Chapter 2 - The Fiancée Who Was Never Supposed to Exist
Luca Moretti had faced armed enemies without blinking.
But nothing had prepared him for the possibility that the woman he intended to marry had once been his father's daughter.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
The old office clock ticked above the fireplace.
Vanessa stood across from him, her crimson gown reflecting the warm light of the chandelier.
Emily remained beside the door.
On the desk lay three photographs, an adoption record, a brass key, and a gun.
Everything Luca believed about his family had suddenly become evidence against it.
"Tell me exactly what you mean," he said.
Vanessa looked toward the portrait.
"I was born Vanessa Moretti."
Luca felt something tighten in his chest.
"That's impossible."
"That's what I thought."
"When did you find out?"
"Three weeks ago."
He studied her face.
Three weeks.
Three weeks of wedding preparations. Three weeks of shared dinners, quiet conversations, and promises about their future.
Three weeks during which she had kissed him goodnight while carrying a secret that could destroy them both.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I needed to know whether it was true."
"So you pointed a gun at my father's picture?"
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
"I wasn't going to shoot it."
"Then why bring the gun?"
She hesitated.
"Because someone told me the answer was hidden behind that painting."
"Who?"
"A man who said he knew my mother."
Luca waited.
Vanessa lowered her voice.
"His name is Daniel Mercer."
Emily suddenly looked up.
Luca noticed.
"You know him?"
Emily hesitated.
"My mother used to mention that name."
Vanessa turned sharply.
"Your mother?"
"Margaret Carter. She worked here before I did."
Luca knew Margaret had served the Moretti household for nearly thirty years. She had retired shortly after Antonio's death and now lived in a small house outside the city.
"What did she say about Mercer?" Luca asked.
Emily clasped her hands.
"That he used to visit your father. And that whenever he came, Mrs. Moretti would lock herself in her bedroom."
Vanessa went pale.
Luca looked down at the adoption document.
There was something wrong with it.
The paper appeared genuine. The signatures were old. The seal belonged to a private family attorney who had died more than a decade earlier.
But the document did not establish who Vanessa's biological parents were.
It identified Elena Moretti as her adoptive mother.
Antonio's name appeared beneath hers.
And in the section reserved for the child's original birth certificate, someone had drawn a thick black line.
"Vanessa," Luca said carefully, "this says my parents adopted you. It doesn't say they gave birth to you."
She looked at him.
"Does that make it better?"
"It means we don't know the truth."
"I know your father took me away when I was seven."
"From whom?"
Vanessa's voice became unsteady.
"From the only woman I remember calling Mom."
Luca stared at her.
"What happened to her?"
"I don't know."
She reached into her purse again.
This time she removed a folded letter.
"I received this three weeks ago."
Luca unfolded it.
The message had been typed on plain white paper.
Your real name was erased. Your mother was buried without a grave. Antonio Moretti stole your childhood, and his son is preparing to steal your future. If you want the truth, find the bullet behind his portrait.
There was no signature.
Only a telephone number.
"Mercer sent this?"
"He answered when I called."
"What did he tell you?"
"That Antonio knew who my mother was. That he had hidden documents in the office. And that the bullet hole would show me where to look."
Luca glanced at the old damage.
"Why the gun?"
Vanessa looked ashamed.
"Mercer said the portrait had been shot on the night my mother disappeared. I wanted to know what it felt like to stand where she stood."
Luca felt a chill.
"You're saying your mother shot that painting?"
"That's what he told me."
"Did he give you the pistol?"
Vanessa nodded.
Luca immediately checked the weapon without pointing it at anyone.
The magazine was loaded.
He removed it, cleared the chamber, and placed the ammunition separately on the desk.
"Never touch this again."
Vanessa looked away.
Luca called his security chief.
"Marcus. Lock down the estate. Quietly. Nobody enters or leaves without my permission."
"Problem, boss?"
"Someone is using my family history to get inside this house."
He ended the call.
Then he turned back to Emily.
"Call your mother."
Emily hesitated.
"It's late."
"Tell her it's about Elena Moretti."
Emily took out her phone.
Margaret answered on the fourth ring.
"Emily? Is everything all right?"
"Mom, I'm at the mansion. Mr. Moretti needs to ask you something."
A pause.
"About what?"
"His mother."
The line went silent.
Then Margaret spoke.
"Emily, listen carefully. Leave that house."
Emily frowned.
"Mom?"
"Don't ask questions. Just leave."
Luca stepped closer.
"Margaret, this is Luca."
A sharp intake of breath.
"Mr. Moretti."
"Who was Vanessa before my father adopted her?"
Margaret began crying.
Luca had never heard the woman cry.
"Your father made me promise."
"Promise what?"
"That if the girl ever returned, I would never let her near you."
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Luca gripped the phone.
"Why?"
Margaret whispered, "Because he knew someone would try to make you fall in love with her."
Nobody moved.
Then Margaret added something even worse.
"And if that happened, the person who arranged it would come for the rest of the family."
The call disconnected.
Luca immediately dialed again.
No answer.
He looked at Marcus's security monitor mounted near the desk.
One of the exterior cameras showed a black sedan leaving the estate's service road.
Its headlights were off.
"Marcus," Luca said into his phone. "Stop that car."
"Which car?"
"The black sedan near the south gate."
A moment passed.
Then Marcus answered.
"Boss, there isn't a car at the south gate."
Luca looked at the monitor again.
The sedan was still there.
Moving slowly.
He checked the timestamp.
The footage was delayed by eleven minutes.
Someone had compromised the security system.
Vanessa backed away from the desk.
"Luca, I need to tell you something."
He turned.
"What?"
"Daniel Mercer didn't just tell me about the portrait."
Her voice trembled.
"He told me what would happen after you opened it."
Luca felt his stomach drop.
"What did he say?"
Vanessa looked toward the closed door.
"That your father left one more secret."
A faint metallic click sounded from the hallway.
Then the lights went out.
In the darkness, a man's voice spoke through the office intercom.
"Good evening, Luca."
May you like
A pause.
"Your father should have told you that Vanessa wasn't the only child he stole."
