Chapter 3 – The Hidden File
Marco didn't touch anything else.
Years in private security had taught him one rule above all others:
Evidence lost its value the moment it was contaminated.
He slipped on a pair of latex gloves from his emergency kit before carefully lifting the documents from the envelope.
Sophia stood at the bottom of the attic ladder, her voice barely above a whisper.
"What is it?"
Marco climbed down slowly.
"I don't know yet."
"But whatever your husband hid..."
He looked at the thick envelope.
"...he died protecting it."
Emma reached for her mother's hand.
"I told you Daddy hid it."
Sophia knelt and hugged her daughter so tightly that Emma giggled.
"I know, sweetheart."
"I know now."
Back at the Duca estate, Alessandro dismissed everyone from his study except Marco.
The heavy curtains remained closed.
Every phone inside the room had been switched off.
Marco spread the contents of the envelope across the massive walnut desk.
There were dozens of photographs.
Shipping manifests.
Payroll records.
Internal emails.
Laboratory reports.
Nothing seemed connected.
Until Alessandro picked up one photograph.
It showed several men standing inside a warehouse.
One of them wore a white laboratory coat.
Another was a security guard.
The third man made Alessandro's eyes narrow.
"I know him."
Marco looked over.
"Who is he?"
"Richard Kane."
"The CEO of Westbridge Chemical."
Marco frowned.
"The company where Daniel worked."
Alessandro nodded.
"Daniel wasn't imagining things."
The flash drive required a password.
Marco connected it to an isolated laptop that wasn't linked to the estate's network.
The screen displayed only one message.
ENTER AUTHORIZATION CODE
Three attempts remaining.
Marco looked toward Alessandro.
"Any ideas?"
Sophia stared at the screen.
Daniel had always used birthdays.
Anniversaries.
Simple numbers.
Then Emma spoke.
"Bunny."
Everyone looked at her.
She hugged the stuffed rabbit.
"Daddy always said Bunny keeps secrets."
Marco smiled kindly.
"I don't think that's the password."
Emma shook her head.
"No."
"He said if I forgot..."
"...look inside Bunny."
Sophia's eyes widened.
"What?"
Emma unzipped a tiny opening along the rabbit's back—a seam Sophia had never even noticed.
She reached inside.
Her tiny fingers pulled out a folded piece of paper no bigger than a postage stamp.
Marco carefully unfolded it.
Eight handwritten numbers.
27031491
The room fell silent.
Marco entered the code.
The screen froze.
One second.
Two.
Then...
The encrypted drive unlocked.
A single folder appeared.
PROJECT NIGHTFALL
Inside were hundreds of files.
Financial records.
Confidential emails.
Laboratory test results.
Hidden surveillance photos.
One video file.
Marco clicked it.
Daniel Alvarez appeared on screen.
He looked exhausted.
His face was thinner than Sophia remembered.
Behind him was an empty maintenance room inside Westbridge Chemical.
Daniel looked directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this..."
"...I'm probably dead."
Sophia covered her mouth.
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
Daniel continued.
"My name is Daniel Alvarez."
"I worked maintenance at Westbridge Chemical for seven years."
"Three weeks ago..."
"...I accidentally discovered Project Nightfall."
He held up a thick binder.
"This company has been secretly testing an experimental neurological compound."
Alessandro's expression hardened.
Daniel continued.
"They've been paying doctors to classify the deaths as heart failure."
Sophia gasped.
Marco paused the video.
"They've killed people."
Alessandro nodded slowly.
"And covered every death."
Marco resumed the recording.
Daniel looked over his shoulder before continuing.
"I copied everything."
"If anything happens to me..."
"...someone inside the company ordered it."
He took a slow breath.
"But there's something worse."
He leaned closer to the camera.
"This isn't just about Westbridge."
"There are investors."
"Powerful investors."
"They're funding everything."
"And one of them..."
Daniel hesitated.
"...has direct access to Alessandro Duca."
The room became deathly quiet.
Marco looked at Alessandro.
"You?"
Alessandro slowly shook his head.
"I've never heard of Project Nightfall."
"I believe you."
"But someone close to you may already know."
At that exact moment...
Miles away in a luxury penthouse overlooking the city...
Richard Kane received a phone call.
His assistant sounded terrified.
"Sir..."
"The Alvarez file has been found."
Richard closed his eyes.
"Who has it?"
"Alessandro Duca."
Silence.
Then Richard quietly walked to the window.
"So..."
"The little girl remembered."
He ended the call.
A second later, another number appeared on his phone.
He answered immediately.
"They found the file," Richard said.
A calm voice replied,
"Then eliminate everyone who has seen it."
Richard hesitated.
"Even Duca?"
The voice remained emotionless.
"Especially Duca."
The call ended.
Richard stared at the dark screen for several long seconds.
May you like
Then he whispered to himself,
"This is about to become a war."
