Chapter 4: The Voice From My Past
“Victor.””
Alessandro’s voice carried the weight of a warning.
The name alone was enough to turn my blood cold.
For eight months, I had imagined this moment.
I imagined Victor showing up angry.
I imagined him demanding answers.
I imagined him taking Mia away from me.
But I never imagined him calling through Alessandro Duca’s phone while I stood inside the penthouse where I had hidden my daughter.
Life had a cruel sense of timing.
My hands tightened around Mia.
“No.””
Alessandro looked at me.
“Clara.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“I don’t want to talk to him.””
The phone remained in his hand.
“He asked for you.””
“I don’t care.””
It wasn’t true.
That was the worst part.
I cared.
I cared so much that hearing his voice felt like someone reopening a wound that had never healed.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Clara.””
I looked at him.
“You said he disappeared.””
Daniel’s expression turned heavy.
“I thought he did.””
“You thought?””
“I was wrong.””
The room seemed to tilt.
Everyone had answers except me.
Everyone knew pieces of my life that I didn’t.
Alessandro watched me carefully.
Then he lowered the phone slightly.
“He said he only wants five minutes.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Five minutes?””
My eyes burned.
“He had eight months.””
Nobody spoke.
Because they knew I was right.
Victor had eight months.
Eight months since I sat alone in a hospital room, holding a newborn baby while my phone stayed silent.
Eight months since I waited for a message that never came.
Eight months since I learned that love could disappear faster than a person.
“Clara.””
Alessandro’s voice was quieter.
Not softer.
Just quieter.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.””
I looked at him.
The sentence surprised me.
Because I expected a command.
Not permission.
“You’re letting me decide?””
“Yes.””
“Even if you think it’s a mistake?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
His eyes moved briefly to Mia.
“Because she’s your daughter.””
Something about that answer broke through my anger.
Not completely.
But enough.
I looked down at my little girl.
Her fingers were wrapped around my necklace.
The same necklace I had worn every day since she was born.
The only thing I had from before everything changed.
“Put him on speaker.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Are you sure?””
No.
I wasn’t.
But fear had already taken too much from me.
I was tired of running.
Alessandro pressed the button.
The penthouse fell silent.
Then a voice filled the room.
“Clara.””
I froze.
It was exactly the same.
The same deep voice.
The same calm tone.
Like eight months hadn’t passed.
Like he hadn’t left me alone.
“Hello, Victor.””
My voice sounded strange.
Distant.
“Where are you?””
I almost laughed.
“That’s your first question?””
“Clara, listen to me.””
“No.””
I held Mia closer.
“You listen.””
A pause.
Then:
“I know about Mia.””
My entire body went still.
Alessandro’s expression hardened.
Daniel closed his eyes.
But I forced myself to stay calm.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“For how long?””
Silence.
That was enough.
My stomach twisted.
“For how long, Victor?””
“Since she was born.””
The words hurt more than I expected.
Eight months.
He knew.
He knew my daughter existed.
He knew I was alone.
And he did nothing.
“Then why didn’t you come?””
Another pause.
“Because I couldn’t.””
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
The excuse.
The same one everyone used.
Couldn’t.
Had to.
Was trying.
But somehow, I was always the one left carrying everything.
“You couldn’t?””
“Clara, you don’t understand.””
“You’re right.””
My voice shook.
“I don’t understand how someone knows their child exists and stays away.””
“I was protecting you.””
I looked at Alessandro.
Then Daniel.
Everyone said that word.
Protecting.
“Stop saying that.””
My voice cracked.
“Everyone keeps saying they protected me.””
“Clara—”
“No.””
I stepped away from the others.
“I was alone.””
Silence.
Then Victor’s voice became softer.
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
“I do.””
“You weren’t there when she was sick.””
The words came faster now.
“You weren’t there when she cried for hours because she had a fever.””
My eyes filled.
“You weren’t there when I counted every dollar in my wallet before buying formula.””
Victor said nothing.
“You weren’t there when I slept four hours a night because I was afraid something would happen and nobody would know.””
A long silence followed.
Then:
“I’m sorry.””
The apology was quiet.
Almost real.
And somehow that made it worse.
Because part of me wanted to believe him.
Part of me hated that I still wanted to.
“Why now?””
I asked.
“Why are you calling now?””
“I need to see her.””
“No.””
The answer came instantly.
Victor sighed.
“Clara.””
“No.””
My grip tightened.
“You don’t get to disappear and come back when it’s convenient.””
“It’s not about convenience.””
“Then what is it about?””
Another silence.
Then Victor said:
“Your daughter is in danger.””
The room changed.
Every sound disappeared.
Even Mia’s small movements seemed distant.
Alessandro immediately stepped closer.
“What danger?”” he asked.
Victor went quiet.
“Who is that?””
Nobody answered.
Alessandro took the phone.
“This is Alessandro Duca.””
The silence on the other end was immediate.
Then Victor said one word.
“Duca.””
His tone changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
“You’re with him.””
Alessandro’s eyes narrowed.
“Yes.””
“Clara, get away from him.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“What?””
“Listen to me. You don’t know who he is.””
I looked at Alessandro.
The man standing beside me.
The man who had held my daughter.
The man who had asked why I was afraid.
“You don’t get to tell me who to trust.””
“Clara, please.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You lost that right.””
Victor’s breathing became heavier.
“You have to understand something.””
“What?””
“I didn’t leave because I wanted to.””
“Then why?””
The answer took too long.
And that scared me.
“Because your life was safer without me.””
I closed my eyes.
“That’s not true.””
“It is.””
“No.””
My voice became stronger.
“You made a choice.””
“Clara—”
“You made a choice for me.””
Silence.
“You decided I was better off alone.””
“I was trying to keep you alive.””
The words landed differently.
Because Victor sounded terrified.
Not defensive.
Terrified.
Before I could respond, Alessandro reached for the phone again.
“Where are you?””
Victor didn’t answer.
“Where are you?””
“You need to stay away from this.””
“That wasn’t my question.””
A pause.
Then Victor said:
“You don’t understand what your father was involved in.””
My eyes widened.
“My father?””
Alessandro went completely still.
Daniel looked at me.
Victor continued.
“Clara, your father wasn’t the man you thought he was.””
I felt like the ground disappeared.
“What does that mean?””
No answer.
“Victor.””
Nothing.
Then the line crackled.
And before the call ended, his voice came through one last time.
“The people looking for Mia aren’t coming after her because of me.””
A pause.
“They’re coming because of you.””
The call disconnected.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Alessandro slowly lowered the phone.
I stared at him.
“What did he mean?””
He didn’t answer.
“Alessandro.””
His eyes met mine.
And I saw something I had never seen before.
Uncertainty.
That scared me more than anger.
“Your father,” he said carefully.
I waited.
“Who was he?””
My throat tightened.
“I told you.””
“No.””
His voice was quiet.
“You told me you had no family.””
“I don’t.””
“Everyone has a past, Clara.””
“Not everyone’s past follows them.””
His expression changed.
Like my words confirmed something.
“What?””
He looked toward Daniel.
Then back at me.
“Clara, what was your father’s name?””
I felt a cold wave move through me.
I had spent years avoiding that name.
Years pretending it didn’t matter.
Because the man who gave me life was also the reason I learned never to trust powerful people.
“Why?””
“Because I need to know.””
“Why?””
Alessandro stepped closer.
“Because if Victor is right…”
He stopped.
My heart pounded.
“If Victor is right, what?””
His eyes locked onto mine.
“Your father wasn’t just connected to my family.””
The silence was unbearable.
“He was the reason my family was destroyed.””
I couldn’t breathe.
Before I could ask another question, a sharp sound echoed through the penthouse.
The security alarm.
Everyone turned.
Alessandro’s entire body changed.
The calm disappeared.
The protective instinct returned.
Daniel looked toward the windows.
“That’s impossible.””
“What?”” I whispered.
Alessandro moved toward the security panel.
His face was cold.
“Someone accessed the private elevator.””
My arms tightened around Mia.
“Who?””
The screen flashed.
A name appeared.
And the moment Alessandro saw it, his expression turned deadly serious.
Because the person standing outside his penthouse wasn’t a stranger.
It was someone who had been dead for twelve years.
“Clara.””
His voice was barely audible.
I looked at the screen.
And my heart stopped.
Because beneath the security image was a name.
May you like
*Elena Vale.*
My mother.
