Chapter 7 - The Father Who Chose the Wrong Son
Nobody moved.
Luca stared at the man standing beside Vanessa.
“Daniel Russo?”
The man smiled.
“That's the name they gave me.”
Gabriel raised his weapon.
“Don't believe him.”
Daniel laughed.
“Still protecting your little brother?”
“I'm protecting the truth.”
Daniel looked at Luca.
“Your mother told you I was dead, didn't she?”
“My mother told me Stefano killed my father.”
“Your mother has lied about almost everything.”
Luca glanced at Vanessa.
“Why are you helping him?”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“Because he has my mother.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Your fiancée understands the value of family. Perhaps you should learn from her.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“Release her mother.”
“Give me the hospital records.”
“You have them.”
“Not the original ones.”
Daniel looked at the cabinet.
“I need the file that proves which child was born first.”
Luca frowned.
“Why?”
“Because the Moretti inheritance belongs to the firstborn.”
Gabriel laughed.
“You're still obsessed with money?”
Daniel's face changed.
“You have no idea what I lost.”
He pointed his gun at Gabriel.
“You were supposed to inherit everything. Instead, Stefano decided to put a stolen child in my place.”
Luca understood.
Daniel had survived the accident.
But he had lost his identity, his family, and his place in the Moretti empire.
He had returned to reclaim it.
“Why did you switch the babies?” Luca asked.
Daniel looked at him.
“I didn't.”
Luca glanced at Gabriel.
Daniel continued.
“Your mother did. She knew Stefano wanted to kill the firstborn. She switched the hospital bracelets to protect Gabriel.”
“Then who am I?”
“You are Daniel Russo's son. But your name was Luca Moretti from the moment I held you.”
Luca shook his head.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It doesn't have to. Blood makes a man. Loyalty makes a family.”
Gabriel stepped forward.
“Don't listen to him. He's manipulating you.”
Daniel turned toward him.
“You were the favorite. You got the family name, the inheritance, and the protection. I got a grave with another man's name on it.”
“You abandoned us,” Gabriel said.
“I was trying to survive.”
“And now you want to destroy us.”
Daniel raised his gun.
Vanessa suddenly moved.
She struck his arm.
The gun fired into the ceiling.
Gabriel tackled him.
Luca rushed forward, but two armed men entered through the rear corridor.
A struggle erupted.
Emily pulled Vanessa behind the cabinet.
Luca fought one of the guards while Gabriel struggled with Daniel.
A gunshot rang out.
Gabriel fell.
“Gabriel!”
Luca dropped his opponent and rushed to his brother.
Blood spread across Gabriel's shirt.
“Stay with me.”
Gabriel coughed.
“Don't waste time on me.”
Luca pressed his hand against the wound.
“You're not dying.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“Listen. Daniel isn't your real father.”
Luca froze.
“What?”
“Your biological father died twelve years ago. Daniel is Stefano's brother. He was the one who helped arrange the switch.”
Luca looked toward the doorway.
Daniel was gone.
Vanessa was staring at the floor.
Then she whispered:
“There's something else.”
She pulled a small recorder from her dress.
“I've been recording him for three weeks.”
Luca took it.
The first recording contained Daniel's voice.
Once Luca signs the marriage documents, the Bellini estate transfers to us. Then we'll have access to the old accounts.
A second voice answered.
It belonged to Margaret.
And what happens to Vanessa?
Daniel replied:
She knows too much. She'll disappear like the others.
Luca stopped the recording.
He looked at Vanessa.
“You knew he planned to kill you?”
She nodded.
“That's why I agreed to marry you.”
Luca stared.
“What?”
“I needed access to the Moretti mansion. I needed to find the original hospital records.”
He felt something break inside him.
“So the wedding was a trap.”
Vanessa began crying.
“It started that way.”
“And now?”
She stepped closer.
“Now I wish I had met you before any of this happened.”
A distant siren sounded.
Emily rushed to the window.
“Police!”
Luca looked at the recorder.
The last file had not been played.
He pressed the button.
A voice filled the room.
His mother's voice.
“If Daniel returns, don't trust the man who calls himself Gabriel.”
Luca looked toward the floor.
His wounded brother was gone.
Only a trail of blood remained.
And beside it lay Gabriel's wedding invitation.
On the back, someone had written:
May you like
THE WRONG BROTHER IS BLEEDING.
---
