Chapter 12 - The Voice of a Dead Man|
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
The voice on the phone was older than the one Salvatore remembered from childhood, but the accent, the rhythm, and the faint rasp were unmistakable.
“Who is this?” Salvatore demanded.
A quiet laugh answered him.
“Still impatient. You always were.”
“Tell me your name.”
“You know my name.”
Salvatore gripped the phone so tightly his knuckles whitened.
“Vittorio Lombardi is dead.”
“Then someone should tell the man who buried him.”
Isabella covered her mouth.
I watched Salvatore's face. He had faced gunmen, rivals, and betrayals without flinching. Now he looked like a man watching the foundations of his life collapse.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“Somewhere you should have looked eight years ago.”
“Why did you order the harbor attack?”
“I didn't.”
“Your signature is on the document.”
“Someone forged it.”
“Who?”
The voice paused.
“Ask Carmine what he saw in the hospital that night. Ask him why he let you bury a woman who was still breathing. And ask him why your father died twice.”
The call ended.
Salvatore lowered the phone slowly.
“Rocco,” he said. “Find the origin.”
Rocco hurried out.
Isabella was trembling.
“He knows I'm alive,” she whispered. “He knows we found the document.”
“Who is he?” I asked.
She stared at Salvatore.
“Your father's identical twin.”
Salvatore looked at her as if she had spoken another language.
“My father had no brother.”
“He did. His name was Enzo. The family erased him after a dispute over the business. Everyone was told he died overseas.”
“Why would he want me dead?”
“Because your father chose you to inherit the empire. Enzo believed the business belonged to him.”
Salvatore paced the room.
“Then why use Carmine?”
“Because Carmine was desperate to prove himself. Enzo promised him control of the shipping operations if he helped remove you.”
“Did Carmine know who he was?”
“I don't know.”
Salvatore stopped.
“You said you saw the paperwork. You said my father was alive when the plan changed. Why didn't you tell me all of this years ago?”
“Because Enzo threatened my family. He said if I revealed the truth, he would kill you, Carmine, and anyone who helped me. Then the attack happened, and I thought you were dead.”
“You thought I was dead?”
“I heard the gunshots. I saw you fall. Carmine dragged me away before I could reach you. Later, he told me you'd survived but that you would kill me if I came back.”
Salvatore stared at his brother's name on the document.
“He told you I wanted you dead?”
“Yes.”
“And he told me you were dead.”
Isabella nodded.
Two lies, both designed to keep them separated.
I thought of my father, the missing red notebook, and the component hidden somewhere outside the Lombardi estate.
“Why did Dad help you?” I asked.
“Because he believed in doing the right thing, even when it was dangerous. He treated my injuries after I escaped. He gave me a place to hide and promised to keep the evidence safe.”
“Did he tell you where he hid it?”
“No. He said the fewer people who knew, the safer it would be.”
A heavy silence filled the room.
Salvatore looked toward the window.
“If Enzo is alive, he's been watching us for years.”
“Not just watching,” Isabella said. “He has people inside your companies. He can access your accounts, your security records, and your private communications.”
“Then we remove them.”
“No,” she said urgently. “That's what he wants. He wants you to attack the wrong people. He wants you to start a war inside your own organization so he can take everything while you're distracted.”
Salvatore turned to me.
“What do you think?”
I looked at the forged document.
“I think we need to find the original component, authenticate it, and give the evidence to people who can investigate the crime. If we act on anger, we may destroy the only chance we have to prove what happened.”
He nodded slowly.
For the first time, he wasn't simply listening to me as his dentist.
He was trusting me with the next decision.
Then Rocco returned.
“We traced the call to an abandoned warehouse near the harbor.”
Salvatore reached for his coat.
“And there's more,” Rocco added. “The warehouse is registered to a company owned by your father.”
May you like
He paused.
“It's been receiving payments every month for the last eight years.”
