Chapter 10: The Betrayal Inside the Varric Mansion
Nobody spoke after Adrian’s words.
The call came from inside the estate.
The sentence should have been impossible.
But Matteo Varric had learned something important over the last few hours.
Impossible was just another word for something people had successfully hidden.
The mansion that had always represented safety now felt different.
The walls looked taller.
The corridors looked darker.
Every shadow seemed to carry a question.
Someone inside his home had been moving pieces around him.
Someone had accessed the nursery.
Someone had listened to private conversations.
Someone had hidden evidence.
And now someone had contacted Liana using a secret only a handful of people could know.
Matteo looked around the room.
His eyes moved over every person present.
Adrian.
The guards.
His mother.
Liana.
Everyone had a reason to hide something.
Everyone had a connection to the past.
Everyone could be lying.
And Matteo hated that the person he trusted most was the person he could no longer completely trust.
“Lock every exit.””
His voice was quiet.
Adrian immediately nodded.
“Already done.””
“No.””
Matteo looked at him.
“Not a security lockdown.””
He stepped toward the center of the room.
“A family lockdown.””
The words surprised everyone.
Even Adrian.
“Everyone inside this mansion stays exactly where they are.””
Clara looked at him.
“Matteo.””
“No one leaves.””
“You can’t treat your own family like enemies.””
His expression hardened.
“I don’t know who my enemies are.””
The answer hurt.
Especially because his mother understood why.
For years, the Varric family survived by controlling information.
But secrets had a way of becoming weapons.
And now every secret was pointed at him.
“Find every employee,” Matteo ordered.
Adrian nodded.
“Everyone?””
“Everyone.””
“What about medical staff?””
“Everyone.””
“The guards?””
Matteo looked at the security chief.
“Especially the guards.””
That sentence changed the room.
Because everyone understood what it meant.
Matteo no longer trusted the system that protected him.
And if he could not trust his own security…
Nobody was safe.
Thirty minutes later, the main dining hall was filled with people.
Employees.
Security personnel.
House staff.
Everyone who worked inside the Varric estate.
They stood silently beneath the massive chandelier.
Usually, the room represented wealth.
Power.
Family tradition.
Tonight, it looked like a courtroom.
Matteo stood at the head of the table.
He did not raise his voice.
He did not need to.
Everyone listened.
“Someone inside this house has been hiding information from me.””
Nobody moved.
“Someone has accessed private areas.””
Silence.
“Someone has been watching my son.””
A few employees exchanged nervous looks.
Matteo noticed.
He noticed everything.
“Until I know who that person is, nobody leaves.””
A murmur spread through the room.
Adrian stepped forward.
“Anyone attempting to leave will be considered a security threat.””
That ended the whispers.
Matteo scanned the faces.
Then stopped.
A woman near the back.
An older employee.
Someone who had worked at the mansion for years.
“Maria.””
The woman looked up.
“Yes, sir?””
“How long have you worked here?””
“Twenty-four years.””
“Before Isabella married me?””
“Yes.””
“Did you know Elena Graves?””
The woman froze.
Only for a second.
But Matteo saw it.
“Yes.””
The room became silent.
“Explain.””
Maria looked uncomfortable.
“I don’t know what you mean.””
“You knew her.””
“Yes.””
“Then why was that never mentioned?””
“Because it was private.””
“Private?””
Matteo’s voice sharpened.
“My wife’s sister worked for this family.””
Maria looked down.
“She wasn’t supposed to.””
The answer caught him.
“What does that mean?””
Maria hesitated.
Then:
“Mrs. Varric told us never to discuss it.””
Everyone looked toward Clara.
Matteo slowly turned.
His mother closed her eyes.
Another secret.
Another wall.
“Mother.””
Clara looked exhausted.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
His voice became colder.
“But somehow, every protection leaves me with more damage.””
Clara lowered her head.
Matteo looked back at Maria.
“Continue.””
Maria swallowed.
“Mrs. Varric knew about Elena.””
“How?””
“She was here when Elena worked for your father.””
“What happened?””
Maria looked afraid.
“Your father discovered Elena knew about the birth records.””
Matteo’s eyes narrowed.
“What birth records?””
Maria glanced at Liana.
“The original ones.””
The room went silent.
“Tell me.””
Maria’s hands trembled.
“Your father ordered them destroyed.””
Matteo felt his anger rise.
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
“Wrong answer.””
“I swear.””
Maria looked desperate.
“I only know what I heard.””
“What did you hear?””
“That Mr. Varric said if those records were found, the family would lose everything.””
Matteo looked at Nico.
A baby sleeping upstairs.
A child connected to a secret powerful enough to make people destroy documents and erase identities.
“What else?””
Maria looked toward Clara.
“Mrs. Varric knows.””
Everyone turned.
Clara said nothing.
Matteo’s face became unreadable.
“Mother.””
Clara finally spoke.
“Your father was afraid.””
“Of what?””
“That the wrong person would inherit the Varric empire.””
Matteo laughed once.
Coldly.
“Wrong person?””
Clara looked at him.
“He believed blood determined worth.””
“And you?””
She looked away.
“I believed love mattered more.””
The answer surprised him.
Because for the first time that night, his mother sounded like the person Isabella always described.
Not the cold Varric matriarch.
A woman who had spent years surviving beside dangerous men.
“Who was Alexander Varric?””
Clara went completely still.
The reaction answered more than words.
Matteo stepped closer.
“You knew.””
“Yes.””
“And you let Liana grow up without knowing.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Clara looked at Liana.
“Because Alexander asked me to.””
Liana stared.
“He knew?””
“Yes.””
“About me?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t he come for me?””
Clara’s eyes filled.
“Because he couldn’t.””
“What does that mean?””
Clara looked down.
“Because he was killed.””
The room went silent.
Liana’s face changed.
“Killed?””
Clara nodded.
“Your father discovered the truth about your birth.””
“And?””
“He tried to expose it.””
“What happened?””
Clara’s voice became barely audible.
“Your grandfather stopped him.””
Matteo felt sick.
His grandfather.
The man whose portrait hung throughout the mansion.
The man who built the family empire.
The man everyone respected.
He had another secret.
Another crime.
“How?””
Clara did not answer.
She did not need to.
Everyone understood.
The Varric family had been protecting itself for generations.
At any cost.
Liana looked like she was breaking.
Matteo saw it.
And for reasons he could not explain, he moved closer.
Not as a protector.
Not as a mafia boss.
Just as someone who understood what it felt like to discover your entire life was built on lies.
“Liana.””
She looked at him.
“I need air.””
She turned.
Matteo stopped her.
“Don’t go alone.””
Her expression hardened.
“I’m not your responsibility.””
“No.””
He paused.
“You’re Nico’s.””
The words surprised both of them.
Liana looked away.
Then nodded.
Later that night, Matteo found her in the garden.
The place where Isabella used to walk.
The place where Nico had taken his first steps.
Moonlight covered the flowers.
Everything looked peaceful.
But nothing felt peaceful anymore.
“You shouldn’t be outside.””
Liana did not turn.
“You sound like Isabella.””
The comment surprised him.
“She said that too.””
“What?””
“That I was always trying to carry everything alone.””
Matteo stood beside her.
“She knew you well.””
“Yes.””
A pause.
Then:
“I don’t know who I am.””
The confession was quiet.
Matteo looked at her.
“You’re Liana Graves.””
“Am I?””
“Yes.””
“What if I’m not?””
“You are.””
“You don’t understand.””
“I do.””
She looked at him.
“My entire life was a lie.””
Matteo was silent.
Because he understood.
Different circumstances.
Same feeling.
His wife.
His father.
His family.
Everything he believed had changed in one night.
“You know what hurts most?””
“What?””
“She knew.””
“Isabella?””
“Yes.””
Liana’s eyes filled.
“She knew who I was.””
A tear fell.
“And she still left me.””
Matteo looked at her.
“She didn’t leave you.””
“She died.””
“She left you something.””
“What?””
He looked toward the mansion.
“A family.””
Liana shook her head.
“I don’t belong here.””
“You do.””
“Why?””
Matteo hesitated.
Because the answer was complicated.
Because she was connected to his family.
Because Nico needed her.
Because Isabella trusted her.
But there was another reason.
Something he did not want to admit.
“Because my son chooses you.””
Liana looked away.
“He doesn’t know anything.””
“Maybe he knows more than we do.””
Before she could answer, Matteo’s phone rang.
Adrian.
He answered immediately.
“What?””
Silence.
Then Adrian’s voice changed.
“Boss.””
“What?””
“We found the person who accessed the nursery cameras.””
Matteo straightened.
“Who?””
Another pause.
Then:
“You need to come back.””
“Why?””
Adrian’s voice lowered.
“Because the person responsible has been working here for sixteen years.””
Matteo’s expression changed.
“Name.””
A long silence.
Then Adrian said:
“Clara Varric.””
Matteo stopped breathing.
His mother.
The woman who claimed she was protecting him.
The woman who knew the truth.
The woman who had hidden everything.
“No.””
His voice was barely audible.
But Adrian continued.
“Boss…”
“Check again.””
“We did.””
Matteo looked at Liana.
And suddenly, the mansion felt colder than ever.
Because the person closest to him…
The person who raised him…
May you like
The person he trusted his entire life…
Might have been the one hiding the truth all along.
