Chapter 7 - The Engagement Was a Trap
Antonio survived the shooting.
The bullet had missed his heart by less than an inch.
By dawn, Luca had moved him to a secure medical facility.
Emily remained at his bedside.
Luca returned to the mansion.
He had one objective.
Find Vanessa.
She was no longer his fiancée.
She was the key to everything.
He found her in the ballroom, standing beside the engagement decorations.
Her crimson dress was gone.
She wore a simple black sweater.
When she saw him, she didn't smile.
“Is Antonio alive?”
“Yes.”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Thank God.”
Luca placed the birth certificate on the table.
“Tell me the truth.”
She stared at it.
Then nodded.
“Your biological father was my father.”
Luca felt his stomach tighten.
“Eleanor's husband?”
“No. My father was Daniel Hart. He had an affair with Isabella.”
Luca stared.
“What?”
“Isabella couldn't have children. She and Antonio were desperate to start a family. Daniel was her childhood friend. He donated genetic material under a private agreement.”
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because Daniel was killed before you were born.”
Luca looked at her.
“And you?”
“I was born to Eleanor and Daniel. You were born to Isabella and Daniel.”
He shook his head.
“So we're half siblings?”
Vanessa nodded.
The realization was worse than any betrayal he had imagined.
The woman he had planned to marry was his half sister.
The family had been built on lies.
“Did you know when we got engaged?”
“I discovered it six months ago.”
“Then why didn't you stop the wedding?”
“Because Adrian threatened my mother.”
“Where is she?”
Vanessa looked toward the staircase.
“I don't know.”
Luca slammed his palm against the table.
“Everyone knows something except me!”
Vanessa flinched.
Then she reached into her pocket.
“I kept something.”
She placed a small recording device on the table.
“My father gave it to me before he died.”
Luca pressed play.
A man's voice filled the ballroom.
“Adrian, the boys must never discover the truth. If Luca finds out Daniel was his father, he'll look for the inheritance.”
Another voice answered.
“What inheritance?”
“The Hart estate. The land beneath the old hospital. Everything.”
Luca stopped the recording.
“What does this have to do with Michael?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“Michael was the legal heir to the Hart estate.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel named him in his will.”
Luca stared.
“Why not me?”
“Because you were registered as Isabella's adopted child. Michael was the only child legally recognized as Daniel's son.”
Luca understood.
Adrian hadn't simply stolen the Moretti empire.
He had been trying to steal an inheritance worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Where is the will?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Adrian has it.”
Luca looked at her.
“Why did he need me to sign the succession agreement?”
“Because the will contains a condition. If Michael dies before turning eighteen, his estate transfers to his surviving sibling.”
“Me?”
Vanessa nodded.
“But if you sign the agreement, Adrian becomes your legal guardian and controls the inheritance until your death.”
Luca laughed bitterly.
“He planned to use me to steal my own brother's money.”
“He planned to kill you after the wedding.”
A silence settled over the room.
Then Vanessa spoke again.
“There's something else.”
Luca looked at her.
“Of course there is.”
“Michael isn't being held by Adrian.”
“What?”
“He's working with him.”
Luca shook his head.
“No.”
“I saw the messages.”
“Michael was a child when he disappeared.”
“He isn't a child anymore.”
Vanessa opened her phone.
She showed Luca a photograph.
Michael stood beside Adrian in a black suit.
His expression was cold.
His hand rested on Adrian's shoulder.
A message beneath the image read:
Tomorrow, the family ends.
Luca stared at the photograph.
Then he noticed something.
Michael's left hand was clenched.
Inside it was a small silver pendant.
The same pendant Dr. Reed had carried.
Luca looked at Vanessa.
“Where was this taken?”
“The old Moretti warehouse.”
He immediately called his security chief.
“Prepare the cars.”
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
“Don't go alone.”
“Why should I trust you?”
She looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“Because I have spent thirteen years waiting for someone to rescue my mother.”
Luca paused.
Then he nodded.
They drove to the warehouse.
The building was dark.
A single light shone through an upstairs window.
Luca entered first.
The floor was covered with old documents and broken furniture.
A figure stood near the loading bay.
“Michael?”
The young man turned.
His face was almost identical to the photograph Luca had seen in his mother's bedroom.
But his expression was unfamiliar.
“Hello, brother.”
Luca lowered his gun.
“Come home.”
Michael smiled.
“I've been home all along.”
May you like
He raised his weapon.
And pointed it directly at Luca.
