THE MAFIA BOSS SAW HIS FIANCÉE PUSH HIS PARALYZED FATHER AWAY FROM THE DINNER TABLE—THEN THE MAID WHISPERED, “HE'S BEEN COUNTING.”

Sebastian ordered the mansion's security footage preserved and every financial record connected to the family trust copied to an independent attorney.

He also ordered a DNA test.

Not because he doubted Margaret's testimony, but because he had learned that the Romano family had survived for generations by turning rumors into weapons.

This time, he wanted evidence.

Michael remained in the guest wing, guarded by two men who had worked for Antonio since before Sebastian was born.

When Sebastian entered the room, Michael stood beside the window with a glass of untouched water.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Michael said.

"I found out you aren't Dad's biological son."

Michael's expression barely changed.

"Who told you that?"

"Margaret Bell."

For the first time, Michael looked genuinely alarmed.

"She's alive?"

"Very much so."

Michael set the glass down.

"Then you should have asked her about everything. Not just the convenient parts."

Sebastian stepped closer.

"Did you know Clara was Lily?"

Michael looked toward the door.

"Is that what she's calling herself now?"

"She's always been Clara."

"Names are useful things, Sebastian. They tell people where they belong."

Sebastian's voice turned cold.

"Answer the question."

Michael sighed.

"I suspected she was the missing child. Vanessa confirmed it when she found the pendant."

"How?"

"Your mother's old jewelry was cataloged after her death. The pendant was missing. Vanessa recognized it in a photograph of Clara."

"Why did you hire her?"

Michael's jaw tightened.

"To find out whether she was the real beneficiary."

"You brought her into this house knowing what Vanessa was doing to Dad?"

"I didn't know about the basement until recently."

Sebastian stared at him.

"Then why did you send her photograph to someone and say the father must sign before she learned who she was?"

Michael's face hardened.

"Because if Clara discovers her identity before the transfer is complete, she can challenge the trust."

"She has every right to."

"She has no idea what this family has done to people who challenged it."

"Neither do you, apparently."

Michael laughed bitterly.

"You think Dad adopted me because he was kind? He adopted me because my biological father was a threat to the family. He wanted me where he could watch me."

Sebastian felt a chill.

"Who was your father?"

Michael looked at him.

"Daniel Romano."

The words landed like a gunshot.

Sebastian shook his head.

"Daniel is your uncle."

"Legally, yes. Biologically, no. He had an affair with a woman named Rebecca Sterling. She was Vanessa's mother."

Sebastian remembered Vanessa's last name.

Sterling.

Michael continued.

"Rebecca died when I was two. Daniel feared Antonio would use me against him. He arranged for Dad to adopt me, and the family concealed the truth."

"Does Daniel know?"

"He does now."

Sebastian understood the deeper betrayal.

Vanessa had not entered the Romano household by chance. Her relationship with Michael was built on a secret that predated both of their adult lives.

They were half-siblings.

The revelation explained their loyalty to one another, but not the forged documents or the imprisonment.

"Why does Clara's signature matter?" Sebastian asked.

Michael rubbed his forehead.

"The original trust was created by Grandfather. It protects the estate from outside creditors and criminal claims. If a direct descendant of your mother is alive, that person has the right to challenge any transfer made under duress."

"Clara is that descendant."

"Yes. And the trust contains a second clause. If the family cannot prove who authorized the original transfer, the entire estate goes into independent receivership."

"Meaning neither of us controls it."

"Exactly."

Sebastian looked at his brother.

"You'd rather imprison our father than lose control of the estate?"

Michael's eyes flashed.

"I'd rather stop the family from collapsing."

"By stealing a woman's identity?"

"By keeping the truth from destroying everything!"

Sebastian moved toward the door.

Michael spoke again.

"There's something you haven't considered."

Sebastian stopped.

"Daniel wasn't the only person who knew about the adoption."

"Who else?"

"Your mother."

Michael's voice dropped.

"She helped arrange my adoption. She believed it was the only way to keep me alive."

Sebastian turned slowly.

"Then why did she try to expose the truth?"

"Because she discovered that my biological father wasn't Daniel."

Michael's hands trembled.

"Daniel raised me because he believed I was his. But my birth records were falsified. My mother left a letter explaining the truth, and Vanessa has spent years trying to find it."

"Where is it?"

Michael looked toward the ceiling.

"Room seventeen."

Sebastian's stomach tightened.

"What?"

"There's a false panel behind the bed. The letter is inside. That's why Vanessa needed Dad to sign the transfer. The document includes a release clause that would force the trust to surrender its sealed records."

"Why didn't you retrieve the letter yourself?"

Michael smiled without humor.

"Because the room was designed to keep Daniel alive, not to let him leave. The door opens from the outside. The records are protected by a second lock."

Sebastian stared at his brother.

"You helped keep your own father imprisoned."

Michael's expression broke.

"I didn't know who he was when it started."

"At what point did you find out?"

Michael looked down.

"Eight months ago."

Sebastian wanted to strike him.

Instead, he walked away.

In the corridor, Clara was waiting.

She had heard enough through the half-open door to understand the betrayal.

"Is he really my father?" she asked.