Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN WHO NEVER DIED
I wanted to demand answers immediately.
But Sophie was watching me.
Her little fingers were wrapped around mine, and her eyes were filled with the kind of fear no three-year-old should ever experience.
I swallowed my anger.
“Princess, let's get you somewhere safe.”
My mother nodded.
“There is a private apartment upstairs. Nobody knows about it.”
I looked at her.
“Take Sophie there. Lock the door. Don't open it for anyone except me.”
She nodded.
Before leaving, Sophie hugged my neck.
“Daddy, are you going to fight the bad people?”
I kissed her forehead.
“I'm going to make sure they can't hurt you.”
“Can you come back before bedtime?”
“I promise.”
She held up her little finger.
“Pinky promise?”
I wrapped my finger around hers.
“Pinky promise.”
At headquarters, the atmosphere was electric.
Men who had worked for my family for decades stood in the conference room, watching me enter.
Anthony was seated in my chair.
He didn't even bother standing.
“Lorenzo. You're late.”
I looked around.
“Where are my people?”
Anthony smiled.
“Some are with me. Some are waiting to see who wins.”
“Then let them watch.”
I placed Elena's letter on the table.
“This is what Dominic has been hiding.”
Anthony barely glanced at it.
“Old family drama.”
“Your father-in-law threatened my wife.”
“Your wife is dead.”
I stepped forward.
“And my daughter is still alive. Which is why you should be very careful.”
Anthony stood.
“You've become sentimental.”
“No. I've become a father.”
I turned toward the captains.
“Five years ago, my father disappeared. I was told he died. Since then, someone has used his name, his accounts, and my authority to steal money from this organization.”
One captain looked uncomfortable.
“Boss, are you accusing Dominic?”
“I'm showing you the evidence.”
I displayed the forged documents, the adoption application, and the bank transfers.
The room went silent.
Anthony's smile slowly vanished.
Then he pulled a gun from beneath the table.
“Enough.”
Every man reached for his weapon.
I didn't move.
“You really want to do this in front of your own family?”
He pointed the gun at me.
“Your father promised me control.”
“Your father doesn't own my daughter.”
Anthony laughed.
“That's the problem. Sophie is the key to everything.”
He threw a folder across the table.
Inside were trust documents.
My father had established a private inheritance fund in Elena's name. Sophie was its sole beneficiary.
But the trust wasn't simply money.
It included controlling shares in several legitimate companies that formed the financial backbone of the Moretti organization.
Without Sophie's signature as an adult beneficiary—or a legally appointed guardian acting in her interest—those shares couldn't be transferred.
My father had tried to obtain guardianship through Vanessa.
Anthony had been arranging the forged paperwork.
And I had unknowingly been the final obstacle.
“You wanted custody of my daughter to steal her inheritance,” I said.
Anthony shrugged.
“It's business.”
“No. It's kidnapping.”
He raised the gun.
Then a shot rang out.
One of the captains had fired.
Anthony dropped his weapon and collapsed behind the table.
The room erupted.
Victor rushed toward me.
“Boss, are you hit?”
I shook my head.
But before anyone could secure Anthony, he grabbed a second phone and smashed it against the floor.
Then he smiled through clenched teeth.
“You're too late.”
My phone rang.
An unknown number.
I answered.
A woman's voice came through.
“Lorenzo?”
My heart stopped.
I knew that voice.
I had heard it in my dreams for five years.
“Lorenzo, it's me.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Elena?”
A soft sob came through the speaker.
“Please don't let Dominic find Sophie.”
I gripped the phone.
“Where are you?”
There was a long silence.
Then she whispered:
“I'm coming home.”
The call ended.
I stood motionless.
My wife was alive.
And somewhere in the world, she was trying to return to our daughter.
But before I could process the revelation, Victor received another message.
He read it.
Then his face turned white.
“Boss... the apartment is empty.”
May you like
My mother was gone.
And so was Sophie.
