Chapter 12 - THE FATHER NORA NEVER KNEW
Nora did not sleep.
Alexander survived surgery.
Barely.
A private medical team treated him in the estate clinic while armed guards filled every hallway.
But Nora cared about only one thing.
Thomas Vale.
She sat across from Giovanni at three in the morning.
Lorenzo remained beside her.
“Tell me.”
Giovanni rubbed his face.
Thomas Vale had once been his closest friend.
Not an employee.
Not a soldier.
A brother in everything but blood.
They built the early Moretti organization together.
Giovanni handled strategy.
Thomas handled money.
Then Giovanni discovered Thomas had created a private operation involving weapons, narcotics, and trafficking routes Giovanni had explicitly forbidden.
“I confronted him,” Giovanni said.
“What happened?”
“He tried to overthrow me.”
Lorenzo knew fragments of the story.
But not this.
“Dad, you told me Vale died.”
“I believed he did.”
Giovanni looked at Nora.
“Your mother Margaret was working for one of our companies then.”
“She knew him?”
“Yes.”
Nora’s stomach tightened.
“How well?”
Giovanni hesitated.
Too long.
Nora stood.
“Oh my God.”
“Nora—”
“Was my mother involved with him?”
“Yes.”
The word struck harder than expected.
“My father.”
Giovanni nodded.
Nora turned away.
Her entire life, Margaret had told her almost nothing about him.
Only that he was dead.
“Why did she lie?”
“She was afraid.”
“Of him?”
“Yes.”
“Was he abusive?”
Giovanni said nothing.
That silence answered enough.
Thomas had become obsessed with Margaret.
When she discovered what he was doing inside Moretti businesses, she secretly gave Giovanni the evidence.
Thomas learned of her betrayal.
He threatened to kill both Margaret and her unborn child.
Nora.
Giovanni arranged Margaret’s disappearance.
New identity records.
A new city.
A new career.
Then Thomas disappeared during a warehouse explosion.
Everyone assumed he had died.
“But he didn't,” Nora whispered.
“We don't know that.”
Alexander had mentioned his name.
That was enough.
Lorenzo stood.
“If Vale is alive, he’d be in his sixties.”
“So?”
“He would have been hiding for decades.”
Nora looked toward Alexander’s room.
“Then why come back now?”
The answer arrived the following morning.
Alexander woke.
And asked for Nora.
Lorenzo refused to leave the room.
Alexander looked at him.
“You always this controlling?”
“Yes.”
“Good to know.”
Despite everything, Nora almost smiled.
Alexander told them he had spent the past year investigating discrepancies in old Moretti financial records.
He had discovered accounts connected to Thomas Vale were still active.
Not dormant.
Active.
Millions moved through them every year.
“Somebody has been maintaining his network,” Alexander said.
“Elias?” Lorenzo asked.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Alexander looked at Giovanni.
“Someone closer.”
Giovanni’s expression hardened.
“Name.”
Alexander shook his head.
“I don't have proof.”
“What does this have to do with Nora?” Lorenzo asked.
Alexander reached for water.
“Vale’s accounts are protected through an old inheritance mechanism.”
Nora frowned.
“What inheritance?”
“If Thomas Vale is alive, he controls them.”
“And if he’s dead?”
Alexander looked at her.
“His biological heir does.”
The room became silent.
Nora laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
“No.”
Alexander continued.
“Approximately 1.2 billion dollars.”
Nora stood.
“I don't want it.”
“Nobody said—”
“I don't want a dollar belonging to that man.”
Lorenzo reached for her.
She stepped back.
“This is insane.”
Alexander’s voice softened.
“I thought so too.”
“Then why were you kidnapped?”
“Because somebody believes Thomas is dead.”
“And?”
“And they need you to unlock everything.”
Nora stared.
“How?”
“DNA.”
Lorenzo’s face darkened.
Alexander explained the accounts required biological verification before ownership transfer.
Old-fashioned protections had been modernized over the years.
Whoever controlled the network needed Nora alive.
At least temporarily.
Then Lily entered.
She had slipped past the nurse.
“Mom?”
Nora immediately composed herself.
“Hey, baby.”
Lily looked around the tense room.
“Why is everyone weird?”
Alexander smiled despite his injuries.
“Family tradition.”
Lily looked at him.
“Who are you?”
Alexander hesitated.
“I’m your uncle.”
Lily’s eyes widened.
“Another one?”
Nora laughed despite herself.
“Apparently.”
Lily approached Alexander.
“You look terrible.”
“Thank you.”
“You should sleep.”
“I was kidnapped.”
“That sounds tiring.”
Alexander looked at Nora.
“I like her.”
“So does everyone.”
Lily hugged Nora.
Then whispered:
“Grandpa is crying.”
Nora turned.
Giovanni had disappeared.
She found him in room 4B.
The old room had been preserved, though renovated.
He sat facing the window.
Exactly where Nora had once placed him.
“I failed your mother,” he said.
Nora sat beside him.
“No.”
“I told her Thomas was dead.”
“You believed he was.”
“I stopped looking.”
Nora took his hand.
“You saved her once.”
“Not enough.”
She thought of everything Giovanni had taught her without intending to.
“Maybe saving someone isn't something you do once.”
He looked at her.
“Maybe you keep choosing them.”
Giovanni squeezed her hand.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man spoke.
Older.
Calm.
“You sound healthier than the last time I saw you, Giovanni.”
Giovanni became completely still.
Nora’s blood ran cold.
“Thomas.”
A soft laugh.
“Hello, old friend.”
May you like
Then:
“Put my daughter on the phone.”
