Chapter 7 - The Night Lorenzo Lost Everything
Lorenzo read the message three times.
Then he looked at the photograph again.
Nora's mother stood beside Giovanni outside a small church.
She appeared younger than Lorenzo remembered his father ever being.
In her arms was an infant wrapped in a white blanket.
Lorenzo turned the photograph over.
The wrong daughter survived.
“What does that mean?” Marcus asked.
Lorenzo didn't answer.
He was remembering something.
Twenty-five years earlier, his father had disappeared for several weeks after a family tragedy.
Giovanni never explained where he went.
When he returned, he was different.
Quieter.
More protective.
Lorenzo had been seven.
He remembered hearing his mother cry behind a locked bedroom door.
He remembered the name Romano being spoken during an argument.
And he remembered Giovanni saying one sentence.
Some children pay for the sins of their fathers before they learn to walk.
At the time, Lorenzo hadn't understood.
Now he wondered whether Nora's family had been connected to Giovanni for decades.
The financial collapse began at nine that evening.
Three banks froze accounts associated with Moretti-controlled businesses.
A major construction partner suspended its contracts.
An anonymous source leaked documents alleging years of financial misconduct.
Within an hour, the story was spreading across television and social media.
Lorenzo stood in his Manhattan office, watching the headlines.
Marcus entered.
“It's coordinated.”
“Obviously.”
“The trust transfers triggered compliance reviews. Someone also submitted internal records to federal investigators.”
“Real records?”
“Some. Others appear altered.”
Lorenzo looked at him.
“Can we separate them?”
“We're working on it.”
His phone rang.
Isabella.
He answered.
“Where are you?”
“At my apartment.”
“Stay there.”
“Lorenzo, please listen.”
He waited.
“My uncle is alive.”
Lorenzo closed his eyes.
“Matteo.”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“Isabella.”
“I swear.”
He heard her breathing.
Then she whispered, “He raised me.”
Lorenzo went still.
“What?”
“My mother was ill for years. Matteo took care of me. He told me he was my uncle.”
“Did you know he was Giovanni's son?”
“Not until recently.”
“And the trust?”
She began crying.
“He told me it was the only way to protect our family.”
Lorenzo looked toward the city.
“Protect you from what?”
“From him.”
“From whom?”
“Giovanni.”
Lorenzo felt anger rise.
“My father has spent five years trapped in a wheelchair.”
“I know what you think.”
“What I think is that you helped steal his money.”
Isabella went silent.
Then she said, “You don't know what Giovanni did before his stroke.”
The line disconnected.
At the hospital, Nora was watching the news when Rachel arrived.
Her sister rushed into the room and hugged her.
Nora began crying immediately.
For the first time in months, she allowed herself to feel safe.
Rachel held her tightly.
“I'm taking you home.”
Nora shook her head.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because Mom was connected to this family.”
Rachel looked away.
Nora noticed.
“You know something.”
Rachel sat down.
“Mom made me promise never to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
Rachel's eyes filled with tears.
“When you were little, a man used to send money.”
Nora stared at her.
“What man?”
“Mom called him Giovanni.”
The room went silent.
Rachel continued.
“He paid for our apartment when Dad lost his job. He helped with Mom's medical bills. She always said he was an old family friend.”
Nora felt her heart pounding.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Mom was afraid.”
“Of him?”
“I don't know.”
Rachel reached into her handbag.
“I brought something.”
She handed Nora a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph of their mother holding two newborn babies.
Twins.
Nora stared at the image.
“Rachel?”
Her sister began crying.
“Mom told me one of the babies died.”
Nora looked at her.
“One?”
Rachel nodded.
“But I found this photograph after the funeral. And the hospital bracelet on the second baby had a different surname.”
Nora turned the photograph over.
Two names were written on the back.
NORA BENNETT.
ELENA ROMANO.
Nora's breath stopped.
She had been raised believing she was an only child until Rachel was born.
Now she was staring at proof that she had once had a twin sister.
And somewhere in the Moretti family's history, that sister had disappeared.
At eleven forty-three, Lorenzo received a message from an unknown number.
A photograph.
Nora sitting in her hospital bed.
Rachel beside her.
Taken from outside the room.
Below it was a single sentence.
You can save your empire, or you can save the girl.
Lorenzo called hospital security immediately.
No answer.
He called Nora.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Then a man's voice answered.
“Hello, little brother.”
Lorenzo went cold.
“Matteo.”
The man laughed softly.
“It's been a long time.”
“What do you want?”
“Everything Giovanni stole from me.”
“You're not getting it.”
“Then perhaps you'll enjoy watching history repeat itself.”
A muffled scream sounded in the background.
Nora.
Lorenzo gripped the phone.
“If you touch her—”
Matteo interrupted.
“You still don't understand.”
A pause.
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“Nora Bennett isn't the girl we were supposed to find.”
Lorenzo stared at the wall.
“What?”
May you like
Matteo laughed.
“We wanted her sister.”
