Chapter 4 - The Mother Adrien Thought Was Dead
Adrien did not speak for almost a minute.
Vivienne's revelation had turned everything upside down.
His mother was alive.
The woman everyone believed had died had apparently been hidden.
And Vivienne knew where.
“Why would my father lie about her death?” Adrien asked.
“Because she knew the truth.”
“What truth?”
“About Luca.”
I looked at Adrien.
His jaw tightened.
“Explain.”
Vivienne's expression became cold.
“Luca did not die by accident.”
“Who killed him?”
“My husband.”
Adrien froze.
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Luca discovered the succession agreement.”
“What agreement?”
Vivienne stared at me.
“The one your baby will inherit.”
I felt a chill.
Adrien's father had feared Luca.
Luca had discovered that the family's future would eventually pass to Adrien's child.
So he was eliminated.
But why would Adrien's father kill his own son?
Because he believed the child could inherit everything.
Except Adrien hadn't had a child.
Until me.
Until now.
“You knew I was pregnant before Adrien?” I asked.
Vivienne nodded.
“I knew the moment your clinic record was created.”
“How?”
“The hospital administrator was loyal to us.”
Adrien stepped forward.
“How many people?”
“Enough.”
“Who?”
“I'll tell you when you tell me where the child will be born.”
Adrien's voice became dangerous.
“You will never know.”
Vivienne smiled.
“We'll see.”
She left us with one final warning.
“Look for the woman with the silver pendant.”
We returned to the residence.
Adrien barely spoke.
Then he asked:
“Do you know who that woman is?”
“No.”
“I do.”
He went upstairs and returned with an old photograph.
A woman stood beside his father.
Around her neck was a silver pendant.
Adrien's mother.
“Her name was Elena Falco.”
I stared.
“What happened to her?”
“She disappeared when I was five.”
“Your father told everyone she died.”
“Yes.”
“And you believed him?”
“I was five.”
The pain in his voice made me understand.
He hadn't just lost a mother.
He had spent his entire life believing the loss was final.
Now someone had reopened it.
The next day, we received a letter.
The handwriting was delicate.
Norah,
You don't know me.
But I know your child.
I know what Adrien's father did.
I know where Elena is.
Come alone.
I showed it to Adrien.
He shook his head.
“No.”
“I'm not going.”
“Good.”
“But we can follow the location.”
He nodded.
We did.
The address belonged to a retirement home outside Princeton.
An elderly woman waited in the garden.
A silver pendant hung around her neck.
Adrien stopped breathing.
“Mom?”
The woman turned.
Her face crumpled.
“Adrien.”
He walked toward her.
Slowly.
Like a child afraid the world would disappear again.
She touched his face.
“You're so grown.”
He started crying.
I had never seen Adrien cry.
Not when people were shot.
Not when businesses collapsed.
Not when his enemies threatened him.
But his mother touching his face broke something inside him.
Later, Elena told us everything.
She had not died.
She had been forced into hiding.
Adrien's father had threatened her life.
She had escaped with the help of one loyal employee.
That employee was my aunt.
The same woman in the old photograph.
“You knew my aunt?” I asked.
Elena nodded.
“She saved me.”
“What happened to her?”
“She was killed protecting me.”
I felt cold.
Adrien looked at his mother.
“Why didn't you come back?”
“Because your father told me you would die if I did.”
He sat down.
All the pieces fit.
His father had built the empire through fear.
He had destroyed his own family to keep control.
Luca had died because he knew too much.
Elena had disappeared.
Adrien had inherited the organization.
And now my baby was the next heir.
But there was something else.
Elena looked at me.
“You're pregnant.”
“Yes.”
She smiled sadly.
“Then the old agreement is active again.”
“What agreement?”
“The Falco Bloodline Covenant.”
I almost laughed.
“That sounds like a fairy tale.”
“It isn't.”
The agreement required the heir to be born under a specific legal and medical arrangement.
If the child was registered under another surname, the inheritance would be contested.
Adrien frowned.
“Who has authority?”
“Elena.”
He stared at her.
“What?”
“Your mother is the final surviving witness to your father's succession agreement.”
That meant she could legally validate the inheritance.
Which made her a target.
And me.
And the baby.
That night, our convoy left Princeton.
Three vehicles.
Two security teams.
Adrien and me in the center.
Halfway back to Philadelphia, the lead vehicle stopped.
Gunfire.
The entire road erupted.
Adrien pulled me down.
“Stay low.”
I covered my stomach.
Security responded.
The attackers fled.
One body remained.
A man with a tattoo behind his ear.
Adrien recognized it.
“Falco Circle.”
“What is that?”
“My father's old inner group.”
“Who leads them?”
He stared ahead.
“Someone who should be on our side.”
“Who?”
“Gabriel.”
I felt the blood leave my face.
Adrien's most trusted security chief.
The man who had guarded me.
The man who knew where I was.
The man who had access to every safehouse.
Adrien called him.
No answer.
Then an incoming message arrived.
A photograph.
Gabriel standing beside Vivienne.
May you like
And beneath it:
YOUR ENEMY IS ALREADY INSIDE YOUR HOUSE.
