Adrian stepped closer.
“You left my brother in a warehouse?”
Thomas began crying.
“I was afraid.”
“You were afraid?”
“I had a son. Victor threatened my family.”
Adrian wanted to hit him.
But Daniel touched his arm.
“Let him talk.”
Thomas looked at Daniel.
“I went back the next morning.”
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“You weren't there.”
“I know.”
“Where was I?”
“I don't know.”
Thomas explained that someone must have found Daniel and taken him away.
Victor later told everyone Daniel was dead.
The police investigation was manipulated.
Thomas remained silent.
Then, years later, he left Victor's organization.
He had lived with guilt ever since.
Adrian stood in silence.
For twenty-five years, his family had mourned a death that had never happened.
Daniel had survived.
But survival had cost him everything.
His memories.
His home.
His family.
His identity.
His life.
And now Adrian understood why Daniel had no idea where he had been.
After the meeting, Daniel sat quietly in the passenger seat.
Adrian drove for nearly an hour without speaking.
Finally Daniel said, “You hate me?”
Adrian looked at him in disbelief.
“Why would I hate you?”
“Because I disappeared.”
“You were a child.”
“So were you.”
Adrian's eyes filled with tears.
“I spent twenty-five years thinking I failed you.”
Daniel looked out the window.
“Maybe we both lost twenty-five years.”
Adrian reached over and squeezed his shoulder.
“But we found each other.”
Daniel smiled faintly.
“That matters.”
The following months were difficult.
Daniel's memories returned in fragments.
A song brought back their mother's voice.
The smell of fresh bread reminded him of the café kitchen.
A photograph brought back the image of their father.
One afternoon, Adrian showed him an old family album.
Daniel turned the pages slowly.
Then he stopped.
There was a photograph of two boys sitting beneath an apple tree.
Adrian was six.
Daniel was eight.
Daniel touched the photograph.
“I remember this.”
Adrian smiled.
“What do you remember?”
“You were crying.”
Adrian laughed.
“Why?”
“I told you the tree was haunted.”
Adrian shook his head.
“You lied to me.”
“I was trying to scare you.”
“You succeeded.”
They laughed together.
For the first time, the years between them seemed to disappear.
But one photograph caused Daniel to become silent.
It showed their father standing outside the café.
Daniel stared at the man's face.
Then he whispered:
“Dad knew.”
Adrian frowned.
“Knew what?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Victor.”
“What about him?”
“He was angry.”
A memory came back.
His father arguing with Victor.
Victor shouting.
His father saying, “You will never get this property.”
Then Daniel remembered something else.
His father had told him:
“If anything happens, don't trust Victor.”
Daniel opened his eyes.
Adrian stared at him.
“Our father knew Victor was dangerous.”
They searched the old family records.
Behind a false panel in the café office, they found a locked metal box.
Inside were letters.
Financial documents.
Photographs.
And one handwritten note.
Adrian unfolded it.
The handwriting belonged to his father.
If anything happens to me or Daniel, Victor Bellini must be investigated.
Adrian's hands trembled.
There was another document.
A property agreement proving Victor had attempted to purchase the café through a fraudulent contract.
There was also a letter addressed to a lawyer.
His father had planned to expose Victor.
But he died before he could.
Adrian sat down.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Victor had not simply wanted the café.
He had wanted control of everything.
The investigation eventually uncovered enough evidence to reopen the old case.