Chapter 5 - THE SECRET HE KEPT FROM HIS WIFE
Luca returned shortly after midnight.
I was sitting in the living room with the photograph on my lap.
He stopped when he saw it.
"Evelyn."
"Eight weeks ago?"
He looked at the picture.
Then closed his eyes.
"Let me explain."
"You told me you hadn't seen her in twelve years."
"I hadn't."
"Then who is this?"
He took the photograph.
His expression changed.
"That's not me."
I stared at him.
"What?"
He pointed toward the man's left hand.
"Look at the ring."
The man wore a silver signet ring.
Luca's father had owned an identical one.
But Luca had given his father's ring to his cousin Matteo after the funeral.
"Someone is impersonating you," I whispered.
"Or someone wants us to believe I was there."
He placed the photograph on the table.
Then he pulled out his phone.
"Marco, send the security footage from the clinic."
A few minutes later, the footage arrived.
The man in the photograph entered the building wearing Luca's coat.
But the face was partially obscured.
Then another figure appeared.
Victoria.
She walked directly toward the camera.
For a moment, she looked up.
Her face was clear.
She was older, thinner, but unmistakably the woman from Luca's past.
And she was carrying a baby.
I looked at Luca.
"How old?"
He studied the footage.
"Maybe six months."
The baby turned toward the camera.
And I noticed something strange.
A small crescent-shaped birthmark behind the left ear.
Luca had the same mark.
I looked at him.
He had seen it too.
"That's impossible," he whispered.
Then he called Marco.
"I want Victoria found tonight."
An hour later, they located her.
She was staying in a small house outside Cambridge.
Luca went there with two guards.
I insisted on coming.
He argued for several minutes before finally agreeing.
When we entered, Victoria was sitting beside a crib.
She looked at Luca.
Then at me.
Her expression changed.
"You're married."
"Eleven weeks," Luca answered.
Victoria smiled sadly.
"Then Salvatore is running out of time."
Luca stepped forward.
"Who is the child?"
Victoria looked down.
"His name is Daniel."
"Is he mine?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she reached beneath the table and removed a sealed envelope.
"Your father left this for you."
Luca took it.
Inside was a letter written in his father's handwriting.
My son, if you're reading this, I failed to protect you.
Salvatore has been moving against us for years. I discovered the forged medical reports, the stolen money, and the plan to eliminate you.
But there is something worse.
The woman you believe betrayed you may have saved your life.
Luca looked at Victoria.
She finally spoke.
"I was pregnant when you had your accident."
The room went silent.
"I didn't know until two weeks later. Your uncle found out. He threatened to take the baby if I told you."
Luca stared at her.
"Why didn't you come to me?"
"Because I received a photograph of you in the hospital. Salvatore told me you would never survive if I contacted you."
"And the baby?"
Victoria looked toward the crib.
"Daniel is your son."
Luca stepped backward.
For twelve years, he'd believed fatherhood was impossible.
Now he was standing in front of a child who might have been his all along.
But I couldn't ignore the dates.
Daniel was six months old.
Victoria claimed she had been pregnant during Luca's accident twelve years earlier.
That was impossible.
I looked at her.
"How old is Daniel?"
"Six months."
"Then he can't be Luca's son from twelve years ago."
Victoria's expression crumbled.
She looked at Luca.
Then she whispered:
"Daniel isn't the child I was talking about."
Before anyone could ask another question, the front door opened.
Salvatore Varenna walked inside.
He was smiling.
And he wasn't alone.
May you like
He had brought a woman whose face I recognized from the photograph.
My mother.
