Chapter 5 - The Secret Beneath the Chapel
Vanessa was found in the west wing.
She was packing a suitcase.
When Adrian's guards entered, she didn't scream or resist.
She simply looked at him.
“Darling, you're making a terrible mistake.”
Adrian sat in his wheelchair, his right hand resting on the armrest.
“Tell me who sent the men.”
Vanessa sighed.
“You wouldn't understand.”
“Try me.”
She looked at me.
“It's because of her, isn't it?”
Adrian said nothing.
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“You've known her for three weeks, and suddenly she's more important than the woman who's stood beside you for years?”
“She isn't the one who sent armed men after a four-year-old child.”
Vanessa's smile vanished.
She stepped closer.
“Your father knew the truth. Isabella wasn't the innocent angel you remember.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Don't speak about my sister.”
“She was planning to take the Romano fortune and disappear.”
“Liar.”
Vanessa pulled a folded document from her handbag.
“Then read this.”
It was an old legal agreement.
Isabella had been named the sole beneficiary of a secret family trust.
But there was a condition.
If she died before turning thirty, the trust would pass to her surviving child.
I felt my knees weaken.
“Me?”
Adrian stared at the document.
“Your father concealed the trust?”
Vanessa nodded.
“He wanted control of everything. Isabella refused to cooperate. Elizabeth helped her escape with the baby.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father paid my family to keep quiet.”
Adrian's face became expressionless.
“Who else knows?”
Vanessa hesitated.
Then she said:
“Your uncle.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
Uncle Richard Romano was the only surviving brother of Victor Romano.
He had managed the family's financial empire since Victor's death.
And he had been Adrian's most trusted adviser.
Marco stepped forward.
“Boss, we need to get to the chapel.”
Adrian looked at me.
“Your mother's letter said something was hidden beneath the floor.”
We went together.
The family chapel stood behind the mansion gardens, surrounded by ancient trees and stone statues.
The moment we entered, Adrian stopped.
At the far end stood a stained-glass window depicting a silver rose surrounded by flames.
I recognized the symbol.
It matched the ring recovered from the attacker.
Marco lifted a section of the wooden floor beneath the altar.
Inside was a small metal box.
Adrian opened it.
There were three things inside:
A photograph of Isabella holding a baby.
A hospital bracelet.
And a sealed envelope.
The envelope had my name written across it.
Grace.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
My mother's handwriting filled the page.
My sweet girl, if you're reading this, then the people I feared have finally found you.
Your biological father was not a poor man. He was the man who tried to save your mother before the fire.
His name was Daniel Romano.
I looked at Adrian.
His face had gone white.
Daniel Romano was his father's younger brother.
But Daniel had died before I was born.
I continued reading.
Daniel loved Isabella. They had a daughter together. Your mother was Isabella's closest friend, and she made me promise to raise you if something happened.
But there is something else you must know.
The fire that killed Isabella was not an accident.
And Daniel didn't die in it.
My hands began shaking uncontrollably.
Adrian whispered:
“That's impossible.”
Then Marco found another document.
A death certificate.
Daniel Romano.
Cause of death: gunshot wound.
Date: six months after Isabella's supposed death.
But the signature authorizing his burial belonged to Victor Romano.
Adrian looked toward the chapel entrance.
“Uncle Richard.”
His voice was deadly calm.
“Bring him here.”
Marco reached for his phone.
Then every phone in the chapel began ringing.
A message appeared on Adrian's screen.
YOUR UNCLE HAS TAKEN THE GIRL.
May you like
I turned.
Lily was gone.
