Chapter 4: The Disappearance
Chapter 4: The Disappearance
The first thing Leo Rossi noticed was the silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
Not the silence of a sleeping house.
The dangerous kind.
The kind that told him something was wrong before anyone said a word.
Leo stood in the center of the Rossi mansion’s main hallway, staring at the empty space near the staircase.
Beatrice’s usual place.
Every morning, she walked through that hallway carrying a tray of coffee or helping Lily choose what book to read.
She moved quietly.
Almost invisibly.
But now the mansion felt different without her.
Empty.
“Where is she?” Leo asked.
The staff exchanged nervous looks.
Nobody answered.
That was enough.
Leo turned toward Mateo.
“Find her.”
Mateo was already reaching for his phone.
“I’m on it.”
Ten minutes earlier, Beatrice had left the mansion alone.
No goodbye.
No explanation.
No note.
Only a message on Leo’s desk.
Three words.
I’m sorry, Leo.
That was it.
No reason.
No location.
Nothing.
But Leo knew Beatrice well enough now to understand one thing.
She wasn’t running away because she was afraid.
She was running because she was protecting someone.
And that scared him more.
Beatrice sat in the back of an old taxi, watching the Rossi mansion disappear behind her.
Her hands trembled.
Not because she regretted leaving.
Because she knew what would happen next.
They would come for her.
And this time, they would not stop.
She looked down at the small envelope in her hands.
Inside was everything she had spent seven years hiding.
Documents.
Photographs.
Evidence.
The truth.
A truth that could destroy powerful people.
Including some people Leo Rossi trusted.
She closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Lily.”
Her voice cracked.
“I’m sorry, sweet girl.”
The little girl’s smile appeared in her mind.
The way Lily reached for her hand.
The way she called her “Bee.”
The way she made Beatrice feel like she belonged somewhere.
That was the hardest part.
Leaving Lily felt like tearing away a piece of herself.
But if Beatrice stayed…
Lily would become a target.
When Leo read the note again, something inside him changed.
Mateo noticed immediately.
“You’re blaming yourself.”
Leo said nothing.
“You think if you had protected her better, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Still nothing.
Mateo sighed.
“Leo.”
The older man looked at him.
“You know what happens when people around you become important.”
Mateo was careful with his words.
“They become weapons your enemies can use against you.”
Leo looked toward the empty hallway.
“I know.”
“Then you know why she left.”
“Yes.”
Leo’s voice became colder.
“She left because she thinks she’s protecting us.”
He picked up his coat.
“And she’s wrong.”
The search for Beatrice began.
Not the kind of search the police would conduct.
The kind only Leo Rossi could launch.
Every camera in the city.
Every contact.
Every person who owed him a favor.
Within hours, Mateo had a location.
“She took a taxi from the east side.”
Leo looked up.
“Where?”
“An old neighborhood near the river.”
Mateo hesitated.
“She went to the same area where the building collapse happened seven years ago.”
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
“The place where she found the girl.”
Mateo nodded.
“She’s going back to where this started.”
The abandoned building looked nothing like the place Beatrice remembered.
Seven years had passed.
The walls were covered in graffiti.
The windows were broken.
The entire area looked forgotten.
But Beatrice remembered everything.
The screams.
The dust.
The fear.
The little girl crying beneath the fallen concrete.
She walked inside slowly.
Every step brought back memories.
“You shouldn’t have come back.”
The voice behind her made her freeze.
Beatrice turned.
A man stood in the doorway.
Dark jacket.
Cold eyes.
The same man from the photograph.
The man who had been watching her.
“You.”
He smiled.
“I was wondering when you would finally stop running.”
Beatrice stepped back.
“Who are you?”
The man laughed softly.
“You still don’t remember me?”
“No.”
“That’s disappointing.”
He walked closer.
“You ruined everything.”
Beatrice’s expression hardened.
“I saved people.”
“You exposed things that were never supposed to be exposed.”
He looked around the abandoned building.
“Do you know how many powerful people lost everything because of you?”
“I don’t care.”
The man smiled.
“That’s why you were dangerous.”
Before he could reach her, another voice interrupted.
“Step away from her.”
The man stopped.
Beatrice turned.
Leo Rossi stood at the entrance.
Behind him was Mateo.
For a moment, Beatrice forgot how to breathe.
“Leo…”
His expression was not angry.
That surprised her.
It was hurt.
“You left.”
She looked down.
“I had to.”
“No.”
He walked closer.
“You convinced yourself you had to.”
Beatrice shook her head.
“You don’t understand.”
“You’re right.”
Leo stopped in front of her.
“I don’t understand why someone who saved my daughter thinks she has to disappear.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because everyone I care about gets hurt.”
Leo looked at her.
“Then let me decide if I’m willing to take that risk.”
The mysterious man watched them.
Then he smiled.
“You really don’t know, do you?”
Leo turned.
“Know what?”
The man laughed.
“Why she was chosen.”
Beatrice’s face changed.
“Don’t.”
Leo looked at her.
“Chosen for what?”
The man took a step back.
“Ask her.”
Then he pressed a button.
The abandoned building exploded with a loud crash.
Dust filled the room.
Leo grabbed Beatrice and pulled her behind a concrete wall.
Mateo tackled the man before he could escape.
When the smoke cleared…
The man was gone.
Only one thing remained.
A small black envelope on the floor.
Leo picked it up.
Inside was a single photograph.
A photograph of Beatrice.
Standing beside Leo’s late wife, Isabella.
Seven years earlier.
On the back of the photograph were six words:
SHE KNEW THE TRUTH TOO.
Beatrice stared at the photograph.
Her face turned pale.
Leo looked at her.
“Why were you with my wife?”
For the first time since he met her…
Beatrice looked truly afraid.
Because there was a secret she had never told anyone.
Not even Lily.
Not even herself.
May you like
A secret involving Isabella Rossi.
And the night she died.
