Chapter 5 - The Bride Who Sold Her Own Blood
Luca stared at Vanessa.
“You're telling me your father switched two newborn babies?”
Vanessa nodded.
“That's what my mother told me.”
“And you knew?”
“I found out when I was seventeen.”
“The same year you identified a body?”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Luca stepped away.
“Tell me everything.”
Vanessa sat on the chapel bench.
“When I was five, Antonio Moretti began visiting our house. He brought gifts, toys, and books. He told me I was special because I was the only person he could trust.”
“Why you?”
“Because he knew my father was involved in the hospital records.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“What did your father do?”
“He altered the birth certificates. One baby was recorded as the other. Then, years later, he helped arrange the funeral.”
“Whose funeral?”
Vanessa looked at him.
“Your biological father's.”
Luca felt sick.
She continued.
“My father showed me two photographs when I was seventeen. One man had a scar beneath his left eye. The other had one beneath his right. He told me one was Antonio and the other was Stefano.”
“Why did you identify the body?”
“Because they brought me to a hospital. A man was lying in a room. My father told me to sign a document saying I recognized him as Antonio Moretti.”
“And you did?”
“I was terrified. He threatened to kill my mother.”
Luca leaned closer.
“Which man was lying there?”
Vanessa began to cry.
“I don't know. They wouldn't let me look at his face.”
“You just told me you identified him.”
“I identified the name on the document. Not the person.”
The confession changed everything.
Luca walked away.
For twelve years, he had believed his father was buried in the family cemetery. Now he couldn't even trust the name carved into the tombstone.
A guard entered.
“Boss, the prisoner is asking to see you.”
“Gabriel?”
“Yes.”
Luca looked at Vanessa.
“Stay here.”
He entered the security room.
Gabriel sat calmly with his hands cuffed.
“You found Mother,” he said.
“Stefano took her.”
Gabriel's expression changed.
“Then we're running out of time.”
“Tell me who I am.”
Gabriel studied him.
“You're Luca Moretti.”
“Don't insult me.”
“Then ask a better question.”
Luca leaned forward.
“Who is my biological father?”
Gabriel remained silent.
“Was it Antonio?”
“No.”
“Was it Stefano?”
Gabriel looked away.
Luca grabbed his shirt.
“Answer me!”
“Your father was the man you buried.”
Luca released him.
The words struck harder than any bullet.
“Then why did I grow up believing Antonio was my father?”
“Because Antonio loved you.”
“And Gabriel?”
Gabriel's eyes filled.
“He loved you too.”
Luca stepped backward.
Gabriel continued.
“Your biological father was murdered twelve years ago. Antonio took his place in the family. He raised you as his son because he promised your mother he would.”
“Then who was on the stretcher?”
“Antonio.”
Luca froze.
Gabriel nodded.
“He survived the first funeral. He spent twelve years hidden in that private clinic because he knew Stefano would finish what he started.”
“Why did he come back?”
“To stop your wedding.”
Luca stared at him.
“Why?”
Gabriel lowered his voice.
“Because Vanessa's father is dead.”
Luca frowned.
“I just spoke to Vanessa.”
“Her father died six years ago.”
A terrible silence followed.
Luca understood.
The man who had altered the hospital records, threatened Vanessa, and arranged the false identification could not have been acting alone.
Someone had been using his name.
Someone who knew everything about the Bellini family.
Gabriel leaned closer.
“Your fiancée has been receiving letters from her father for years. But those letters were never written by him.”
Luca returned to the chapel.
Vanessa was gone.
A guard stood outside the door, unconscious.
On the floor lay her wedding veil.
Luca picked it up.
A phone began vibrating inside the fabric.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
“Congratulations, Luca. You finally found your brother.”
“Where is Vanessa?”
“Safe. For now.”
“What do you want?”
“The original hospital records.”
“I don't have them.”
“You will. Look inside the coffin you buried twelve years ago.”
The call ended.
Luca stared at the phone.
Then he ordered his men to prepare the cars.
He was going to open his father's grave.
But when they reached the cemetery, they discovered the grave had already been opened.
The coffin was empty.
And someone had left a fresh bouquet of white roses beside it.
Attached to the ribbon was a small card.
May you like
WELCOME HOME, SON.
---
