Chapter 10 - THE LAST WILLThe abandoned station led to a private rail line.
At the end of the tunnel was a mansion owned by my father.
I'd never seen it.
Never heard of it.
But Adrian knew every door.
We entered through the basement.
“Where is Peter?”
“Upstairs.”
“Who took him?”
Adrian hesitated.
Then answered:
“Your father's most loyal man.”
“Name.”
“Carlo Moretti.”
My father's old security chief.
I remembered him.
He'd disappeared after my father's death.
Everyone thought he'd retired.
We climbed the stairs.
Peter was sitting in a library.
Carlo stood behind him.
An old revolver rested against the boy's shoulder.
“Let him go.”
Carlo laughed.
“You sound like your father.”
“That's not a compliment.”
“It wasn't meant to be.”
He looked at Nicholas.
“You should have stayed buried.”
Nicholas raised his weapon.
“Put it down.”
Carlo shook his head.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
Carlo looked at me.
“Your father didn't build the Moretti empire to pass it to you.”
“Then what did he build it for?”
“To protect the children.”
“What children?”
“The ones he stole.”
Silence.
Carlo pointed toward the library shelves.
Behind them were hundreds of files.
“Every powerful family wanted children erased.”
“Scandals.”
“Illegitimate heirs.”
“Witnesses.”
“Children who knew too much.”
“Your father created a system to hide them.”
“That doesn't explain the murders.”
“No.”
Carlo looked at Peter.
“The system became profitable.”
“And Lucia?”
“She took control.”
“Why?”
“Because your father regretted what he'd built.”
Carlo reached into his coat.
He pulled out a sealed envelope.
“His final will.”
I opened it.
The document was dated twenty years ago.
It named Nicholas as executor.
Not me.
And Vanessa as the beneficiary.
I stared.
“Why her?”
Carlo smiled.
“Because she is the only person who can legally dissolve the Bellini-Moretti network.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“I don't understand.”
“You were hidden from both families.”
“Why?”
“Because your father knew Lucia would eventually kill you.”
He looked at me.
“And he knew Dominic would protect you without understanding why.”
A sharp noise came from upstairs.
Footsteps.
Many.
Carlo turned.
“They found us.”
“Who?”
He smiled.
“Everyone.”
The mansion exploded into chaos.
Men rushed through the doors.
Some wore Bellini insignia.
Others wore Moretti colors.
But they weren't fighting us.
They were fighting each other.
Lucia walked into the library.
She looked at Carlo.
“You betrayed me.”
Carlo answered:
“You betrayed the family first.”
Lucia raised her gun.
I stepped between them.
“You killed my mother.”
Lucia's face hardened.
“Yes.”
Vanessa gasped.
“Why?”
“Because she wouldn't stop digging.”
“Into what?”
Lucia looked at me.
“Your father.”
Then she pulled a document from her coat.
“This is the truth.”
She handed it to me.
It was a laboratory report.
DNA.
My father.
Elena.
Me.
And Nicholas.
All matched.
But one name was different.
Vanessa.
No match.
I frowned.
“What does this mean?”
Lucia smiled.
“It means you're all looking at the wrong person.”
Nicholas stared at the document.
“No.”
Lucia nodded.
“Yes.”
She pointed at Peter.
“He is not Elena's son.”
Peter's face went blank.
“He is Lucia Bellini's grandson.”
Vanessa whispered:
“What?”
Lucia laughed.
“Your father wasn't the man who fathered Peter.”
“Then who?”
She looked at Nicholas.
“Nicholas.”
Silence.
I turned toward my brother.
He couldn't speak.
Lucia's smile widened.
“Nicholas is Peter's father.”
Nicholas closed his eyes.
Peter looked at him.
“Daddy?”
The word hit the room like a gunshot.
Nicholas dropped his weapon.
Peter ran into his arms.
I stood frozen.
All the lies had shifted again.
But then Lucia looked directly at me.
“Now you understand.”
“No.”
I stepped forward.
“You're lying.”
She smiled.
“Then ask Nicholas.”
I looked at my brother.
He lowered his head.
May you like
And finally said:
“It's true.”
Related Stories
