Chapter 4 - THE FIANCÉE'S TERRIBLE CHOICE
Robert ordered the housekeeper to take Grace upstairs.
The child resisted.
"I want to stay!"
"Now," he snapped.
Grace flinched.
Elena stepped forward, but Adrian held her gently by the arm.
"Not yet," he whispered.
Robert watched them with contempt.
"You have no legal claim to that child. The records show Vanessa as her mother."
"Because you forged them," Adrian replied.
"Can you prove it?"
Adrian said nothing.
Robert smiled again.
"That's what I thought."
He led them into the study and shut the door.
Vanessa remained near the staircase, trembling.
Inside, Robert poured himself a drink.
"You should have stayed dead, Elena."
"You should have been arrested years ago," she answered.
Robert laughed.
"By whom? Your husband? He trusted me with his business. He trusted my daughter with his heart. He trusted a doctor who owed me his career."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Why?"
"Because your father was dying, and he wanted to secure the Moretti inheritance. The shipping company had become vulnerable. Your marriage to Elena complicated everything."
"Elena had no interest in my business."
"That wasn't the point. She had influence over you. She could persuade you to sell assets, expose illegal operations, or leave the organization entirely."
Robert's smile sharpened.
"Your father understood that. He wanted an heir who would preserve the empire."
Adrian's stomach tightened.
"My father ordered the accident?"
Robert's silence lasted only a second.
Then he said, "Your father arranged the first meeting. I arranged the rest."
Elena's face went pale.
"What does that mean?"
"Your husband was supposed to be at the hospital when you delivered the baby. Instead, a false emergency drew him across town. Your car was forced off the road. You were taken to the private clinic. The child was transferred to my custody."
"You planned all of it," Adrian whispered.
"Not all of it. The accident was supposed to kill you both. Elena survived, and the child did too. I adapted."
Elena stared at him in horror.
"You tried to kill us."
Robert raised his glass.
"And failed."
The door opened.
Vanessa stood there, holding a small digital recorder.
Her face was wet with tears.
"Tell them about the second plan, Father."
Robert turned slowly.
"What are you doing?"
Vanessa stepped inside.
"Tell them why you ordered the clinic to move Elena tomorrow."
Robert's eyes narrowed.
"You have no idea what you're involving yourself in."
"I know exactly what I've done."
She placed the recorder on the desk.
"I recorded everything you told me last night. I know about the forged records. I know about the money. I know you planned to send Grace out of the country."
Robert lunged toward the device.
Adrian blocked him.
Robert struck Adrian across the face.
The room erupted into chaos.
Adrian shoved him against the desk. A glass shattered, and the recorder skidded onto the floor.
Vanessa snatched it up and ran toward the door.
"Get Grace!" she shouted.
Hannah appeared in the hallway with the child.
Vanessa dropped to her knees in front of Grace.
"Sweetheart, listen to me. You need to go with Hannah."
Grace clutched her rabbit.
"Where are you going?"
Vanessa's face crumpled.
"Somewhere I should have gone a long time ago."
Grace began to cry.
"But you're my mommy."
Vanessa pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I will always love you."
She stood and faced Elena.
"I don't deserve your forgiveness. But Grace deserves the truth."
Then she handed Elena the recorder.
"Everything is on there."
Robert's expression turned murderous.
"You stupid girl."
He reached inside his jacket.
Adrian saw the movement.
"Vanessa, get down!"
A gunshot exploded.
Vanessa fell.
Elena screamed.
Adrian lunged toward Robert, knocking the weapon from his hand. They crashed against the desk as guards rushed into the study.
When the struggle ended, Robert was restrained on the floor.
Vanessa lay beside the doorway, one hand pressed against her abdomen.
Blood seeped between her fingers.
Grace screamed for her mother.
And Elena, despite everything Vanessa had done, dropped beside her.
"Stay with us," Elena whispered. "Please."
Vanessa looked up, tears sliding down her face.
May you like
"Take care of my little girl."
Then her eyes closed.
