Chapter 9 - THE REPLACEMENTLuca couldn't hear anything for several seconds.
A replacement.
The word echoed inside his head.
Isabella took one step backward.
“The truth is simpler than you think.”
“Then explain.”
“Your mother gave birth to a girl first.”
Elena.
“Then came a boy.”
Luca.
“The girl was the heir.”
“So why was I raised as the Valenti heir?”
“Because your grandfather believed a son would be easier to control.”
Luca stared at Elena.
She looked equally shattered.
Isabella continued.
“Your grandfather didn't trust women.”
“So he replaced me?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“He replaced himself.”
Luca frowned.
“What?”
“Your grandfather didn't want anyone else controlling the trust.”
“He changed the rules.”
“Made the male child the public heir.”
“But Elena remained the biological heir.”
“Yes.”
Luca suddenly understood why both of them had been manipulated.
They weren't enemies.
They were insurance policies.
One public.
One hidden.
Isabella moved toward the exit.
“Tonight, the trust activates.”
“Why?”
“Because the old shareholders are dying.”
“And?”
“The bloodline must choose.”
Luca stepped forward.
“Choose what?”
“One heir.”
He looked at Elena.
“No.”
Isabella smiled.
“You don't get to choose.”
She pulled Marco closer.
“Because he has the ledger.”
Luca stared.
“You said the ledger was fake.”
“I said the one you found was fake.”
Isabella removed a second ledger from her coat.
“This is the real one.”
Matteo raised his weapon.
“Drop it.”
Isabella laughed.
“You'll shoot me?”
“No.”
Matteo's finger tightened.
“Not in front of Luca.”
Isabella looked at him.
“You're still pretending to be loyal.”
Luca turned.
“What does she mean?”
Matteo remained silent.
Luca's face hardened.
“Matteo.”
Isabella smiled.
“Ask him where he was the night your mother died.”
Luca stared at Matteo.
“Where?”
Matteo looked away.
“I was there.”
The room froze.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“You knew my mother was alive?”
“Yes.”
“And you lied?”
“I was ordered to.”
“By whom?”
Matteo looked at Isabella.
Isabella smiled.
“By me.”
Luca raised his gun toward Matteo.
“Did you help kill her?”
“No.”
“Then what did you do?”
“Protected you.”
“By lying to me?”
“Yes.”
Luca's anger rose.
“You all keep using that word.”
Protect.
As if lies could somehow become love.
Isabella suddenly pushed Marco toward the wall.
A hidden door opened.
“Goodbye.”
She disappeared with Marco.
Luca rushed forward.
Too late.
The passage slammed shut.
He turned to Matteo.
“Open it.”
Matteo stared at the wall.
“I don't know how.”
Luca grabbed him by the collar.
“You knew my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Elena.”
“Yes.”
“What aren't you telling me?”
Matteo finally spoke.
“The night your mother died…”
He paused.
“…she gave me a message.”
“What message?”
Matteo looked at Elena.
“She told me if Luca ever discovered Room 317, I was to tell him the truth.”
“What truth?”
Matteo reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a folded piece of paper.
Luca opened it.
His mother’s handwriting.
Luca,
If you are reading this, trust no Valenti. Not even the one you love.
Below it was one final line.
Especially Elena.
Luca looked at her.
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't know.”
The mansion shook.
A deep mechanical sound came from below.
Matteo looked toward the floor.
“The vault.”
Luca stared.
“It's opening.”
They followed the vibration to the old dining room.
A section of floor slid aside.
Stone steps descended into darkness.
At the bottom was a steel door.
The Bellini crest was engraved across it.
And beneath the crest:
HEIRS ONLY.
Luca stepped forward.
Nothing happened.
Elena touched the door.
It opened instantly.
Inside stood hundreds of files.
Photographs.
Bank keys.
Passports.
Birth certificates.
Then Luca saw one final folder.
His name was written on it.
He opened it.
Inside was a single page.
SUBJECT: LUCA VALENTI
STATUS: IMPOSTOR HEIR
He flipped the page.
The second page read:
SUBJECT: ELENA RUSSO
STATUS: PRIMARY HEIR
Then a third page.
INSTRUCTION: WHEN BOTH HEIRS ARE REUNITED, ELIMINATE LUCA.
Elena stared at him.
Before either could speak, a red light began blinking.
A countdown appeared on the wall.
10:00
09:59
09:58
Matteo whispered:
“What is that?”
Luca stared at the ticking numbers.
“An execution protocol.”
“Whose?”
The door behind them locked.
Luca looked at Elena.
The timer dropped to nine minutes.
Then a voice came through the speakers.
May you like
His grandfather.
“Welcome home, grandchildren.”
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