Chapter 4 - THE WRONG GIRLThe words made no sense.

Vittorio grabbed Elena's arm.

“What did you mean?”

Elena pulled away.

“They thought they had Lucy.”

“They do have Lucy.”

“No.”

“Then who was taken?”

Elena looked toward the upstairs hallway.

“Emma's daughter.”

Silence.

Emma froze.

“My daughter?”

“Yes.”

Emma stared at Elena.

“My daughter died eight years ago.”

Elena shook her head.

“She was reported dead.”

Emma's face collapsed.

Vittorio looked between them.

“What is going on?”

Emma started crying.

She had kept her face under control for three months.

She had faced Bianca's cruelty.

She had recorded the abuse.

She had survived threats.

But now she broke.

“She wasn't dead,” Emma whispered.

Vittorio sat down.

“Tell me.”

Emma covered her mouth.

“Eight years ago, my husband died. My daughter disappeared the same night.”

“Why?”

“Because someone took her.”

“Who?”

Emma stared directly at him.

“Your mother.”

Vittorio's expression hardened.

“That doesn't make sense.”

“She came to me.”

“Why?”

“She said my daughter was in danger.”

Emma wiped her tears.

“She told me if I wanted my daughter alive, I had to make everyone believe she was dead.”

Vittorio looked at Elena.

Elena nodded.

“Isabella saved several children.”

Vittorio whispered:

“From whom?”

“The Bellini Foundation.”

His stomach dropped.

The foundation was a charitable organization Vittorio had inherited.

Hospitals.

Shelters.

Schools.

International aid.

It had been his pride.

His mother had always told him it represented the best of their family.

“You're saying the foundation was involved?”

“Not officially,” Elena said.

“Then who?”

Elena stared at him.

“Your father.”

Vittorio's face changed.

His father had been dead for twelve years.

Dead in a plane crash.

Or so everyone believed.

A sound came from the hallway.

Lucy walked toward them.

She looked frightened.

“Daddy?”

Vittorio immediately went to her.

“I'm here.”

Lucy whispered:

“Bianca told me something.”

“What?”

“She said Grandma was still alive.”

Vittorio looked at Elena.

Lucy continued.

“She said Grandma kept me safe.”

“Why would she say that?”

Lucy hesitated.

“Because she said I was worth a lot of money.”

Vittorio felt sick.

“How much?”

Lucy shook her head.

“She said I was worth more than the house.”

Then Elena spoke.

“Not money.”

Everyone turned.

Elena looked at Lucy.

“Blood.”

Vittorio stared.

“What?”

Elena moved toward Lucy slowly.

“Your daughter carries something your family has been searching for for decades.”

“What?”

“The Bellini inheritance.”

“I know the inheritance.”

“No.”

Elena's voice dropped.

“Not the money.”

She touched Lucy's shoulder.

“A genetic line.”

Vittorio frowned.

“That's impossible.”

Elena shook her head.

“Your mother discovered that the Bellini family has a rare genetic condition. It was intentionally hidden. And someone has spent decades trying to locate descendants who carry it.”

Vittorio stared at Lucy.

“What does Lucy have?”

Elena answered:

“Proof.”

Before Vittorio could ask another question, the front door slammed open.

A man walked inside.

He was wearing an expensive black suit.

No weapon.

No mask.

He looked completely calm.

Vittorio recognized him immediately.

His father's former attorney.

“Mr. Bellini,” the man said.

Vittorio reached for his gun.

The attorney smiled.

“You should put that away.”

“Why?”

“Because I came to give you your daughter back.”

Vittorio froze.

“Where is Lucy?”

The attorney looked beside him.

Lucy was still standing there.

He pointed toward the staircase.

“Not that daughter.”

Vittorio's face went cold.

The attorney placed a small box on the table.

Inside was an old hospital bracelet.

It carried one name.

LUCIA BELLINI.

But the date was twenty years earlier.

Vittorio stared.

His daughter had been born twelve years ago.

He slowly looked at Lucy.

Then at Elena.

And finally at Emma.

The attorney smiled.

“You've spent twelve years protecting a girl.”

He leaned closer.

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“But you never asked yourself one simple question.”

“Which girl?”