Chapter 7: The Man Who Was Buried Alive
For three seconds after the call ended, nobody moved.
The world seemed frozen around Liana.
The smoke.
The broken glass.
The shouting guards.
The distant sound of alarms beginning to wake the abandoned building.
None of it mattered.
Because Daniel’s voice was still inside her head.
Take my son and run.
Not our son.
Not the baby.
Not save Nico.
My son.
Her fingers trembled around the phone.
“He’s alive.””
The words came out as a whisper.
Matteo looked at her.
“Liana.””
“He’s alive.””
This time her voice broke.
She looked at Elena.
“You knew.””
Elena’s face changed.
Not surprise.
Not confusion.
Pain.
“I hoped.””
“You knew!””
Liana stepped forward, anger replacing shock.
“You let me believe my baby was dead.””
“I didn’t know if he was alive.””
“But you knew there was a chance!””
Elena looked down.
“Yes.””
The answer hurt more than a lie.
Liana’s eyes filled with tears.
“For three weeks, I buried my child.””
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
Her voice cracked.
“You don’t know what it feels like to hold your baby for the last time. You don’t know what it feels like to leave a hospital with empty arms. You don’t know what it feels like to wake up every morning and remember there is a room in your house that will never have a child in it again.””
Elena lowered her eyes.
“You’re right.””
The quiet acceptance stopped Liana.
“I don’t know.””
A tear slipped down Elena’s face.
“But Daniel did.””
The room went silent.
“Daniel watched them take your baby,” Elena whispered.
Liana stopped breathing.
“What?””
“He tried to stop them.””
“Who?””
Elena looked at Matteo.
“The same people who tried to take Nico.””
Matteo’s expression darkened.
“Explain.””
Elena turned toward him.
“Seven months ago, Isabella discovered that someone inside your organization was moving money through illegal channels. She started investigating.””
Matteo’s face hardened.
“My wife was investigating my people?””
“She was trying to protect you.””
The answer cut deeper.
“From who?””
Elena hesitated.
“From your own blood.””
Nobody spoke.
Matteo’s eyes narrowed.
“Say the name.””
“I can’t.””
“Why?””
“Because names become targets.””
“You think I’m afraid of a name?””
“No.””
Elena looked at him.
“I think you’re afraid of what happens when you recognize it.””
That sentence followed him like a shadow.
Because deep down, Matteo already knew.
There were only a few people who had access to everything.
His business.
His security.
His family.
His home.
The list was short.
Too short.
Another explosion sounded outside.
The guards moved immediately.
“We need to leave,” one of them shouted.
Matteo grabbed Liana’s arm.
“We’re going.””
She looked at him.
“What about Daniel?””
“We find him.””
“And my baby?””
Matteo looked at Nico.
The baby was awake now.
Watching.
Listening.
As if he understood everything.
“We find your son too.””
The words almost broke her.
Almost.
Because for the first time in weeks, there was hope.
And hope was terrifying.
Hope meant she had something to lose again.
They escaped through a maintenance tunnel beneath the building.
Matteo’s men moved quickly, weapons ready.
Liana walked beside Matteo, holding Nico.
She noticed something strange.
Matteo kept looking at the baby.
Not with suspicion.
Not anymore.
With fear.
“What are you thinking?”” she asked.
“That everything I believed may be wrong.””
“That scares you?””
“Yes.””
She expected him to deny it.
He didn’t.
Matteo Varric admitted fear like most people admitted weakness.
Rarely.
Carefully.
Only when necessary.
“I spent my entire life controlling situations,” he said.
“And now?””
“Now I have a child who recognizes a woman he has never met.””
Liana looked down at Nico.
“And a wife who hid the truth.””
“And a man who died but called you.””
She swallowed.
“Daniel isn’t dead.””
Matteo looked ahead.
“Then someone wanted us to believe he was.””
The tunnel lights flickered.
A shadow moved ahead.
Matteo immediately pushed Liana behind him.
“Stay back.””
A figure stepped into view.
Not an attacker.
A man.
Older.
Injured.
Blood covered his shoulder.
Liana froze.
Because she knew him.
Not personally.
But from the photograph.
“Daniel.””
The man looked at her.
And for a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Liana dropped everything.
She ran.
She reached him before Matteo could stop her.
Her hands touched his face.
Real.
Warm.
Alive.
“You’re alive.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I’m sorry.””
The apology destroyed her.
She hit his chest weakly.
“You’re sorry?””
Tears filled her eyes.
“I buried you.””
“I know.””
“I thought I lost you.””
“I know.””
“Why didn’t you come back?””
Daniel looked at Matteo.
“Because I couldn’t.””
Matteo stepped forward.
“Explain.””
Daniel looked exhausted.
“The people hunting Nico were watching me.””
“Why?””
“Because I knew the truth.””
“What truth?””
Daniel looked at Liana.
Then at the baby in her arms.
“Your son wasn’t the only child they were trying to erase.””
Liana went still.
Daniel reached toward Nico.
The baby immediately grabbed his finger.
Matteo noticed.
The same reaction.
Recognition.
Not fear.
Recognition.
“He remembers,” Daniel whispered.
Liana stared.
“How?””
Daniel looked at her.
“Because he was there when everything happened.””
“What happened?””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Three weeks ago, someone came for both babies.””
The words echoed.
“Both?””
Daniel nodded.
“They planned to disappear them.””
Matteo’s voice turned cold.
“Who?””
Daniel looked at him.
May you like
“Your mother.””
The world stopped.
