Cross.
The same name.
Again.
The man connected to Beatrice’s past.
The man connected to his father.
The man connected to Isabella.
Leo looked at Beatrice.
“You knew him.”
She nodded slowly.
“He was my supervisor.”
“What was he like?”
She thought for a moment.
“Brilliant.”
A pause.
“Charming.”
Another pause.
“Dangerous.”
Leo studied her.
“Why?”
“Because he made everyone believe he was helping.”
She looked at the files.
“But he was always collecting something.”
“Information.”
“Secrets.”
“People’s weaknesses.”
They traveled to the facility before sunset.
The building was hidden deep in the countryside.
No signs.
No visitors.
No records.
Exactly the kind of place someone powerful would build.
Leo entered first.
Mateo followed.
Beatrice stayed close.
The hallway smelled old.
Like a place forgotten by time.
Then they heard it.
A voice.
“Leo.”
Everyone stopped.
A door opened.
And standing there…
Was Marco Rossi.
Older.
Weaker.
But alive.
For several seconds, Leo could not move.
His father looked exactly how he remembered.
Except older.
Tired.
Broken.
“You’re alive.”
Marco nodded.
“Yes.”
Leo stepped closer.
“Twenty years.”
His voice became colder.
“You let me believe you were dead for twenty years.”
Marco looked down.
“I had no choice.”
Leo laughed bitterly.
“No choice?”
“You abandoned your son.”
“I protected my son.”
The answer stopped him.
Marco walked slowly toward them.
“You think I disappeared because I wanted to?”
He shook his head.
“I disappeared because the person who wanted me dead was someone I trusted.”
Leo stared.
“Who?”
Marco looked at Beatrice.
Then at Mateo.
Then back at Leo.
“The same person who killed Isabella.”
Silence.
Leo’s heart stopped.
“Who?”
Marco’s expression became filled with regret.
“Your uncle.”
Antonio Rossi.
The name hit harder than any bullet.
Leo stepped back.
“No.”
Marco nodded.
“Yes.”
“My brother betrayed me.”
“Your uncle betrayed this family.”
Leo shook his head.
“He loved Isabella.”
Marco’s expression hardened.
“That’s what made him dangerous.”
Marco revealed the truth.
Years ago, Antonio believed the Rossi empire should have belonged to him.
He believed Leo’s father was weak.
He believed Leo was too young.
Too emotional.
Too inexperienced.
So Antonio built a secret network.
A hidden organization inside the Rossi empire.
The Falcon.
Leo listened silently.
The name finally had a face.
A purpose.
A history.
“But Isabella discovered everything,” Marco continued.
“She found the evidence.”
Leo looked at Beatrice.
“And Beatrice helped her.”
Marco nodded.
“She was the only person Isabella trusted.”
Beatrice lowered her eyes.
“She tried to save everyone.”
Marco looked at her.
“And she almost died trying.”
Then Marco revealed the final secret.
The reason Isabella never told Leo.
The reason she hid everything.
“She found proof that Antonio wasn’t working alone.”
Leo frowned.
“Who else?”
Marco looked at him.
“Someone closer.”
The room became silent.
“Someone inside this family.”
Leo felt cold.
“Who?”
Marco took a deep breath.
Then said:
“Your mother.”
Nobody moved.
Beatrice looked shocked.
Mateo looked confused.
And Leo…
Leo felt the entire world collapse.
Because his mother had been dead longer than his father.
Because the woman in the photograph…
The woman everyone thought was gone…
Was somehow connected to everything.
Before Leo could ask another question, the lights suddenly went out.
A gunshot echoed through the building.
Everyone dropped.
When the emergency lights returned…
Marco Rossi was gone.
And on the floor was a message written in red.
YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO FIND HIM.
Leo picked up the message.
His hands were shaking.
Not from fear.
From rage.
Because someone had spent twenty years controlling his life.
May you like
And now…
He was finally going to find out why.
