Chapter 5 - The Bride's Real Confession
Vanessa sat alone in the bridal suite.
Her wedding makeup had run down her cheeks. Her expensive gown lay across the floor, and the champagne on the dressing table had gone untouched.
She knew Luca would return.
She also knew that once he discovered everything, there would be nowhere left to hide.
The door opened.
Richard entered.
“Pack your things.”
Vanessa didn't move.
“Where is Sophia?”
Richard stopped.
“What?”
“Where is she?”
His expression hardened.
“You need to stop asking questions.”
“You told me she was dead.”
“She should have been.”
Vanessa stood.
“She was a baby!”
“And now she's a threat to everything we've built.”
Vanessa stared at him.
For seven years, she had followed his instructions.
She had attended charity dinners, smiled for cameras, and pretended to be a woman who had never heard of Elena Moretti.
She had also spent seven years waking up from the same nightmare.
A newborn crying.
A hospital corridor.
A nurse holding a baby.
And her father's voice telling her to sign a document.
“You made me believe Elena died because of me,” Vanessa whispered.
Richard walked toward the dressing table.
“Because you were responsible.”
“I was nineteen!”
“You were old enough to understand what you had done.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I didn't cause the accident.”
“No. But you helped us cover it up.”
She closed her eyes.
The memory returned.
Seven years earlier, she had gone to the Rowan estate for a charity fitting. Elena was there, wearing the wedding dress Richard had arranged for a private photography session.
Vanessa had been fascinated by the beautiful woman.
They spoke for almost an hour.
Elena told her about the baby.
She told her that she wanted to leave Luca's dangerous world and raise her daughter somewhere peaceful.
Then Richard arrived.
He argued with Elena in the hallway.
Vanessa heard the crash.
When she reached the basement, Elena was unconscious.
Richard ordered the servants to clean the floor.
Vanessa had screamed for an ambulance.
Her father slapped her.
“Do you want to die with her?”
That night, Elena was taken to the clinic.
Vanessa never saw her again.
But she did see the baby.
She remembered the tiny fingers wrapped around the nurse's hand.
She remembered the bracelet.
And she remembered her father signing a document declaring the child dead.
“I didn't know you were going to take her,” Vanessa said.
Richard turned.
“Enough.”
“You told me she had died.”
“Because you were easier to control when you believed it.”
Vanessa backed away.
“You used me.”
“I protected you.”
“You made me marry Luca.”
Richard's voice dropped.
“Your marriage was supposed to secure the Moretti business network. With Luca's signature, our companies would control the port contracts and the medical investments. Elena's old documents were the only obstacle.”
Vanessa looked at him in horror.
“So this wedding was never about me?”
Richard didn't answer.
A knock sounded.
Both turned.
Luca stood in the doorway.
His expression was terrifyingly calm.
“Keep talking.”
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Richard reached inside his jacket.
Two guards immediately entered behind Luca and pointed their weapons at him.
“Hands where I can see them,” Marco ordered.
Richard slowly raised his hands.
Luca walked toward Vanessa.
“Is Sophia my daughter?”
She nodded.
“She's alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
Vanessa began crying.
“I don't know.”
Luca looked at her for a long moment.
Then he held up the hospital bracelet.
“Your name is listed as her mother.”
Vanessa stared at it.
“I was told to sign the papers. I didn't give birth to her. I only held her once.”
“Why would your name be there?”
“Because my father arranged it. He needed a legal guardian to make the adoption look legitimate.”
Luca's voice became colder.
“And you agreed?”
“I was afraid.”
“Did you ever try to find her?”
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
“Once.”
“When?”
“Four years ago. I found out she was living with a foster family. I went to see her.”
Luca stepped closer.
“What happened?”
Vanessa looked at him.
“She called me Mommy.”
Silence.
“I couldn't tell her who she really was. I left before she woke up the next morning.”
Luca turned away.
His daughter had been calling another woman mother while he mourned an empty grave.
He looked at Richard.
“Take him downstairs.”
As the guards moved, Richard laughed.
“You think you've won?”
Luca stopped.
Richard smiled.
“You should ask your brother what happened to Elena.”
Before Luca could respond, his phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
A video attachment.
He opened it.
The footage showed a dark room.
A man sat facing the camera.
Anthony Moretti.
Alive.
And beside him stood a little girl.
Sophia.
Anthony leaned toward the camera.
“Hello, brother. I believe we have a family reunion to arrange.”
May you like
Then he placed a hand on the child's shoulder.
“Bring Vanessa. Come alone.”
