Damien stood frozen.
The phone was still in his hand.
Marco.
His brother was alive.
After three years of believing he was dead, Damien had heard his voice again.
Elena watched him carefully.
“Damien…”
He didn’t respond.
“Are you okay?”
His eyes slowly lifted toward hers.
“No.”
It was the first time Elena had heard him admit it.
Luca stepped closer.
“Boss, if Marco is alive, we need to find out where he’s been hiding.”
Damien looked at him.
“Get every file we have on the ambush.”
“Every file?”
“Every single one.”
Luca nodded and walked away.
Elena remained beside Damien.
“What happened that night?”
Damien looked at the floor.
“Marco was supposed to meet me at the old warehouse.”
“And?”
“He never came.”
“You found his body?”
“No.”
Elena frowned.
“Then why did you believe he was dead?”
“Because Isabella told us she watched him die.”
Elena’s eyes widened.
“Isabella?”
Damien nodded.
“She said she saw Marco get shot.”
“Then she lied.”
“Apparently.”
Damien walked toward the window.
His mind was racing.
If Marco was alive, everything he had believed for three years could have been a lie.
The betrayal.
The ambush.
Isabella’s disappearance.
Even Marco’s death.
None of it made sense anymore.
Suddenly, Luca returned carrying a thick folder.
“I found something.”
Damien turned.
“What?”
Luca opened the folder.
“There was one report we never investigated.”
He placed it on the table.
“Three years ago, an unidentified man was taken to a private clinic after being found near the river.”
“Why wasn’t this investigated?”
“Because the man disappeared before anyone could identify him.”
Damien read the next page.
His eyes narrowed.
“What clinic?”
Luca gave him the name.
Damien immediately recognized it.
“The Saint Raphael Clinic.”
Elena looked at him.
“You know it?”
“My father owned it.”
Silence filled the room.
Damien turned another page.
There was a photograph attached to the report.
The picture was blurry.
But the face was unmistakable.
Marco.
Elena covered her mouth.
“He survived.”
Damien stared at the photograph.
“Yes.”
Then he noticed something written at the bottom of the report.
A handwritten note.
Patient transferred to Room 17.
Damien’s eyes hardened.
“When was this report filed?”
“Three years ago.”
“And who signed it?”
Luca looked at the bottom.
His expression changed.
“Isabella.”
Damien slowly closed the folder.
“So she knew.”
Elena stepped closer.
“She knew Marco was alive all along.”
Damien nodded.
“And she allowed us to believe he was dead.”
His hands tightened into fists.
“But why?”
Before anyone could answer, a phone on the table began ringing.
Everyone froze.
It wasn’t Damien’s phone.
It was an old phone found inside Isabella’s car.
Luca looked at Damien.
“Should I answer?”
Damien nodded.
Luca picked it up.
“Hello?”
A man’s voice came through.
Luca handed it to him.
Damien pressed the phone to his ear.
“Marco.”
A quiet laugh followed.
“You’ve finally started asking the right questions.”
“Where are you?”
“You’ll find me soon enough.”
“What do you want?”
A pause.
Then Marco’s voice became colder.
“I want the truth.”
Damien’s eyes narrowed.
“About what?”
“About the night our family was betrayed.”
The call ended.
Elena looked at Damien.
“What did he mean?”
Damien stared at the dead phone.
“I don’t know.”
Then Luca noticed something outside the window.
“Boss.”
Damien turned.
A black car was parked across the street.
Its headlights switched on.
Then the car drove away.
Damien immediately grabbed his jacket.
“Luca, follow it.”
Luca nodded.
Damien turned to Elena.
“You’re staying here.”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
“Elena—”
“I’m coming with you.”
Damien stared at her.
“This isn’t safe.”
“Neither is staying behind.”
For a moment, Damien said nothing.
Then he nodded.
“Fine.”
He took her hand.
“But you stay beside me.”
Elena nodded.
As they walked toward the door, neither of them noticed the small camera hidden across the street.
Someone was watching them.
And behind the camera, a man smiled.
“Good.”
He lowered the device.
“Bring Elena with you.”
Then he made a call.
“It’s time.”
TO BE CONTINUED…