Chapter 7 - VANESSA'S LAST LIE
Lorenzo met Vanessa in an abandoned chapel outside Manhattan.
She arrived alone, wearing a dark coat and no jewelry.
For once, she looked nothing like the polished socialite who had spent years controlling every room she entered.
“You said you knew where my sister was,” Lorenzo began.
Vanessa handed him an envelope.
Inside was a recent photograph of a teenage girl standing outside a private school.
“She was raised under the name Clara Sterling,” Vanessa said. “My mother brought her home when I was a child.”
Lorenzo stared at the photograph.
“Your sister?”
“No. My mother's ward.”
“Why did you hide her?”
“Because my mother said the Romanos would destroy anyone who knew the truth.”
“You expect me to believe you had no part in this?”
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“I knew your father had paid my mother to keep the child hidden. I didn't know she was your sister until a few months ago.”
“Why did you agree to marry me?”
“Because my mother wanted access to your family. She believed Giovanni had hidden a fortune in trust for the child.”
Lorenzo stepped closer.
“So you used me.”
“At first.”
“And the soup? The humiliation? The way you treated Nora?”
Vanessa looked away.
“I was afraid.”
“That doesn't excuse cruelty.”
“No,” she whispered. “It doesn't.”
She revealed that Eleanor Sterling had arranged the twins' separation. One child had been sent to Isabella Bennett. The other had been raised under a false identity.
But when Eleanor died, her private records disappeared.
Vanessa had been searching for them ever since.
“Matteo contacted me six months ago,” she admitted. “He threatened to expose my family's secrets unless I helped him get the pendant.”
“And you agreed.”
“I thought it contained the location of a bank account. I never imagined he would kidnap Giovanni.”
Lorenzo studied her.
“Where is Clara now?”
“An estate in Connecticut. Matteo has been paying for her education and medical care.”
“Why would he protect her?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Lorenzo turned to leave.
“Wait.” Vanessa grabbed his sleeve. “There's something else. My mother told me the twins weren't separated because of money.”
“Then why?”
“Because one of them had a rare blood condition. The doctors said she might not survive childhood without a compatible donor.”
Lorenzo froze.
“Which twin?”
“My mother never said.”
He thought of Nora's pregnancy.
Of Giovanni's desperate warning.
Of the phrase Protect her child.
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“Matteo believes Nora's baby carries the same condition. He thinks the child could be used to force the family to surrender everything.”
Lorenzo's expression turned murderous.
“If he goes near Nora, I will end him.”
Vanessa stepped back.
“I deserve whatever happens to me. But please, find Clara before Matteo does.”
Lorenzo left without answering.
Back at the mansion, Nora was waiting in the living room.
“Did you find my sister?”
“Possibly.”
She looked at the photograph.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Nora touched her belly.
“What if this child is the reason they separated us?”
Lorenzo took her hands.
“Your baby is not responsible for what adults did twenty-six years ago.”
Before Nora could respond, Marcus burst through the door.
“Boss, the Connecticut estate is on fire.”
Lorenzo grabbed his coat.
“Is Clara inside?”
Marcus nodded grimly.
“We found a message on the gate.”
He handed Lorenzo a photograph.
It showed Giovanni in his hospital bed, a gun pressed against his temple.
The message beneath it read:
May you like
BRING NORA'S BABY TO ME, OR YOUR FATHER DIES.
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