Elsewhere, in an old, abandoned house its walls faded and its windows shattered the door stood slightly ajar, as if someone were inside. From the outside, the place seemed silent… forgotten.
"What's the next step, Father?" Marco asked with curiosity.
Giovanni gave a calm smile and replied: "The letters..."
Marco frowned in confusion: "I don't think letters will make any difference, Father."
Giovanni looked at him and said firmly: "You're wrong. They'll make a huge difference."
He then let out a soft sigh and added: "Don't worry, Marco. Everything will go exactly as planned."
Meanwhile, Matteo hadn't been able to sleep since that strange encounter with Giovanni the calm, eccentric man who had planted a thousand doubts in Matteo's mind. Though there was something in his voice that rang with honesty… Matteo just couldn't bring himself to believe it fully.
His thoughts spiraled endlessly around the things Giovanni had told him. He ate a quick breakfast and left his room for the store. There, he found Leonardo waiting for the workers.
Matteo wanted to tell him everything about the man, the hill, and what was said but he held back. He wasn't sure what to believe yet.
Coincidentally, Leonardo also hadn't been in the best of moods that morning. He too wanted to talk to Matteo about a strange letter he had received in the mail. It was unlike anything he'd ever gotten before, and it unsettled him. But he dismissed it, thinking it might just be a cruel joke… or worse something real.
Flashback:
Leonardo had woken up early as usual, started his day with a cold shower, then changed and headed to the breakfast table. He sat with his parents, Antonio and Catherine, and once breakfast was over, he stepped out into the garden.
He walked over to his personal mailbox and, as always, began sorting through the letters. That's when he found it a message from an unknown sender. The note read:
"Not everyone we trust is truly trustworthy. Some masks fall too late. Be vigilant… for the heart often believes what it wants to believe not what is true."
Leonardo stared at the letter, puzzled by the sender and the cryptic words. He had never received a message like this before. Still, he pushed the thought aside and went through the rest of the mail, then left for work.
The flashback faded. Leonardo snapped out of it at the sound of a worker's voice: "Sir Leonardo… are you okay?"
He flinched slightly, then replied calmly: "I'm fine… just fine."
He continued working, but his mind remained elsewhere. And the same could be said for Matteo, whose thoughts hadn't left the strange conversation from the night before.
The day passed slowly. Everyone worked in silence. Eventually, the shift ended, and Leonardo and Matteo each returned to their homes.
Four days passed. Both Matteo and Leonardo carried on with their routines, but they couldn't stop thinking. Matteo was consumed by thoughts of the mysterious meeting what would he discover at the next one? Meanwhile, Leonardo couldn't shake the memory of those letters.
Who was sending them? And why?
Lately, the messages had grown more specific hinting clearly at one person، Antonio, his father.
That morning, Leonardo woke up earlier than everyone in the house and went straight to his mailbox. He sorted through the mail like always… and, once again, there it was a message from the same unknown sender.
But this time, the message was different. Clearer. Bolder. It read:
"Look deeper into your father's past… not everything you see is real. Not everyone who appears righteous… truly is."
Leonardo jolted in place, heart racing. Who is this man? How does he know my father?
After a moment of silent panic, Leonardo made a decision he would investigate.
He headed upstairs, determined to search his father's things. It was almost time for Antonio to wake up, so Leonardo paused to listen carefully outside the door. He heard water running in the bathroom.
He slipped into the room quietly while Antonio was still inside. Moving fast, he opened his father's wardrobe and started digging through files and papers documents about deals, business, politics.
And then… something strange.
Hidden between the sheets was an old, worn-out document. It looked like a contract. Before he could unfold it, he heard the bathroom door creak Antonio was about to step out.
Leonardo bolted from the room, unnoticed, and dashed into his own, locking the door behind him. He unfolded the paper with trembling hands. At the top, it read:
"I hereby swear that I..."
To be continued...