Chapter 4 - The Brother Who Wanted the Throne
The bullet struck the wall inches above Sofia's head.
Marcus returned fire through the broken window while Luca pulled Emily behind a concrete support.
"Stay down!"
Another shot rang out.
Then silence.
Marcus checked the corridor.
"He's gone."
Luca looked at Sofia.
"Who is Adrian?"
Sofia's eyes were filled with tears.
"My son. Your older brother."
"Why would he want me dead?"
"Because Alessandro taught him that you stole everything he was supposed to inherit."
Luca's expression hardened.
"My father abandoned him?"
"No. Your father took him from me when he was three days old. He raised him in another house under a different name. Adrian grew up believing I had died giving birth to him."
Emily helped Sofia sit upright.
"Why didn't you come back for him?"
Sofia looked at her.
"I tried. Alessandro threatened to kill the child if I ever returned. When I finally escaped, he told the world I was dead. By the time I discovered where Adrian was, he had already been taught to hate me."
Luca paced the room.
"And Vanessa?"
Sofia lowered her head.
"Vanessa is my granddaughter."
Luca stopped.
The resemblance suddenly made sense.
"She knew who you were?"
"She found me two years ago. She promised to help me get my son back."
"By marrying me?"
Sofia closed her eyes.
"She told me it was the only way to reach the Moretti estate and recover the documents Alessandro had hidden."
Emily frowned.
"What documents?"
"The original marriage certificate. The birth records. And a letter proving Adrian was Alessandro's legitimate firstborn."
Luca looked stunned.
"My father kept all of that?"
"Inside the old chapel. Beneath the altar."
Marcus approached.
"Boss, we need to leave. Whoever fired that shot knows we're here."
Luca helped Sofia stand.
"You're coming with us."
She shook her head.
"Adrian will never stop."
"Then he'll have to come through me."
Back at the mansion, Luca ordered the chapel sealed. He also moved Sofia into a guarded room beside Elena's suite.
Vanessa was nowhere to be found.
Marcus reported that the service entrance had been opened with an old security code.
Only three people still knew it.
Luca.
Elena.
And Adrian.
That evening, Emily brought Sofia tea.
The older woman held the cup with both hands.
"Your mother told me something about you when you were little."
Emily smiled faintly.
"What?"
"That you used to ask why the moon followed your car."
Emily laughed despite herself.
"She remembered that?"
"She remembered everything."
Sofia's expression softened.
"Margaret was the only person who treated me like a human being when I was living in that house."
Emily sat beside her.
"She never spoke badly about the Morettis. Not even after everything."
"She was kinder than I deserved."
Before Emily could answer, the door opened.
Luca stood there holding a folder.
"I found something."
He placed several documents on the table.
The first was a marriage certificate dated September 28.
The second was a hospital record dated October 3.
The third was a photograph of Alessandro holding a newborn.
But there was something else.
A handwritten statement signed by Elena.
Emily looked up.
"Mrs. Moretti signed this?"
Luca nodded.
"It says she knew about Adrian and agreed to hide his existence."
Sofia's face tightened.
"She had no choice."
Luca turned toward her.
"Why would my mother sign something like that?"
Sofia looked away.
"Because Alessandro threatened to have you taken away too."
Luca went completely still.
He had always believed Elena was his biological mother.
Now he was beginning to understand why she had never shown him photographs of his birth.
"Is Elena my mother?"
Sofia nodded.
"She raised you. She loved you. But she didn't give birth to you."
Luca looked at the document again.
"Then who did?"
Sofia's eyes filled with tears.
"I did."
The room fell silent.
Luca backed away as though the words had physically struck him.
Before anyone could speak, his phone rang.
It was Marcus.
"Boss, we found Vanessa."
"Where?"
"At the old chapel."
Luca grabbed his coat.
"What is she doing?"
Marcus hesitated.
"She's standing beside the altar."
May you like
A pause.
"She's not alone."
