The name *Demitri Valentino* echoed in her mind. Her instincts told her this was important, that this person was connected to her somehow. She typed his name into the search bar, her small face illuminated by the blue glow of the screen.
At first, the search results showed nothing unusual. News articles, vague references to a business mogul in Europe, some records of travel. But Tang Ning knew better. She dug deeper, bypassing the usual layers of information and slipping into encrypted files—something most adults would have no idea how to do.
And then, she found something. A locked file. Her eyes narrowed.
It took her some time, but eventually, she bypassed the security on the file, her little fingers working furiously on the keyboard. The screen flickered, and a document opened before her eyes.
Inside were photos of a man—her father, *Demitri Valentino*. There was no mistaking it. His face was sharp, dark hair slicked back, his eyes filled with a dangerous intensity. There were also photos of her mother, Lin, a beautiful woman with soft eyes who looked strikingly like Tang Ning herself.
But what stood out most were the documents attached to the photos. Records of a dangerous past. Her father was not just a businessman—he was involved in something much darker. The *Valentino* name was linked to organized crime, one of the largest mafia families in Europe.
Her small hands trembled as she read on. A list of names, dangerous people—enemies of her family, the *Fedorov* family among them.
She sat back, her mind swirling with the weight of what she had just discovered. Her father, her mother—they were hiding. Not because they didn't want to be with her, but because they were protecting her. And the Fedorovs... whoever they were, they wanted to hurt her family.
Tang Ning's heart pounded in her chest. She knew she needed to reach out to someone, to tell them she knew. She didn't understand everything yet, but she knew enough to realize her family was in danger.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard once again. She tried to send a message—something simple, something that would alert her father, her family, that she was onto the truth. But as she hit 'send', the screen flashed an error.
*Message failed.*
She tried again. And again. Each time, the same result. It was as if her message was being blocked, as if someone—somewhere—was preventing her from reaching out.
Frustrated but undeterred, Tang Ning closed the laptop and crawled back into bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin. She stared up at the ceiling, her young mind racing with the enormity of what she had uncovered.
She couldn't tell her grandfather. He would only protect her, shield her from the truth. But now, she needed to know everything.
*Demitri Valentino*, her father. The man in hiding. She would find him. And one day, she would uncover all the secrets of her family.
But for now, she would have to wait.
©Beersheba