Chapter 4: The Name Hidden in the Shadows
The first thing Matteo Varric did after hearing the words “she was trying to protect him” was deny them.
Not aloud.
Never aloud.
A man like Matteo did not survive by showing disbelief before he understood the threat.
But inside, something cracked.
Because if the woman who entered his son’s nursery was not an enemy…
If she had been there to protect Nico…
Then every assumption he had made for the last three weeks had been wrong.
And Matteo Varric hated being wrong.
Especially when his son’s life was involved.
“Tell me everything,” Matteo ordered.
The voice on the phone belonged to Luca Moretti, his oldest security officer and one of the few men Matteo trusted completely.
“We identified her through old personnel records,” Luca said.
“Her name is Elena Rossi.””
Matteo’s fingers tightened around the phone.
“Rossi?””
“Yes.””
The name meant something.
Not because Elena Rossi was famous.
Because Isabella had mentioned it once.
A long time ago.
A memory he had buried.
“She worked for my wife,” Matteo said.
Liana, standing across the room, looked up.
“You knew her?””
“Not personally.””
“But Isabella did.””
Matteo ignored the question for a moment.
His mind was moving too quickly.
Seven months.
Seven months since Isabella’s death.
Three weeks since Nico changed.
Three weeks since someone entered the nursery.
And now a woman connected to Isabella had appeared.
Nothing about this was coincidence.
“Where is Elena Rossi now?”” Matteo asked.
A pause.
Too long.
Matteo’s eyes narrowed.
“Luca.””
“She disappeared.””
“Of course she did.””
“She left something behind.””
“What?””
“An address.””
Matteo waited.
“Send it.””
The call ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Liana asked quietly:
“Why does everyone connected to your wife keep disappearing?””
Matteo looked at her.
It was not an accusation.
That made it worse.
Most people accused him because they hated him.
Liana asked because she genuinely wanted to understand.
“I don’t know.””
She studied him.
“You really don’t?””
“No.””
The answer surprised her.
She expected arrogance.
Denial.
Anger.
Instead, Matteo looked exhausted.
Like a man who had spent months fighting an enemy he could not see.
Nico stirred in her arms.
Matteo immediately looked at his son.
That small movement did not escape Liana.
“You love him.””
The words were simple.
But Matteo reacted as if they had struck him.
“Of course I do.””
“Then why do you look like you’re afraid every time you look at him?””
Silence.
The question landed somewhere deep.
Matteo walked toward the window.
Outside, the Varric estate stretched across acres of land.
Beautiful.
Powerful.
Protected.
But none of it had protected Isabella.
None of it had protected his family.
“I promised my wife I would keep him safe.””
Liana watched him.
“And you think you failed.””
Matteo did not answer.
He didn’t need to.
Liana understood grief.
She knew what it felt like to replay every moment.
Every decision.
Every possibility.
To wonder if one different choice could have changed everything.
“You’re blaming yourself.””
His jaw tightened.
“Don’t.””
“Why?””
“Because you don’t know me.””
“No.””
Liana looked down at Nico.
“But I know that look.””
Matteo turned.
“What look?””
“The look of someone who thinks love is supposed to prevent loss.””
For a moment, Matteo had no response.
Because she was right.
He had spent seven months believing power could fix anything.
Money.
Security.
Influence.
Fear.
None of it mattered.
The universe had taken Isabella anyway.
And now it had placed a mystery around his son.
A mystery wearing a maid uniform.
His phone buzzed.
The message from Luca contained the address.
Matteo read it.
His expression changed.
Liana noticed.
“What is it?””
“We’re leaving.””
“Where?””
“To find Elena Rossi.””
“I’m coming.””
“No.””
The answer was immediate.
Liana frowned.
“Why?””
“Because this involves dangerous people.””
“So does your son.””
Matteo went quiet.
Liana stepped closer.
“Nico recognized me for a reason.””
“I know.””
“Then stop treating me like a witness.””
Matteo stared at her.
“You’re a civilian.””
“I’m the woman your son trusts.””
That stopped him.
Because there was no argument against it.
Not one that mattered.
He looked at Nico.
The baby was asleep.
Peaceful.
Safe.
For the first time in weeks.
“Fine.””
Liana blinked.
“Fine?””
“You come with me.””
“Just like that?””
“No.””
His voice became serious.
“You stay beside me. You do exactly what I say. If I tell you to run, you run.””
“And if you’re the one in danger?””
Matteo looked at her.
“I won’t be.””
“You sound very sure.””
“I have survived worse.””
Liana gave him a sad smile.
“Everyone says that until they lose someone.””
The words followed him long after they left the room.
The address led them outside the city.
Away from the bright streets.
Away from the world Matteo controlled.
The building was old.
Abandoned.
The kind of place people forgot existed.
Two security vehicles stopped behind Matteo’s car.
Liana sat silently beside him.
“You can still stay here,” Matteo said.
“No.””
“You don’t even know what we’ll find.””
“I know.””
“How?””
She looked toward the building.
“Because whatever is inside there has something to do with why my husband died.””
Matteo glanced at her.
For the first time, he saw something beyond grief.
Determination.
Liana Graves was not just a grieving widow.
She was someone who had spent three weeks being broken apart.
And somehow, she was still standing.
They entered the building.
Dust covered everything.
But Matteo noticed immediately.
Someone had been there recently.
A chair moved.
Fresh footprints.
A cup of coffee still warm.
Someone had left in a hurry.
“Spread out,” Matteo ordered.
His men moved.
Liana stayed close.
Then she saw something.
A wall covered in photographs.
She stepped forward.
Matteo followed.
And stopped.
The pictures were of Nico.
Hundreds of them.
From the hospital.
From the nursery.
From the estate.
Liana covered her mouth.
“Someone was watching him.””
Matteo said nothing.
Because he recognized something else.
The handwriting on the papers pinned beside the photos.
A name.
A warning.
A message.
His wife’s handwriting.
Isabella Varric’s handwriting.
And underneath it were four words:
“Matteo cannot know.””
The room went completely silent.
Liana looked at him.
“Your wife was hiding something from you.””
Matteo stared at the words.
For the first time in seven months, he wondered if Isabella’s death had not been an accident.
Maybe she had known.
Maybe she had been trying to protect Nico.
Maybe she had been trying to protect him.
But from what?
A sound echoed from the hallway.
A footstep.
Someone was still inside.
Matteo raised his weapon.
“Show yourself.””
No answer.
Then a woman’s voice came from the darkness.
“You should have listened to Isabella.””
Matteo froze.
Because he knew that voice.
Not from meeting her.
From the past.
From old recordings.
From files he thought were destroyed.
“Who are you?”” Liana whispered.
The woman stepped forward.
May you like
And Matteo felt the world shift.
Because Elena Rossi was not supposed to be alive.
