Chapter 5 - The Last Message from Giovanni
Giovanni survived the night.
A medical team stabilized him and transferred him to a secure hospital suite after the roads became passable.
The attending physician confirmed that he had been exposed to a medication not included in his prescribed treatment plan.
But the bigger discovery came the following morning.
Someone had altered Giovanni's medical records repeatedly over the previous five years.
Progress notes were missing.
Medication changes had been approved under questionable authorizations.
And reports describing his cognitive improvement had been removed from the files Lorenzo received.
Lorenzo stood outside the hospital room, staring through the glass.
His father lay in bed, surrounded by monitors.
For five years, Lorenzo had believed he was watching Giovanni slowly disappear.
Now he wondered how much of that decline had been caused by deliberate interference.
Nora stood beside him.
“He was trying to tell us.”
Lorenzo nodded.
“I know.”
“You didn't listen.”
He looked at her.
She didn't lower her eyes.
“Neither did I,” he admitted.
Nora folded her arms.
“You had the power to find out.”
That hurt more than any accusation she could have made.
Because it was true.
Later that afternoon, Giovanni was alert enough to use his communication device.
Lorenzo sat beside him.
Nora remained near the door.
“Dad,” Lorenzo said, “I need to know what happened five years ago.”
Giovanni's eyes moved slowly.
BETRAYAL.
“Who betrayed you?”
A long pause.
MATTEO.
Lorenzo frowned.
“Your son?”
YES.
“Did he cause your stroke?”
Giovanni's breathing quickened.
Evelyn stepped forward.
“Don't push him too hard.”
Lorenzo nodded.
“Take your time, Dad.”
Giovanni selected another word.
ALIVE.
Lorenzo froze.
“Matteo is alive?”
YES.
“But Isabella said he died before she was born.”
LIE.
Nora felt a chill move through her.
If Matteo Romano was alive, then someone had deliberately erased him from the family history.
And Isabella had either been deceived or had lied.
That evening, Lorenzo ordered an independent investigation into Matteo Romano.
The results were disturbing.
Twenty-nine years earlier, Giovanni had secretly acknowledged a son born outside his marriage.
Matteo had been raised under his mother's surname.
At eighteen, he became involved in the family's financial operations.
At twenty-four, he disappeared after a violent dispute over money.
Officially, Matteo had died in a boating accident.
But there was no body.
No verified identification.
Only a death certificate signed by a physician who had since lost his medical license.
Marcus placed the documents on Lorenzo's desk.
“Your father tried to remove Matteo from the organization.”
“Why?”
“He discovered Matteo was moving money through shell companies.”
“How much?”
“Millions.”
Lorenzo stared at the photograph.
“Why would he come back now?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Because Giovanni's trust contains something more valuable than money.”
“What?”
“Voting control over the Moretti family's legitimate businesses.”
Lorenzo looked up.
“Explain.”
“If your father is declared permanently incapacitated, the trustee can exercise those voting rights under certain conditions.”
“And the trustee?”
Marcus swallowed.
“Your future wife.”
Lorenzo stood so quickly that his chair struck the wall.
Across town, Isabella sat in a private hotel suite.
A man stood near the window.
He was in his late forties, with dark hair touched by gray and a scar along his jaw.
“You're losing control,” he said.
Isabella poured herself a drink.
“Lorenzo is suspicious.”
“He was always going to become suspicious.”
“Then why did you insist on using the maid?”
“Because she was expendable.”
Isabella looked at him.
“Nora wasn't supposed to survive the storm.”
The man turned.
His expression remained calm.
“Neither was Giovanni.”
She set down her glass.
“You promised me nobody else would get hurt.”
He laughed softly.
“You've always had a sentimental streak.”
“Don't.”
He approached her.
“Remember who gave your family everything.”
Isabella looked away.
The man lifted her chin.
“And remember what happens when people disappoint me.”
She pulled back.
“Lorenzo knows about Matteo.”
The man's smile faded.
For the first time, he looked genuinely concerned.
“Who told him?”
“Giovanni.”
Silence.
Then he reached for his phone.
“It's time to finish this.”
At the hospital, Giovanni suddenly became agitated.
Evelyn adjusted his communication screen.
Letters appeared.
NORA.
She approached.
“I'm here.”
His eyes moved rapidly.
BABY.
Nora touched her stomach.
“Lily's okay.”
NOT SAFE.
Her smile disappeared.
“What do you mean?”
Giovanni selected another word.
BRODY.
Nora's heart began pounding.
“Brody?”
KNOWS.
“Knows what?”
Giovanni struggled.
His breathing became shallow.
Evelyn checked the monitor.
“Mr. Moretti, we need to let him rest.”
But Giovanni refused to stop.
One final message appeared.
YOUR CHILD WAS THE REASON.
Nora stared at the screen.
“What?”
Giovanni's eyes filled with tears.
THEY CHOSE YOU BEFORE SHE WAS BORN.
Nora stepped backward.
For months, she had believed she was an ordinary pregnant woman who had been unlucky enough to enter a dangerous household.
Now she understood something far more frightening.
Someone had selected her.
May you like
Someone had known about Lily.
And her unborn daughter might have been part of the plan from the beginning.
