Chapter 7 - The Father Behind the Glass
Luca found Antonio in a private medical facility beneath an abandoned hotel.
The building had no sign, no official entrance, and no connection to any registered hospital.
Sofia had traced a series of payments to a company controlled by Edward Hart.
Gabriel insisted on accompanying Luca.
They entered through a service corridor and passed two armed guards.
At the end of the hallway was a glass door.
A man sat in a wheelchair beside a window.
His hair had turned almost completely white.
His face was thinner.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
Antonio Moretti.
Luca stopped walking.
For six years, he had dreamed of this moment.
He had imagined anger, questions, accusations, even revenge.
But when his father turned and looked at him, all Luca could say was:
“Dad?”
Antonio's face crumpled.
“My boy.”
Luca crossed the room.
He grabbed his father's shoulders.
Then he stepped back.
“Why?”
Antonio lowered his head.
“I had to disappear.”
“You let me bury an empty coffin?”
“I thought it would protect you.”
“You let me become a killer because I believed you were dead!”
Antonio closed his eyes.
“I know.”
Luca began pacing.
“Who was in the coffin?”
Antonio looked toward Gabriel.
Gabriel answered.
“An unidentified body from the warehouse.”
Luca turned.
“And you knew?”
“I helped arrange it,” Gabriel admitted.
Luca's voice rose.
“You all watched me mourn him!”
Antonio reached for his son's hand.
“I never stopped being your father.”
“Then you should have acted like one.”
Silence filled the room.
Antonio finally explained what had happened.
On October 3, Richard had arranged an ambush. Edward Hart was supposed to deliver the original trust documents. But the meeting was interrupted by an explosion.
Antonio had been severely injured.
Gabriel pulled him from the building.
Adrian disappeared with Vanessa.
Richard announced that Antonio was dead and began taking control of the family organization.
Antonio could have returned, but Richard threatened to kill Elena, Luca, and Adrian if he did.
“So you hid?” Luca asked.
“I waited for evidence.”
“For six years?”
Antonio nodded.
“I made a terrible choice.”
Luca looked at the medical equipment.
“Why are you here?”
Antonio hesitated.
“Because I have been dying.”
The diagnosis was advanced heart disease caused by injuries sustained in the explosion.
Doctors had given him only months.
Luca's anger gave way to something more painful.
“Why didn't you call me?”
Antonio looked at him.
“Because I was ashamed.”
Before Luca could respond, the door opened.
Adrian entered.
He carried a gun.
Vanessa followed him.
Luca immediately stepped between his father and his brother.
Adrian looked at him.
“You finally found him.”
Luca stared at his identical face.
“You knew?”
“I found him two years ago.”
“Then why did you let me believe he was dead?”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Because he asked me to.”
Antonio struggled to sit upright.
“Adrian, put the gun down.”
“No.”
“Son—”
“Don't call me that!”
Adrian's voice cracked.
“You sent Luca away from the truth. You gave him the company. You gave him the family name. And you expected me to accept whatever was left.”
Antonio shook his head.
“I wanted you both.”
“But you chose him.”
Luca stepped forward.
“You think I wanted this? I spent six years trying to become the man I thought Dad wanted me to be. I lost everything because I believed he was dead.”
Adrian's eyes flickered.
For a moment, the two brothers looked less like enemies and more like children who had been told they weren't loved equally.
Then Vanessa spoke.
“Adrian, we have to go.”
Luca turned.
“Where's Noah?”
Adrian lowered his weapon.
“He's safe.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere Richard can't reach him.”
Antonio suddenly looked frightened.
“Richard knows about this place.”
Gabriel reached for his gun.
Too late.
The lights went out.
An explosion shook the hallway.
The glass door shattered.
When emergency lights flashed on, Antonio's wheelchair was empty.
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A message had been written across the glass in red paint.
ONE SON WILL LEAVE. ONE SON WILL DIE.
