The Message from the Dead

The message was waiting for me on Enzo’s desk.

A single photograph.

My mother’s old residence stood in the background, its windows shattered and its front door hanging open. Someone had broken into the abandoned property and searched every room.

But it was the writing on the back of the photograph that made my blood run cold.

THE DEAD SHOULD STAY DEAD.

I stared at the words.

“Who sent this?”

Enzo stood behind his desk, his expression unreadable.

“We’re trying to find out.”

“Someone knows I’m here.”

“Yes.”

“And they know about my mother.”

“That’s becoming increasingly obvious.”

I placed the photograph down.

“Then why are we sitting here? We should be finding them!”

Enzo studied me for a moment.

“Running into a trap won’t help you.”

“I’m tired of everyone deciding what I can and cannot handle.”

“I understand.”

“No, you don’t.” My voice rose. “You know what it’s like to have your entire life turned upside down? To discover that the person who raised you kept secrets from you? To find out that your husband might have been part of something you never understood?”

Enzo remained silent.

I regretted the last words as soon as they left my mouth.

He moved around the desk.

“Adrian may have known more than he told you. That doesn’t mean we have proof he was involved.”

I folded my arms.

“You’re defending him?”

“I’m telling you not to confuse suspicion with evidence.”

Before I could reply, Victor entered.

“Boss, the security team has finished examining the photograph.”

Enzo turned.

“What did they find?”

Victor placed a small plastic evidence bag on the desk. Inside was a silver button.

“One of the guards found this near the entrance of the old Valenti residence. It appears to have fallen from someone’s jacket.”

Enzo examined it.

A small black symbol had been engraved into the surface.

A serpent wrapped around a crown.

I recognized it.

“That’s the same symbol on my mother’s ring.”

Both men looked at me.

I pulled the chain from beneath my shirt and showed them the ring.

The serpent curled around the dark blue stone, its tail meeting its mouth. But beneath the design was a tiny crown I had never noticed before.

Victor leaned closer.

“That’s not a coincidence.”

Enzo’s expression hardened.

“No. It isn’t.”

An hour later, I was sitting in Enzo’s private study while Victor arranged photographs and documents across the desk.

“That symbol belonged to the Valenti family,” Victor explained. “It was used on official correspondence and personal seals.”

I picked up the silver button.

“Then the person who broke into my mother’s house might be connected to her family.”

“Or someone deliberately wants us to believe that,” Enzo replied.

I looked at him.

“You always think everyone is lying.”

“That’s why I’m still alive.”

Despite everything, I almost smiled.

Victor placed another photograph in front of me.

It showed a large building surrounded by trees. The photograph was old, and parts of it had faded.

“This was the Valenti estate before the family collapsed,” he said. “Most of the property was destroyed or seized after the massacre.”

“Where is it?”

“Outside Milan.”

I looked at Enzo.

“Can we go there?”

“Not yet.”

“Why?”

“Because whoever sent that message may be waiting for you to make exactly that decision.”

I hated how reasonable he sounded.

“Then what do we do?”

Enzo closed the folder.

“We find out who is searching for you before we give them another opportunity.”

⸻

Across the city, Adrian Vescari stood beside his office window.

Damian sat on the leather sofa, scrolling through his phone.

“You look troubled,” Damian remarked.

Adrian ignored him.

“Did you arrange the meeting?”

“Yes. Everything is being handled.”

Adrian turned.

“I want to know why someone accessed the old Valenti records.”

Damian’s expression barely changed.

“Perhaps Moretti is digging into his new acquisition.”

“Don’t call Luca that.”

Damian raised an eyebrow.

“Interesting. Yesterday, you had no problem treating him like property.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

“Watch your mouth.”

Damian stood and approached him.

“You’re the one who signed the agreement, Adrian. You gave Luca to Enzo. Whatever happens now is between them.”

Adrian looked away.

He couldn’t explain why the image of Luca standing beside Enzo had bothered him so much.

He had expected Luca to cry. He had expected him to beg.

Instead, Luca had looked him in the eyes and refused to return.

For the first time in three years, Adrian had been unable to predict his husband’s next move.

“Did you find anything about Isabella Valenti?” he asked.

Damian’s smile faded for a fraction of a second.

“Why are you asking?”

“Because Luca’s mother left something behind, and Moretti seems interested.”

“Let it go.”

Adrian slowly turned towards him.

“That’s not an answer.”

Damian recovered quickly.

“You’re exhausted. You should rest.”

Adrian studied him, sensing that something was wrong.

But before he could question him further, his phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number.

He answered.

“Vescari.”

A distorted voice spoke.

“Your former husband is asking questions about his mother.”

Adrian straightened.

“Who is this?”

“Someone who knows what happened to the Valentis.”

The call ended.

Adrian stared at his phone.

Damian watched him carefully.

“Who was that?”

Adrian slipped the phone into his pocket.

“Nobody.”

But he was already reaching for his jacket.

Back at the Moretti estate, I stood on the balcony, looking at the city lights.

My phone had been silent all day.

No messages from friends. No calls from Adrian.

I should have been relieved.

Instead, I felt strangely empty.

A soft knock came from behind me.

Enzo stepped onto the balcony.

“You’re thinking about him.”

I didn’t turn.

“Is that supposed to be a question?”

“No.”

I sighed.

“I spent three years loving someone who barely noticed me. I suppose it’s difficult to switch that feeling off in one day.”

Enzo rested his hands on the balcony railing.

“Feelings don’t disappear simply because someone disappoints you.”

I looked at him.

“Have you ever loved someone?”

For a moment, something unreadable crossed his face.

“Once.”

“What happened?”

He looked towards the distant skyline.

“I learned that love can make a man careless.”

I wanted to ask more, but he stepped away.

“Get some rest. Tomorrow, we’ll examine your mother’s belongings properly.”

He was almost at the door when I remembered something.

“Enzo?”

He turned.

“Thank you.”

He nodded once.

“Don’t thank me yet, Luca. We haven’t discovered the worst of it.”

He left.

I returned to my bedroom and placed the silver ring on the bedside table.

Then I noticed something I had overlooked earlier.

There was a tiny opening beneath the blue stone.

I pressed it gently.

A small compartment clicked open.

Inside was a folded piece of paper, no bigger than my fingernail.

I unfolded it carefully.

Three words were written in my mother’s handwriting.

TRUST NO VESCARI.

My fingers went numb.

And suddenly, I wondered whether Adrian had known exactly who he was marrying all along.