Chapter 8 - THE BETRAYAL INSIDE THE SECURITY OFFICE
For eleven months, Luca had been the man everyone trusted.
He controlled the cameras.
The gates.
The security codes.
And the schedules of every employee entering the mansion.
Now Gabriel was accusing someone of using Luca's credentials to poison me.
Matteo turned slowly toward his security chief.
“Luca.”
Luca's expression was stunned.
“Boss, I didn't authorize anything.”
Gabriel held up a document.
“The electronic records say otherwise.”
Luca shook his head.
“Then someone used my credentials.”
Matteo studied him.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Matteo said something unexpected.
“We verify the evidence before accusing anyone.”
I looked at him.
He'd changed since the night he found the capsules.
The man everyone feared was choosing caution instead of anger.
Luca nodded.
“Thank you.”
Investigators examined the security system.
They discovered that Luca's credentials had been accessed remotely.
The login came from a private office on the estate.
An office belonging to Matteo's uncle.
Antonio Marino.
My stomach tightened.
“Your uncle?”
Matteo's expression darkened.
“He's managed the family's investments for twenty years.”
Gabriel looked furious.
“He also signed the documents that transferred me out of the Parker household.”
I stared at him.
“Antonio?”
Gabriel nodded.
“He's been involved from the beginning.”
Matteo stepped toward the window.
For a moment, he looked exhausted.
“How many people in my family have been lying to me?”
I didn't know what to say.
Then Gabriel approached me.
“Naomi, there's something I need to tell you.”
I turned.
“What?”
“Your father asked me to watch over you because someone discovered he'd been sending letters.”
My heart tightened.
“So the letters were real?”
Gabriel nodded.
“All twenty-three.”
I began crying.
“He's been trying to reach me?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Gabriel looked ashamed.
“I was afraid I'd put you in danger.”
I wiped my eyes.
“But I was already in danger.”
He nodded.
“I know. I'm sorry.”
Then Luca's phone rang.
Investigators had located Antonio Marino's private office.
Inside were financial records, copies of my father's letters, and a list of people who had been monitored for years.
My name appeared near the top.
Beside it was a handwritten instruction.
Increase dosage if memory returns.
My stomach turned.
Then Matteo saw another name.
His mother's.
Isabella Marino.
Beside her name was a date.
Eleven years earlier.
May you like
And one sentence.
“Patient transferred alive.”
