Chapter 6 - The Ghost in the Bellini Family
The photograph showed Gabriel standing outside a church.
Fifteen years younger.
Alive.
Healthy.
And beside him stood Lucia Russo.
Elena stared.
“My mother.”
Enzo looked at the date.
Three months after the accident that supposedly killed Lucia.
Elena's legs weakened.
“She was alive.”
“Yes.”
“For three months.”
“According to this.”
Elena looked at him.
“Then someone lied about her death.”
They searched every old Bellini property.
One finally led them to a secluded house outside Montreal.
There, they found Gabriel.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Sitting beside a fireplace.
Marco was with him.
Alive.
Enzo raised his weapon.
“You have three seconds.”
Gabriel sighed.
“You still count like Arthur.”
Marco stood.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Gabriel looked at him.
“Because you were never meant to carry this.”
“You made me believe you were dead.”
“It was necessary.”
“No.”
Marco's voice cracked.
“It was convenient.”
Gabriel lowered his head.
“You have every right to hate me.”
Elena stepped forward.
“Where is my mother?”
Gabriel's eyes softened.
“She died protecting you.”
“You lied.”
“No.”
“You let me believe she was killed in an accident.”
“She was.”
“How?”
“The brakes were cut.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Who did it?”
Gabriel looked at Enzo.
“Arthur suspected Malcolm Bell.”
“Who is Malcolm Bell?”
“Your father's business partner.”
Enzo frowned.
“Malcolm Bell died years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Another fake death?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“He had a son.”
“Who?”
Gabriel hesitated.
“Vivian Bellini.”
Marco stared.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
The shock was immediate.
Marco's mother had married Gabriel.
She was not simply his wife.
She was Malcolm Bell's daughter.
And she had inherited part of the network.
“What did my mother do?” Marco asked.
“She wanted out.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“She tried to take the money and disappear.”
“Did she kill Lucia?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“Her father.”
Enzo stepped forward.
“Why?”
“Lucia found proof that Malcolm was laundering money through your father's shipping routes.”
Elena's voice shook.
“And Matteo?”
“Your mother gave birth to him in secret.”
“Who is his father?”
Gabriel looked at Enzo.
“Arthur.”
Enzo felt the room tilt.
“So Matteo is my half-brother.”
“Yes.”
“And Elena?”
“Lucia was carrying them both.”
Elena whispered, “Matteo is my twin.”
Gabriel nodded.
“You were separated because Malcolm believed the twins together would eventually inherit the Russo trust.”
“What trust?”
“The one created by Lucia and Arthur.”
Elena stared.
“There was never a normal inheritance.”
“No.”
“They created a joint trust.”
“Yes.”
“For me and Matteo.”
“And Enzo.”
Enzo looked shocked.
“Why me?”
Gabriel smiled sadly.
“Because Arthur considered you his greatest failure.”
Enzo's face hardened.
“What does that mean?”
“He knew the network would eventually come for you.”
“He left me money.”
“He left you a chance.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Gabriel reached into a box.
He pulled out a photograph.
Arthur stood with Lucia.
Both were holding babies.
One baby was Elena.
The other Matteo.
Enzo stared.
Then he saw a little boy beside them.
Himself.
Arthur had been building a family none of them knew existed.
A family bound together by a secret trust.
A family that could expose the entire network.
“That explains the attacks,” Enzo said.
Gabriel nodded.
“Someone is trying to destroy the heirs before the trust is activated.”
“Who?”
Gabriel looked toward Marco.
“Your mother.”
Marco froze.
“She is alive?”
Gabriel nodded.
“And she is the one who took Elena's records.”
Elena's blood ran cold.
“Where is she?”
“Chicago.”
“What is she planning?”
“To kill Matteo.”
“And me?”
Gabriel shook his head.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“She wants you to sign over the trust.”
Enzo stared.
“If Elena signs, Matteo loses his inheritance.”
“And you lose control of the Moretti companies connected to it.”
“Why would she want that?”
“Because she owes someone forty million dollars.”
Marco looked at Gabriel.
“Who?”
“Your mother's boss.”
Gabriel hesitated.
“Malcolm Bell is dead.”
“No.”
Gabriel looked at Enzo.
“His daughter inherited the network.”
“Vivien?”
“Yes.”
The room went silent.
Vivien Bellini.
The woman Enzo had once trusted.
The woman who had been beside him during negotiations in New York.
The woman who had visited the Moretti house countless times.
The woman who always seemed to know too much.
Enzo's voice became cold.
“Where is she?”
Gabriel smiled sadly.
May you like
“You won't like the answer.”
“She is already inside your house.”
