Chapter 2: The Truth Hidden in the Fire
“Out of all of it,” Lucas answered quietly.
“The violence. The fear. The people who think blood is the only way to solve a problem.”
Isabella reached for his hand.
“Then leave.”
For the first time, he believed he could.
Over the next year, Lucas began selling properties tied to the family's darker dealings. He planned to move Isabella and Daniel overseas and start over.
But someone close to him learned about the plan.
Someone who stood beside him every day.
Marco Santini.
His oldest friend.
His most trusted adviser.
The man who knew every secret in the Moretti empire.
Three months before their departure, Isabella and Daniel died in what authorities called a tragic house fire at a vacation property in Connecticut.
The official report blamed faulty wiring.
The case was closed within weeks.
Lucas never accepted it.
For three years he carried the guilt.
For three years he replayed the last phone call with Isabella.
For three years he searched for answers.
Then came the night Lily saved his life.
The attack that nearly killed Lucas had not been natural. Hospital tests revealed traces of a rare poison in his bloodstream.
Someone had tried to murder him.
As investigators searched the mansion, they discovered security footage that had been hidden for years.
One clip showed Marco entering Lucas's private office the night before the poisoning.
Another revealed secret financial transfers worth tens of millions of dollars.
The deeper they dug, the darker the truth became.
And then they found Isabella's missing case file.
Buried inside was evidence someone had paid to alter the fire investigation.
The signature on the payments belonged to only one man.
Marco Santini.
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Lucas stared at the documents in disbelief.
The friend he trusted most had spent three years standing beside him while hiding the truth about his family's deaths.
