Chapter 5 - The Master Returns
The next morning, the mansion was thrown into chaos.
Mr. Marco Moretti was coming home early from Tokyo.
The staff worked in a frantic, terrifying frenzy.
Floors were polished twice.
Gourmet meals were prepped in the massive kitchen.
Valentina was barking orders like a deranged general.
She seemed unusually tense.
Elena scrubbed the grand staircase, watching the front doors.
At exactly noon, the heavy doors swung open.
Marco Moretti walked in.
He was a tall man in a tailored suit, but he looked completely exhausted.
His shoulders slumped.
His eyes were dark, carrying a weight that money clearly couldn't lift.
Valentina instantly transformed.
The cruel, ice-cold monster vanished.
In her place was a loving, affectionate wife.
She rushed forward and threw her arms around him.
“Darling! You're home early,” she cooed, kissing his cheek.
Marco hugged her back, but his eyes immediately drifted to the wall.
To the giant portrait of Isabella.
Elena watched him closely.
She saw the profound, raw grief flash across the billionaire's face.
He walked slowly toward the painting.
He reached out and gently touched the golden frame.
“Ten years today,” Marco whispered, his voice cracking.
“I know, my love,” Valentina said, placing a comforting hand on his back.
“She is watching over us from heaven.”
Elena felt physically sick.
The sheer audacity of the lie was suffocating.
His daughter was alive.
She was sitting in a dusty attic exactly fifty feet above his head.
Elena wanted to scream.
She wanted to run down the stairs, grab Marco by the shoulders, and tell him everything.
But Valentina’s eyes suddenly flicked upward.
She locked eyes with Elena on the stairs.
Valentina’s gaze was a silent, deadly promise.
Remember your brother.
Elena gripped her cleaning rag tightly and lowered her head.
She couldn't just tell Marco.
He would demand proof.
Valentina would call Elena a crazy, disgruntled employee.
Valentina would have her thrown out, and Isabella would be moved to a worse place.
Words weren't enough.
If Elena was going to blow this family secret wide open, she needed hard evidence.
She needed the documents Isabella had mentioned.
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She needed to find the fake death certificate.
And she only had 48 hours left before Isabella’s birthday.
