Trusting Him Was A Mistake

~ Alina’s POV

Ever since I came to Florence for a job opportunity, I have never felt better about myself. My job was to digitize old legal archives with accuracy, and working alone has always been the biggest perk of the job. Under the dim light of the lamp, I went through the almost-torn file, typing away on the computer, making sure no detail was left unattended.

I stretched my back and sighed in relief when I was done with the file and moved to put the file in the pile that was ready to be shredded. Once I was done with digitizing the records, the hard copies were shredded, as if never to be seen again.

Adjusting my glasses, I moved to the shelf, working through the files and moving on to the next when my fingers stopped on an elite family name. My breath caught when I realized that the file belonged to an extinct noble family, “The Russos.“ Adrenaline rushed through my veins as I tried to type in the pin to access the cabinet it was stored in. I frowned when I realized that the pin wasn’t working, and it wouldn’t give me access to the file.

“That’s weird,“ I murmured as I moved to the cabinet next to the noble family, and it opened with ease. I was already suspicious at this point, so I did something I knew I would get in trouble for. I went to my desk and typed away, making sure no one was around and that my history would be gone by the time I was done. I quickly removed security on all of the cabinets and rushed to pull the file out before hurrying back to the desk and restricting the cabinets again.

Blood pumped fast through my veins as I looked around once more, making sure I was alone before I did what I clearly was forbidden to do. I opened the file as my heartbeat drummed through my eardrums.

I looked through it, trying to catch something…anything that would show why it was placed in such secrecy, but I couldn’t find anything. As I was about to close the file, my file landed on a page where two names were written down. My breath hitched when my eyes landed on the bold letters.

Elena Moretti

Luca Moretti

My parents. My deceased parents. Mom and Dad, who died years ago in an accident.

“No…“ I whispered as confusion spiralled through my mind. But before I started overthinking, I checked twice. Maybe they were someone else and only had the same names as my parents. I flipped through the pages again, and the details of their death didn’t even match one bit to what actually happened…or what was shown to me.

I looked at the profiles of those two people, and a shiver ran down my spine when I realized that their birth date and death date were the same as my parents’. Tears welled up in my eyes when the flashback of the accident hit me. I was told that they died in a car accident….not murdered.

~ Flashback

“No…please…officer, there must be something you can do, please. They never drove recklessly. It is impossible that it was a drink-and-drive case…“ I rambled on to the officer in charge, begging him to continue with the investigation they had closed, saying that the driver was reckless.

“Listen, lady, every kid thinks their parents are angels until they’re shown otherwise. So, step out now and—“

“Luke, stop…“ The other officer hushed him and moved towards me. I had rushed to the hospital when I learned that they closed the investigation because it was a drink-and-drive case, but I knew… I knew it in my gut that it was not the case.

“Look, Alina…can I call you that?“ I looked at him, tears staining my cheeks, and nodded hesitantly, wiping my nose with the napkin he gave me. “I know it’s hard to accept, but trust me, we don’t have a choice. We simply closed the investigation based on the findings we got, okay? There’s nothing we can do, kid.“

I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed silent, nodding my head as if I understood what he was trying to say, as if I accepted…but I didn’t.

~ End of Flashback

“This….It can’t be…“ I stuttered as I hurriedly wiped my tears and continued to flip through the pages, trying to make sense of why their deaths were mentioned in a random file. Not just a random file, but under the name of the most noble extinct family. I watched as the details started to change, the details of their death. When my eyes fell on the date of the file, my breath caught.

The date written was five years after their actual death. My hands started to tremble when the realization settled in. It wasn’t just a random false case; they fabricated it years after their death. I opened the computer, rummaging through the system, trying to find anything, any link that could give me clarity, help me understand what the hell was actually going on here.

I moved to the system and put in “The Russo“ name, and nothing showed. With a huge pit in my stomach and a lump in my throat, I removed the name and entered “Moretti.“

I gasped, and my eyes flew wide open when I saw multiple entries in the system, relating to “Elena Moretti“ and “Luca Moretti.“

I scrolled to the end and opened the first-ever entry of their name with shaky breath, trying to keep myself grounded even though I was on the verge of breaking down. I quickly wiped my tears to see clearly, and when I realized that there were multiple annotation layers of the file, revealing previous versions of the details, my heart flipped.

I opened the first entry and gasped when the file opened and revealed details that even I wasn’t aware. Details about my parents that were never disclosed…not even by them.