Chapter 5: The Truth About the Blood Feud

I stayed.

Not because I trusted Sophia.

Not because I had changed my mind about leaving Lucian.

I stayed because my parents were the only thing in this world I had loved before him.

If there was even the smallest chance that I could learn who had ordered their deaths, I needed to know.

Sophia promised to tell me everything the following evening.

Until then, she refused to say another word.

Lucian didn't like the arrangement.

The moment Sophia left the room, he turned toward me.

"You're not seriously believing her."

"I'm not believing anything."

"Then why are you staying?"

"Because I need answers."

He stared at me.

"About your parents?"

"Yes."

"Eleonora, I was there after it happened."

"You know what I know."

"No," I replied quietly.

"I know what you told me."

He went silent.

For five years, I had trusted the story given to me.

A rival Mafia family had attacked my parents.

They had died because of a blood feud.

Lucian had found me afterward and promised that I would never be alone again.

That promise was the reason I had stayed with him.

Now everything felt uncertain.

Later that night, I went to my room.

I expected Lucian to leave me alone.

Instead, he stood in the doorway.

"You should sleep."

"I can't."

"Neither can I."

He walked inside.

"Tomorrow, if Sophia can't prove what she's saying, you leave."

I looked at him.

"You don't get to decide."

"You're right."

His voice was unexpectedly calm.

"But I want you to understand something."

"If Sophia is lying, I'll find out."

"And if she's telling the truth?"

His eyes darkened.

"Then I'll find out who was responsible."

"Why?"

He looked at me for a long moment.

"Because you were my family long before I remembered how to appreciate you."

My heart tightened.

I hated that his words could still affect me.

"Goodnight, Lucian."

"Goodnight, Eleonora."

He left.

I locked the door.

The next morning, I received a message from my professor.

"Transportation remains ready."

"Your departure can be delayed by twelve hours if necessary."

"After that, the security protocol must be reissued."

I replied immediately.

"Keep it ready."

I still intended to leave.

Whatever happened tonight, I wouldn't remain in the Marino family.

That afternoon, I searched through old records in the estate's private archive.

My parents' death had always been treated as classified family business.

There were almost no surviving documents.

Most of the records had been sealed.

But I discovered something strange.

A security report had been modified three days after their deaths.

The original version stated that the attack had been carried out by an unidentified group.

The revised version named a rival family.

Someone had changed the report.

I photographed the pages.

Then I heard footsteps.

I quickly returned the folder to its place.

Lucian entered the archive.

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for something."

"What?"

"Answers."

He studied my face.

"You found something."

"Maybe."

I showed him the copied report.

His expression changed immediately.

"Where did you get this?"

"The archive."

"This version wasn't supposed to exist."

"What does that mean?"

Lucian took the document from me.

His eyes moved quickly across the page.

"This isn't the original report."

"I know."

"Someone changed the names afterward."

"Why?"

He looked at me.

"To direct blame somewhere else."

My stomach dropped.

"So my parents may not have been killed by the rival family?"

"Not necessarily."

"Then who?"

"I don't know yet."

"But I'll find out."

He folded the document carefully.

"Don't trust anyone tonight."

"Including you?"

He didn't answer immediately.

"Especially anyone who suddenly wants you to stay."

His eyes moved toward the door.

"Sophia is here."

A few minutes later, Sophia entered the study.

Her expression was calm.

Almost triumphant.

"I told you I'd prove it."

She placed a small envelope on the desk.

"This belonged to someone who was present the night your parents died."

I opened it.

Inside was a photograph.

My parents were standing outside a restaurant.

A man stood in the background.

I knew him.

He had worked for Lucian's family.

"Marco," I whispered.

Lucian's expression became instantly cold.

"That's impossible."

"Why?" I asked.

"Marco was with me that night."

Sophia smiled faintly.

"Was he?"

Lucian looked at her.

"What are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting your right-hand man knew more about the blood feud than he ever admitted."

I stared at the photograph.

"Where did you get this?"

"From someone who used to work for the Marino family."

"Who?"

Sophia shook her head.

"You'll have to trust me."

I laughed bitterly.

"Trust you?"

"After sleeping with my husband?"

Her face hardened.

"This isn't about Lucian anymore."

"It's about your parents."

"Then give me real evidence."

She pulled another document from her bag.

It contained a bank transaction.

A large payment had been made to a private security company the day before my parents were killed.

The payer's identity had been hidden.

But the transaction was routed through a Marino family account.

My blood ran cold.

I looked at Lucian.

He had gone completely still.

"Did your family pay for the attack?" I asked.

"No."

"Then why is this here?"

"I don't know."

Sophia smiled.

"You see?"

"He doesn't know."

"Maybe he knows more than he's telling you."

Lucian's eyes flashed with anger.

"Enough."

Sophia didn't move.

"I'm only telling her the truth."

"You're manipulating her."

"Just as you've manipulated everyone else."

Lucian stepped toward her.

"Leave."

Sophia's voice suddenly became cold.

"If I leave, she'll never know the truth."

"The truth is that you ordered her parents killed."

Silence.

I looked at Lucian.

He stared at Sophia as though he wanted to destroy her.

"You're insane," he said quietly.

"Am I?"

"Then explain the payment."

Lucian said nothing.

My heart sank.

Sophia turned toward me.

"Now you understand why I told you not to leave."

"You need to know what really happened."

I looked at the bank record again.

Then at Lucian.

"Did you know about this payment?"

He finally spoke.

"I knew there was a payment."

My entire body went cold.

"What?"

"I didn't know it was connected to your parents."

"I swear."

My eyes filled with tears.

"How could you not know?"

"Because I wasn't the one who authorized it."

"Then who did?"

Lucian looked at Sophia.

She smiled.

And in that moment, I understood.

She hadn't brought me this evidence to save me.

She had brought it to make me doubt Lucian.

"Sophia," I whispered.

"Who gave you this record?"

Her smile disappeared.

She stepped backward.

"I told you."

"Someone from the old organization."

"Name them."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because they're dangerous."

Lucian's hand moved toward the weapon hidden beneath his jacket.

"Then we find them."

Sophia looked nervous for the first time.

"You don't understand."

"What don't I understand?"

She took a slow breath.

"Your parents weren't killed because of a blood feud."

"They were killed because they discovered who was stealing from both families."

"And the person responsible..."

She looked directly at me.

"Was someone inside your own family."

My heart pounded.

Lucian's expression hardened.

"Who?"

Sophia opened her mouth.

Before she could answer, every light in the estate suddenly went out.

Gunfire erupted outside.

Lucian immediately grabbed me and pulled me behind him.

"Stay down!"

The sound of shouting and breaking glass filled the mansion.

Sophia screamed.

Security guards rushed into the room.

Lucian drew his weapon.

"Lock down the estate!"

I held my stomach protectively.

My baby was inside me.

And suddenly, my carefully planned disappearance seemed very far away.

Someone was attacking the Marino estate.

Someone who knew exactly where we were.

Someone who wanted the truth buried forever.