Chapter 8 - The Real NameBeatrice had no memories from before she was five.
Her mother had always said it was because of a childhood illness.
Now Victoria told her another story.
“You weren't sick.”
Beatrice sat chained to a metal chair.
Victoria paced in front of her.
“You were kidnapped.”
“By whom?”
“Your father.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Victoria tossed a folder onto the table.
Inside were documents.
Birth certificate.
Hospital records.
A photograph of a newborn baby.
And a name.
Elena Gabrielina Vale.
Beatrice stared.
That name was not hers.
But the baby looked like her.
Victoria watched her reaction.
“Your father stole you from another family.”
“Why?”
“Because your biological mother knew too much.”
Beatrice shook her head.
“My mother loved me.”
Victoria smiled sadly.
“She did.”
That answer hurt more.
“She protected you by becoming someone else.”
Beatrice looked at the photograph.
“Who was my biological mother?”
Victoria's smile disappeared.
“Maria Rossi.”
The room seemed to stop.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“That's impossible.”
“That's why Lily trusts you.”
Beatrice's breath caught.
Victoria continued.
“Maria wasn't only your father's wife.”
Beatrice's stomach twisted.
“What are you saying?”
“She was your mother.”
The words landed like a gunshot.
Beatrice could barely breathe.
“If that's true…”
“Then Lily is your sister.”
Beatrice closed her eyes.
Lily.
The child she had loved without understanding why.
The drawings.
The way Lily curled against her.
The instant trust.
Maybe blood knew what memory had forgotten.
Victoria leaned closer.
“Your father took you after Maria discovered the Rossi family was going to use you as leverage.”
Beatrice whispered:
“My father?”
“Gabriel Vale.”
“Then why did he say I was his?”
“He wanted you to go with him.”
“Why?”
Victoria smiled.
“Because you're the only person who can open the vault.”
Beatrice suddenly understood.
The bracelet.
The hidden microchip.
The vault.
All of it.
Her entire life had been built around a secret she never knew she carried.
She looked at Victoria.
“You're working with Gabriel.”
Victoria said nothing.
“That means you lied to Leo.”
“I lied to everyone.”
“Why?”
Victoria's eyes became hard.
“Because I loved someone.”
Beatrice laughed bitterly.
“You tortured a six-year-old because you loved someone?”
Victoria flinched.
“I did what I had to do.”
“For whom?”
Victoria answered:
“For my son.”
Beatrice froze.
“What son?”
Victoria began crying.
“Adrian.”
The door opened.
Adrian stepped inside.
Beatrice stared at him.
He looked at Victoria.
“Did she tell you?”
Victoria nodded.
Adrian knelt in front of Beatrice.
“I never wanted Lily hurt.”
“You let Victoria hurt her.”
“I needed Leo angry enough to follow.”
“You used my niece.”
Adrian smiled.
“Exactly.”
Beatrice recoiled.
“Why?”
Adrian's voice dropped.
“Because your brother is dying.”
“What?”
“Leo's father poisoned him years ago.”
Beatrice stared.
“And the cure is in the vault.”
Adrian took a key from his pocket.
“The vault contains medicine formulas, blackmail records, and one final secret.”
“What secret?”
He smiled.
“The truth about why Maria died.”
Then the room went dark.
A gunshot came from the hallway.
Adrian stood.
Victoria screamed.
May you like
And Leo Rossi's voice thundered from outside:
“Touch her again and I will bury every one of you.”
