Chapter 11: The Room Beneath the Workshop
The old workshop looked nothing like the place I imagined.
I expected memories.
A beginning.
Something warm.
Instead, I found a building slowly being swallowed by time.
The paint had faded.
The windows were cracked.
The sign above the entrance was barely readable.
Moretti & Vale Automotive.
Two names.
One history.
One betrayal.
My father stood outside for a long moment.
He didn’t move.
“You okay?””
He nodded.
But he wasn’t.
“This place changed everything.””
Lucian stood several feet away.
“Some things changed for better.””
My father looked at him.
“Some things were destroyed.””
Gabriel said nothing.
He just watched.
I walked inside.
The smell hit me first.
Old metal.
Dust.
Oil.
The smell of the past.
There were still tools hanging on the walls.
Old photographs.
Broken machines.
A life that had been abandoned.
My father walked toward a corner.
“This is where we started.””
I looked at the old workbench.
“You and Lucian?””
He nodded.
“Yes.””
I touched the surface.
“Mom came here?””
My father looked away.
“All the time.””
Lucian smiled sadly.
“She believed in us before anyone else did.””
That was the first time I heard warmth in his voice.
Not anger.
Not revenge.
Just grief.
Then Gabriel spoke.
“Search the floor.””
I turned.
“What?””
“The proof won’t be sitting on a table.””
My father immediately looked at him.
“How do you know?””
Gabriel didn’t answer.
That silence was suspicious.
We searched the workshop.
Minutes passed.
Nothing.
Then I noticed something.
A small scratch on the floor.
Near the old workbench.
I knelt down.
“There’s something here.””
Everyone came closer.
The wooden panel lifted.
Beneath it was a hidden compartment.
My father went completely still.
“You knew about this?””
“No.””
Lucian looked shocked.
“I never saw that.””
Inside was a metal box.
Old.
Locked.
My father reached for it.
But stopped.
“What?””
He looked at me.
“Your mother hid things for a reason.””
“And?””
“And sometimes the truth hurts everyone.””
I stared at him.
“Dad.””
Slowly, he opened the box.
Inside were documents.
A recording device.
And one photograph.
The photograph was of my mother.
But she wasn’t alone.
Standing beside her was a man.
My uncle Marco.
And another person.
Someone I recognized.
Someone who made my blood freeze.
Carolina.
“What?””
Everyone looked.
Gabriel grabbed the photograph.
His expression changed.
“No.””
My father took it.
“When was this taken?””
Lucian looked closer.
“Before the accident.””
Nobody spoke.
I looked at Carolina’s face in the photograph.
She looked younger.
But it was definitely her.
“What was she doing here?””
My father picked up the recording device.
“We’re about to find out.””
He pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then my mother’s voice.
My knees almost gave out.
“Adrian, if you’re hearing this, it means something happened.””
Everyone froze.
Her voice.
After all these years.
“I don’t have much time.””
My father covered his mouth.
The recording continued.
“Marco knows what I found.””
A pause.
“He isn’t working alone.””
My heart raced.
Another pause.
Then my mother said:
“There is someone inside the company helping him.””
The recording crackled.
Then came the sentence that changed everything.
“Adrian, the person closest to you is the one you should fear.””
The audio stopped.
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Then Gabriel looked at Carolina’s photograph.
And whispered:
“She knew.””
My father looked at him.
“Knew what?””
Gabriel’s face became pale.
“She wasn’t just involved.””
May you like
He looked at me.
“She was there the night your mother died.””
