Chapter 5 - The Bride's Confession
Luca ordered Marco to secure the warehouse and send two men to protect Antonio.
He then turned to Daniel.
"You're coming with me."
Daniel didn't resist.
The drive to the hospital was silent except for the rain beating against the windows.
When Luca arrived, the private corridor outside Antonio's room was empty.
Too empty.
The nurse's station had been abandoned, and a maintenance cart blocked the far exit.
Marco immediately drew his weapon.
"Stay behind me."
Luca pushed through the door.
Antonio lay in bed, his oxygen tubing disconnected.
A pillow covered his chest.
For one terrifying second, Luca believed he was dead.
Then his father coughed.
Luca rushed to reconnect the tubing while Marco called for medical assistance.
Antonio's eyes opened.
"Vincent," he rasped.
"Where is he?"
"Left."
"Did he hurt you?"
Antonio shook his head weakly.
"He wanted the envelope."
Luca searched the bedside table.
The sealed envelope Gabriel had written was gone.
"What's in it, Dad?"
Antonio's eyes filled with shame.
"The truth about your mother."
Luca froze.
His mother had died when he was seventeen. The family had told him she was killed in a car accident caused by a drunk driver.
"What's that got to do with Gabriel?"
Antonio looked toward the door.
"Everything."
Before he could explain, a voice sounded behind them.
"He's telling you half-truths again."
Vanessa stood in the doorway, her face pale and her hair disheveled.
Luca turned on her.
"How did Vincent know where we were?"
"I told him."
The admission struck like a gunshot.
Marco stepped forward, but Luca raised a hand to stop him.
"Why?"
Vanessa's tears fell.
"Because he threatened my father."
"Your father is dead."
"Not the way you think."
Luca stared at her.
"What does that mean?"
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
"My father, Richard Sterling, didn't die in the accident the police reported. He disappeared after the investigation into Gabriel's death. Vincent told me he had proof my father was alive, and he would tell me where if I helped him keep Antonio away from you."
Clara, who had arrived with the hospital staff, stared at Vanessa.
"You helped him isolate a sick man because he promised you your father?"
Vanessa nodded.
"I thought I could control the situation. I thought Vincent only wanted to protect the family business."
"And the recording?" Luca asked.
"I was trying to buy time."
"By lying to me about my own father?"
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
"I was going to tell you after the wedding."
Luca laughed once, without humor.
"After I gave you my name, my accounts, and my trust?"
"I loved you."
"Maybe you did. But you chose fear over the truth."
Vanessa pulled a folded document from her handbag.
"This is why Vincent wanted the envelope. It has the original contract between him and my father."
Luca took it.
The contract described a payment arrangement involving a security operation three years earlier. One clause mentioned a witness who was to be silenced before a scheduled police interview.
The witness's name was Gabriel Moretti.
Luca's hands began to shake.
"Your father arranged my brother's murder?"
Vanessa nodded.
"But Vincent gave the order."
Antonio closed his eyes.
Luca looked at his father.
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
"Suspected?"
Antonio's voice broke.
"I found the contract after Gabriel died. Vincent threatened to expose my own dealings with your mother’s charity accounts—money I had diverted to cover losses in the business. I was ashamed. I thought if I stayed silent, I could protect you."
Luca stepped back.
"You let me believe Gabriel died in a robbery."
"I was wrong."
"You let me mourn him without knowing who killed him."
Antonio began to cry.
"I know."
Luca looked at the man who had raised him.
For years, he had believed his father was strong enough to protect everyone.
Now he saw the truth.
Antonio had been afraid.
And that fear had helped bury his son's murder.
Vanessa reached for Luca's hand.
He pulled away.
"Where is Vincent going?"
She wiped her cheeks.
"To the old family estate. He said he was going to destroy the last evidence."
Luca turned to Marco.
"Call the police. Give them everything."
Then he looked at Vanessa.
May you like
"You can help us tell the truth. But you don't get to decide what happens afterward."
For the first time, she didn't argue.
