Chapter 4 - The Memory in the Attic
As the weeks passed, the girls' recovery grew more visible. Valentina began asking short questions again, and Mia started humming soft tunes while playing with her toys. But Lucia remained guarded around me, her trust broken by a reality she only partially understood.
One rainy afternoon, while exploring the estate's third-floor attic with Clara, the girls found a dusty wooden trunk. Inside were Isabella’s old painting supplies, personal journals, and photo albums.
Among the items, Clara uncovered a small, encrypted USB drive hidden inside the lining of a photo frame. Recognizing its potential significance, she brought it straight to my study instead of hiding it.
"I found this in Isabella's belongings," Clara said, laying it on my desk. "I think you need to see what's on it."
When I plugged the drive into my secured terminal, it opened a series of audio files recorded just days before Isabella's death. I pressed play, and her voice filled the room, sending a painful wave of nostalgia through my chest.
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"He thinks I don't hear him," Isabella’s recorded voice whispered, trembling with fear. "Uncle Victor thinks I don't know what he's planning. He told someone on the phone that if Dominic wouldn't yield control of the port shipping lines, he would make sure Dominic took the blame for a tragic loss..."
My blood turned to fire. Victor Russo. My father’s brother. The man who had sat beside me at Isabella’s funeral and wept by my side.
