Chapter 13 - The Truth Under My Mother's NameWe found Lucia at dawn.
Not because we tracked her.
Because she wanted to be found.
She was sitting in an old seaside chapel.
Waiting beside the water.
When I saw her, I forgot everything else.
My mother.
Alive.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakably her.
“Mom.”
She looked at me.
Tears filled her eyes.
“You look just like your sister.”
I wanted to hug her.
Instead I stood there.
“Why did you lie to me?”
She closed her eyes.
“Because the truth would have killed you.”
“You let me grow up believing I had no sister.”
“I had no choice.”
“You stole my life.”
“I saved it.”
I shook my head.
“You erased me.”
“I hid you.”
“You made me think I was nobody.”
She stepped closer.
“You were supposed to survive.”
I stared at her.
“Tell me everything.”
She nodded.
“Your father was Gabriel Valdez.”
“So Dante's father wasn't?”
“No.”
“Victor said Carlo was.”
“Victor lies.”
My mother looked at Isabella.
“He always has.”
Then she looked at Dante.
“Carlo adopted you because he believed you would inherit his empire.”
Dante's expression remained cold.
“He manipulated your mother.”
“She knew.”
“What?”
“She knew Carlo wasn't your biological father.”
Dante stiffened.
“She protected you because she believed you were the only good thing left in that family.”
I looked at Isabella.
“And us?”
“Your father wanted both daughters safe.”
“Why did he disappear?”
“He was killed.”
“By Carlo?”
Lucia nodded.
“Then why did you say he died before we were born?”
“To keep Carlo from finding you.”
She sat down.
“I was pregnant with twins when your father died.”
I sat beside her.
“Carlo wanted Isabella.”
“Because she was the older twin?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because she was born first.”
I frowned.
“What difference did that make?”
Lucia looked at Dante.
“Carlo's inheritance laws were old.”
She explained that Carlo had created a secret trust tied to the bloodline of the Moretti family. Whoever could prove direct succession could claim assets, properties, and hidden accounts worth billions.
Gabriel was the first male heir.
But the trust required the mother's family to remain connected.
Isabella knew about the trust.
She refused to hand Gabriel over.
I listened in silence.
“And me?”
Lucia took my hand.
“You were never part of the inheritance.”
She hesitated.
“You were the key to destroying it.”
“How?”
“Your DNA.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because your father left evidence encoded in it.”
I almost laughed.
“You're saying my DNA has evidence?”
She shook her head.
“Not literally.”
She handed me a small metal case.
Inside was an old ring.
My father's ring.
There was a hidden compartment.
Inside was a strip of microfilm.
Dante took it.
His face changed.
“What?”
“Bank account numbers.”
Lucia nodded.
“Carlo stole money from powerful families.”
“Billions?”
“Yes.”
“And this proves it?”
“It proves who financed him.”
Dante examined the film.
Then he looked up.
“These are government accounts.”
My stomach dropped.
Lucia nodded.
“That's why he was never prosecuted.”
“The police were involved.”
“Yes.”
“The politicians too.”
“Yes.”
I remembered the ledger.
The names.
The payments.
The corruption.
My mother had spent decades collecting evidence.
Then she told me the final truth.
“Isabella's death was staged because she had to disappear.”
“But she was alive.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she come back now?”
Lucia looked toward her daughter.
“Because Gabriel is sick.”
Dante lowered his eyes.
“How bad?”
Lucia answered.
“He doesn't have much time.”
Silence.
I looked at Gabriel.
He was sleeping.
My heart cracked.
“How much?”
“Months.”
I looked at Dante.
He looked shattered.
Then Lucia handed me a final document.
“There's one way to save him.”
I read it.
Stem cell transplantation.
My blood was a compatible match.
I stared at her.
“So that's why everyone wanted me.”
“Yes.”
“They weren't hunting me because of the empire.”
“No.”
“They wanted my blood.”
Lucia nodded.
But then she whispered something that made my hands freeze.
“There is one thing I never told you.”
“What?”
“You are not just a compatible donor.”
She looked directly into my eyes.
May you like
“You are Gabriel's biological mother.”
I stopped breathing.
