For several minutes after ending the call, Adrian remained sitting on the edge of his bed, unable to take his eyes off the cup sitting on his desk.
He had always prided himself on keeping a level head. Over the years, he had learned that decisions made in anger could come at a heavy price, while fear often drove people into making mistakes they later regretted.
But lately, another weakness had begun to take over his life.
Exhaustion.
Beside him, Lily yawned peacefully.
The three-year-old seemed to have already forgotten the few words she had spoken the night before—words that had sent Adrian’s thoughts spiraling. To her, she had simply told him something she believed she had noticed.
Adrian, however, had no intention of jumping to conclusions.
“Come on. Let’s go downstairs,” he said gently.
Lily hugged her little stuffed rabbit against her chest.
“Are we having breakfast?”
“Yes.”
“Pancakes?”
Adrian put on a serious expression.
“We’ll have to negotiate.”
Lily thought for a few seconds.
“The chocolate ones.”
A faint smile finally appeared on Adrian’s face.
“You’re a very tough negotiator.”
She slipped her tiny hand into his.
The simple gesture caught him off guard.
For years, nearly every relationship in Adrian’s life had become transactional: meetings, contracts, medical appointments, business decisions. Even the friendly gestures from his brother, Dominic, sometimes seemed connected to responsibilities or family obligations.
But Lily’s hand asked for nothing.
She simply wanted to hold his.
They went downstairs together.
Nora Carter appeared in the hallway the moment she saw them.
“Lily!”
Her relief quickly turned into embarrassment.
“Mr. Moretti, I’m so sorry. I woke up and she wasn’t in her room anymore…”
“She was with me,” Adrian replied.
Lily proudly held up her stuffed rabbit.
“I fixed it.”
Nora briefly closed her eyes.
“Oh…”
Adrian fought back a smile.
“She told me a story.”
The little girl nodded proudly.
“A lion story.”
“And apparently, she managed to convince me.”
Nora studied Adrian in surprise.
She had worked in his home for nearly a year and had seen him endure some extremely difficult periods. She knew the look on his face after nights of barely sleeping and days that seemed to have no end.
But this morning, something about him seemed different.
“Did you sleep?” she asked.
“Almost seven hours.”
Nora smiled, genuinely surprised.
“That’s wonderful news.”
Adrian glanced at Lily before answering.
“Yes.”
Then his expression became serious again.
“Nora, I need to ask you something.”
She waited.
“Has Lily ever told you about anything unusual she noticed involving Dominic?”
Nora frowned slightly.
“No. Why?”
“She mentioned something last night. I just want to know whether she had ever told you about it before.”
Nora shook her head.
“Not that I know of.”
Adrian nodded.
He knew children could interpret things differently from adults. One isolated comment wasn’t enough to prove anything.
Lily, meanwhile, had already lost interest in the conversation. She was pushing her stuffed rabbit across the floor, creating an adventure of her own.
Adrian turned back to Nora.
“Don’t ask her questions about it.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“Good.”
Nora noticed the concern in his expression.
“Is something wrong?”
Adrian hesitated.
“I don’t know yet.”
It was probably the most honest answer he could give.
“But whatever happens, Lily hasn’t done anything wrong. And neither have you.”
Nora looked at him for a few seconds.
“Thank you.”
Adrian nodded.
“And today, stay away from the east wing of the house.”
“Why?”
“I have several meetings.”
That wasn’t the whole truth.
But for now, it was enough.
At 8:22 that morning, Gabriel Russo arrived through the garden entrance.
At sixty-two, with silver hair and perfectly pressed shirts, he still carried himself like a man who had never truly accepted the idea of slowing down.
For twenty-five years, Gabriel had advised Adrian’s father.
After Adrian took control of the family business, Gabriel had officially retired.
Officially.
In reality, he continued to quietly review some of the family’s most sensitive affairs—particularly matters Dominic had never been permitted to handle directly.
For years, Adrian had convinced himself that this was simply a precaution.
That morning, the distinction suddenly seemed far less important.
Gabriel entered the study and looked at Adrian.
“You look strange.”
“I slept.”
Gabriel looked puzzled.
“I don’t understand.”
Adrian pointed toward the cup he had set aside.
“Neither do I.”
Then he told Gabriel what Lily had said.
No anger.
No accusations.
Only the facts as he understood them.
Gabriel remained silent for a long moment.
“Do you think Dominic could be involved?”
Adrian shook his head.
“I think a little girl noticed something. That’s all.”
“And you don’t want to jump to conclusions?”
“Not without evidence.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Then let’s have everything that needs to be checked examined independently.”
“Yes. And discreetly.”
“Of course.”
Adrian looked out the window.
“In the meantime, I want us to review the events of the past few years. Changes in my routine, my medical appointments, decisions made on my behalf… anything that could explain why my condition gradually deteriorated.”
Gabriel hesitated.
“And Dominic?”
“Nothing against him without something concrete.”
“Even if there’s a suspicion?”
Adrian turned toward him.
“That’s exactly why. Suspicion isn’t proof.”
A faint smile crossed Gabriel’s face.
“There’s the Adrian I know.”
Before leaving, he added one final warning.
“One more thing. For a while, be more careful about what you consume and who is responsible for preparing it.”
Adrian nodded.
“I understand.”
By noon, the house had returned to its usual quiet.
Adrian sat on the terrace with a sealed bottle of water beside him while Lily colored with her pencils.
The little girl had just drawn a blue lion with some very unusual proportions.
Nora was folding laundry nearby.
But Adrian’s thoughts were elsewhere.
He kept thinking about the past three years.
His sleep had gradually deteriorated.
So had his ability to concentrate.
At first, he had blamed his workload.
Then his father’s sudden death.
Then the enormous responsibilities that had fallen onto his shoulders almost overnight.
The doctors had suggested several possible explanations: persistent fatigue, severe stress, sleep disturbances, and a difficult period of grief.
Adrian had accepted those explanations because each one seemed to contain some truth.
His father had died unexpectedly.
The family company had become his responsibility almost overnight.
Several divisions of the group were going through an unstable period.
And Dominic, his younger brother, had often been nearby whenever Adrian began struggling to focus.
He remembered some of the things Dominic had told him.
“Go home and get some sleep. I’ll handle this.”
Or:
“Don’t worry about tomorrow. I moved the meeting.”
Sometimes Adrian remembered agreeing.
Other times, he wasn’t even sure whether he had actually given permission or had simply imagined doing so.
That thought frightened him.
Suddenly, Lily held up her drawing.
“It’s you!”
Adrian looked at the blue lion.
It had six legs.
“I’m a lion?”
“Yes.”
“Why does it have six legs?”
Lily answered with complete seriousness.
“So you don’t fall down.”
Nora had to suppress a laugh.
Adrian studied the drawing.
“That’s an interesting strategy.”
Lily immediately returned to coloring.
A few seconds later, Adrian’s phone rang.
Gabriel.
Adrian stepped a little farther away before answering.
“I have the first results,” Gabriel said.
Adrian straightened.
“Already?”
“The laboratory prioritized the request.”
Adrian’s expression tightened.
“What did they find?”
Gabriel paused.
“There’s something unusual in the sample.”
Adrian’s entire attention sharpened.
“Is it enough to explain what’s been happening to me?”
“We can’t say that yet. The full analysis still needs to be completed, and only a medical professional can determine what the results actually mean for you.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
For years, he had spent a fortune trying to get his normal sleep back.
He had consulted specialists in several cities, tried different approaches, and completely changed his daily routine.
One doctor had even advised him to step away temporarily from his professional responsibilities.
Adrian had refused.
And Dominic had been in the room that day.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced.
“Gabriel.”
“Yes?”
“Find out when Dominic started personally taking care of my drinks.”
“I already checked the schedules with the staff.”
Adrian went still.
“And?”
“It goes back approximately three years.”
Silence filled the room.
Three years.
That was exactly when his problems had begun becoming serious.
“What happened around that time?” Adrian asked.
Gabriel already knew the answer.
“Your plan to restructure the group.”
Adrian remembered it perfectly.
He had wanted to reorganize the family’s various companies and place more responsibility in the hands of independent professionals.
Outside administrators.
More transparent oversight.
Fewer decisions based solely on family connections.
His father had built the empire through instinct, relationships, and personal influence.
Adrian wanted to create an organization that could survive even when the family disagreed.
Dominic had supported the idea.
But their uncle, Salvatore, had strongly opposed it.
During a family dinner, he had accused Adrian of trying to destroy their family legacy.
Adrian had calmly replied:
“Businesses can change. What matters is that our family remains a family.”
Salvatore had left the table before dinner was over.
A few weeks later, Adrian began experiencing severe sleep problems.
Until now, he had never connected the two events.
But suddenly, he wondered whether that coincidence deserved a closer look.
“Keep investigating,” Adrian said.
“Of course.”
Then Adrian immediately added:
“But don’t assume Dominic is responsible simply because the dates line up.”
Gabriel remained silent.
“Are you trying to protect him?”
Adrian looked toward Lily playing on the terrace.
“No.”
He paused.
“I’m trying to protect the truth.”
At four in the afternoon, a black car appeared outside the house.
Adrian spotted it from upstairs.
It was Dominic.
He had almost forgotten that his brother was supposed to visit that day.
As they did most Sundays when business travel didn’t interfere, they had planned to have dinner together.
But this time would be different.
Adrian already knew that the evening would probably bear little resemblance to all the Sundays before it.
Because now, for the first time, he had a reason to question the person he had trusted for years.
And he wasn’t going to stop until he discovered the truth.
