Chapter 12 - The old Hart house stood on a hill outside the city.Blackened walls.
Collapsed roof.
Dead trees surrounding it.
Elena had not returned since she was a child.
She remembered fire.
She remembered her mother's perfume.
She remembered Dante.
Nothing else.
The front door hung open.
Dante stepped inside first.
Julian followed.
Elena stood at the threshold.
Something about the house felt familiar.
A child's drawing remained on one wall.
A little girl had drawn four people.
Mother.
Father.
Girl.
Man.
Elena touched it.
“That's Dante.”
Dante looked at the drawing.
“I never saw this.”
“You were here.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The night your mother died.”
Elena looked at him.
“Then tell me what happened.”
“I arrived before Harold.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
The floor creaked.
A hidden door opened beneath the staircase.
They descended.
The basement was untouched.
Shelves.
Boxes.
Blueprints.
Old photographs.
A projector.
And a small cassette recorder.
Elena pressed play.
Claire's voice filled the room.
“My daughter, if you found this, then the house survived.”
Elena's eyes filled.
“I need you to know something.”
Claire paused.
“I lied to you.”
Dante looked at Elena.
Claire continued.
“You believed your father was Matteo Moretti.”
Dante frowned.
“That wasn't true.”
Elena stared.
Claire's voice continued:
“Matteo believed he was your father.”
Dante whispered:
“What?”
Claire said:
“The truth is more complicated.”
A photograph appeared on the projector.
Claire stood beside a younger Dante.
Another man stood beside them.
Elena stared.
The man's face was identical to Dante.
Twins.
Matteo.
Claire had loved one.
But the child belonged to the other.
Elena stared.
Dante's face went blank.
Claire's voice continued.
“I never told you which brother was your biological father because I wasn't certain.”
Dante whispered:
“No.”
Claire had been involved with both brothers.
Elena looked at him.
“That means…”
Dante couldn't finish.
The projector changed.
A DNA report.
PATERNITY: 99.97%
Father:
DANTE MORETTI
Elena's heart stopped.
Dante stared at the report.
“I didn't know.”
“You were my father.”
“Yes.”
“You married me.”
Dante looked devastated.
“I didn't know.”
Elena backed away.
The entire room seemed to tilt.
Her husband.
Her protector.
Her biological father.
The thought was horrifying.
“No.”
Dante reached toward her.
“Don't touch me.”
“Elena, please.”
She stepped back.
“You married me because you thought I was the daughter of your brother.”
“Yes.”
“But I was your daughter.”
“I didn't know.”
“You knew I could be.”
“I never knew.”
She covered her mouth.
Julian looked horrified.
“Dante…”
Dante stared at Elena.
“I swear to you, I never knew.”
A voice came from the stairs.
“That's the truth.”
They turned.
Isabella stood there.
Elena stared.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Because Claire told me.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That if you remembered everything, you'd hate him.”
Elena stared at Dante.
“Why?”
Isabella walked down the stairs.
“Because the last memory isn't about your mother.”
She looked at Dante.
“It is about your birth.”
Dante's expression changed.
“No.”
Isabella nodded.
“Your father didn't die.”
Dante froze.
“My father?”
“The real Matteo Moretti.”
She looked at Elena.
“Your biological father.”
Elena's breath caught.
“He is alive.”
Dante stared.
Impossible.
Isabella smiled.
“And he's been controlling everything from the beginning.”
The basement door slammed shut.
Someone locked it from outside.
Then a voice came through the speaker.
May you like
A voice Elena had never heard.
“Hello, daughter.”
