Chapter 3 - The Brother in the Locked Room
Luca didn't sleep that night.
The wedding guests had been dismissed. The ballroom had been sealed. The body had been transferred to a private medical facility under armed guard.
Vanessa was upstairs in the bridal suite.
Margaret was locked in the mansion's security office.
And Luca stood alone in his father's old study, staring at a photograph of two identical boys.
One was himself.
The other was Gabriel.
He had never seen the picture before.
Behind the frame, he discovered a folded note.
The handwriting belonged to Antonio.
My sons, if you are reading this, then I failed to keep you apart.
Luca unfolded the remaining pages.
Gabriel was born eleven minutes before you. He was supposed to inherit everything. But his mother died before either of you could understand what was happening. I made a promise to protect him. Instead, I allowed the family to turn him into a secret.
The letter ended abruptly.
There was no explanation of what had happened to Gabriel.
Luca slammed the paper onto the desk.
A knock sounded.
Emily entered carrying a cup of coffee.
“You haven't eaten.”
“I'm not hungry.”
“You haven't been hungry since your father supposedly died.”
Luca looked at her.
“What do you know about my father?”
Emily hesitated.
“Not much. But I know what happened the night he died.”
He straightened.
“Tell me.”
“My mother worked in this mansion. She was a nurse before she became your father's personal assistant. She told me she heard two men arguing in the garage the night of the accident.”
“Who?”
“She never knew. But she heard one of them say, 'You promised the boys would never know.'”
Luca stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell me before?”
“Because my mother disappeared the following morning.”
The room fell silent.
Emily had never spoken about her family.
Luca walked around the desk.
“Did she leave voluntarily?”
Emily shook her head.
“She left me a message. She said if anyone ever asked about the Moretti twins, I should find the blue room.”
Luca frowned.
“What blue room?”
“The room your father had sealed after the funeral.”
Luca knew the room.
It was at the end of the west corridor, behind an old wooden door that had remained locked for twelve years.
He grabbed his keys.
“Show me.”
They reached the corridor just before dawn.
Emily stopped outside the door.
“My mother said never to enter alone.”
Luca looked at her.
“Then we won't.”
He unlocked it.
The room smelled of dust and old perfume.
Blue wallpaper covered the walls. Children's toys sat beneath a window. Two identical beds stood side by side.
Above them hung a photograph of Antonio holding two newborn babies.
Luca approached the picture.
On the back were two names.
Gabriel.
Luca.
He moved toward the wardrobe.
Inside were dozens of children's clothes, two school uniforms, and a small wooden box.
Emily opened it.
There were two hospital bracelets.
One read LUCA MORETTI.
The other read GABRIEL MORETTI.
But something was wrong.
Both bracelets carried the same birth time.
Luca turned them over.
The second bracelet had a handwritten note.
The surviving child is not the one they think.
His blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
Emily examined the box.
At the bottom lay an old cassette recorder.
Luca pressed play.
A woman's voice filled the room.
It was frightened and breathless.
“Antonio, you have to listen. The boys were switched. One of them is not yours.”
A man's voice answered.
“Keep your voice down.”
“I'm telling you the truth!”
“Then why did you wait twelve years?”
“Because your brother threatened my daughter.”
Luca stopped the recording.
He stared at Emily.
“Your mother?”
Emily nodded slowly.
The recording continued.
“If Gabriel finds out, he'll come back. And when he does, he'll kill the boy who took his place.”
A crash sounded in the corridor.
Luca reached for his gun.
Someone had entered the mansion.
His security team shouted.
Then a gunshot rang out.
Emily dropped the recorder.
Luca pushed her behind the wardrobe.
“Stay here.”
He moved into the corridor.
A man in a black coat stood at the far end.
He was tall, silver-haired, and had a scar beneath his right eye.
Luca raised his gun.
“Gabriel?”
The stranger smiled.
“You finally learned my name.”
Luca aimed at his chest.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
“So was Father.”
“Who was the man on the stretcher?”
The stranger looked toward the blue room.
“The man you called Father for twelve years.”
Luca's grip tightened.
“Then who was the man we buried?”
Gabriel's smile disappeared.
“Your real father.”
Luca froze.
Gabriel took one step forward.
“And the woman who raised you?”
He glanced toward Emily.
“She knows exactly why your mother died.”
Then he lifted a photograph.
It showed Emily's mother standing beside him.
On the back was a date.
Tomorrow's date.
And beneath it, five words:
May you like
SHE IS STILL ALIVE, LUCA.
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