Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN WHO RAISED THEMTessa spent the next hour refusing to believe anything.
She couldn't be Victor Romano's sister.
Her mother had never mentioned Vincent Romano.
Never.
She had barely spoken about him.
Victor remained across the study.
He seemed equally unable to process what they had learned.
Paulie stood near the door.
Finally, Victor spoke.
“Take the guards outside.”
Paulie hesitated.
“Boss—”
“Leave.”
The door closed.
Silence returned.
Tessa looked at Victor.
“If I'm your sister, why did my mother raise me away from this?”
Victor stared at the fireplace.
“Because my father was dangerous.”
“You're dangerous.”
“Yes.”
“At least you admit it.”
“I've never denied it.”
Tessa folded her arms.
“Then why would my mother protect me from you?”
Victor's expression changed.
“She may have been protecting you from what I was supposed to become.”
That answer unsettled her.
“You don't act like you want to hurt me.”
“I don't.”
“You held a gun to me last night.”
“You were lying on my chest.”
“That's hardly an explanation.”
“It is in my world.”
Despite herself, Tessa almost smiled.
Almost.
Then Victor opened a drawer.
He removed another photograph.
This one showed him as a teenager beside his father.
On the far left stood Elena Moore.
Tessa's mother.
But she was holding a baby.
Tessa.
Victor handed the photograph to her.
“You weren't supposed to exist.”
She looked up.
“What?”
“My father was married.”
“To whom?”
“My mother.”
Tessa stared at him.
“Then…”
“He had another family.”
Her stomach twisted.
“Us.”
“Yes.”
Tessa sat down.
Victor remained standing.
“My father had a secret relationship with Elena.”
“For how long?”
“I don't know.”
“And Massimo knew?”
“He knew everything.”
“What happened to Elena?”
Victor's voice hardened.
“She found out my father intended to hide you permanently.”
“Why?”
“Because a rival family had threatened to kill anyone connected to him.”
Tessa looked at the photograph.
“So my mother ran.”
“Yes.”
“And Liam?”
“Your brother wasn't Vincent's son.”
Tessa's heart stopped.
“What?”
Victor looked at her.
“Liam had a different father.”
“So he wasn't…”
“Romano.”
Tessa lowered the photograph.
For the first time, everything shifted.
Liam had spent his entire life believing he was protecting her.
Perhaps he had never known the entire truth either.
Then Victor's expression changed.
“What?”
Tessa looked at him.
“My mother had another child.”
Victor frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“When I was twelve, she told me something.”
“What?”
“She said I had a sister.”
Victor froze.
“You?”
Tessa nodded.
“I thought she was talking about someone who died.”
“What name?”
Tessa searched her memory.
“Maria.”
Victor's face changed.
“That's impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because Maria was my father's first child.”
Tessa stared at him.
“Then who is Maria?”
Victor didn't answer.
A loud crash came from downstairs.
Then a guard screamed.
Victor immediately grabbed his gun.
“Stay here.”
Tessa caught his arm.
“I'm coming.”
“No.”
“You can't leave me alone.”
Victor looked at her.
Something in his expression softened.
Then he nodded.
“Stay behind me.”
They moved downstairs.
The hallway was empty.
One guard lay unconscious.
Another was missing.
The front door stood open.
Tessa's pulse accelerated.
Victor found something on the floor.
A bloodied maid's identification badge.
He picked it up.
Tessa recognized the name.
“Mrs. Callahan.”
Victor's eyes darkened.
“She worked here for twenty years.”
A phone began ringing.
Inside the unconscious guard's pocket.
Victor answered.
No one spoke.
Then a woman's voice whispered:
“Victor.”
He froze.
Tessa heard it too.
Her blood ran cold.
It was her mother's voice.
“Come to the old chapel.”
Victor stared at Tessa.
The voice continued.
“Bring my daughter.”
The call ended.
Tessa whispered:
“My mother is alive.”
Victor's eyes remained fixed on the phone.
“No.”
He slowly raised his gaze.
“That wasn't your mother.”
“Then who was it?”
May you like
Victor's face turned grim.
“Someone who knows exactly what she sounded like.”
