A week later, Clara received a letter—no return address, no signature, just a single line: "The past never stays buried."
She showed it to the others. "Who would send this?" Isabella asked, her jaw tight.
Enzo studied the envelope. "The handwriting is familiar… but I can't place it."
That night, Clara had a dream—she was back in her childhood home, watching her father pack a bag. "You have to be strong, my little girl," he said. "No matter what happens, remember who you are."
She woke up sweating, Alessandro beside her, his hand on her shoulder. "What is it?" he asked.
"My father," she said quietly. "He left when I was young—said he had to protect us from something. I never knew what."
The next day, they began digging into Clara's past. Enzo used his contacts to pull old records, while Isabella tracked down anyone who might have known her father. What they found shocked them.
Clara's father, Marco, had been one of the most powerful bosses in the city—before Salvatore betrayed him. He hadn't left to protect his family out of fear—he'd gone into hiding to gather evidence against Salvatore, hoping to take him down and restore peace to the city. But he'd been caught before he could act, and had been presumed dead for over a decade.
But the records showed something else—Marco was alive. He was living in a small town a few hours away, working as a mechanic.
Clara stared at the photo Enzo had found. "We have to go see him," she said.