Chapter 3 - The Secret She Was Never Supposed To Know
Lucien took Saraphina out of the estate before anyone else could arrive.
She barely spoke during the drive.
The words "the child who survived" repeated in her mind.
"What do you think happened when I was six?"
Lucien kept his eyes ahead.
"I don't know."
"But you think it matters."
"Yes."
"Then tell me everything."
He hesitated.
"My brother was investigating the Duca family."
Saraphina stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because money was moving between the Duca companies and a network controlled by a man named Silas Vetrano."
The name meant nothing to her.
"Who is he?"
"A broker."
"For what?"
"Anything people are willing to kill for."
Saraphina looked out the window.
"When Matteo died, you thought my father ordered it."
"Yes."
"Now you think I was involved somehow."
"No."
Lucien looked at her.
"I think you witnessed something."
Her heart sank.
"I don't remember."
"You were six."
"Exactly."
The human mind could bury things.
Especially childhood trauma.
They arrived at a private residence on the outskirts of the city.
It belonged to Lucien's oldest friend, Rafael.
Rafael looked at Saraphina.
Then at Lucien.
"Is that her?"
Lucien nodded.
Rafael's face changed.
"I thought she was dead."
Saraphina's stomach tightened.
"Why would you think that?"
Rafael said nothing.
Lucien stepped forward.
"We need to talk."
The three entered a secure room.
Rafael opened an old file.
Photographs.
Reports.
Newspaper clippings.
A photograph of Matteo.
Then another.
A blurred photograph taken eleven years earlier.
A little girl standing behind a woman.
Saraphina stared.
The little girl had her eyes.
She had her hair.
Her face.
It was her.
"I remember that dress."
Lucien froze.
"What?"
"My mother made it."
Rafael sat back.
"You really are her."
Saraphina stared.
"What happened that night?"
Rafael told her.
Matteo had discovered a money-laundering operation.
He had found evidence proving that several powerful families were working together.
But he needed a witness.
The witness was a child.
A little girl who had seen a murder.
Saraphina's breath caught.
"I saw a murder?"
Rafael nodded.
"Your father knew."
"No."
"He tried to hide you."
"Why?"
"Because the people responsible wanted you dead."
Saraphina stood.
"So my father protected me?"
Lucien's expression was conflicted.
"For once, yes."
"But he ignored me my whole life."
"Maybe because every time he looked at you, he remembered what happened."
Saraphina shook her head.
"That doesn't excuse anything."
"No."
Lucien did not argue.
Then Rafael said something that changed everything.
"Matteo wasn't killed because he investigated the family."
Saraphina looked at him.
"He was killed because he successfully identified the killer."
"Who?"
Rafael opened a second file.
Inside was a photograph of a man.
Silas Vetrano.
Saraphina stared.
"I've seen him."
Lucien's head snapped toward her.
"Where?"
"At my father's house."
"When?"
"Two weeks ago."
Lucien stood.
"That's impossible."
"I saw him."
"Did he speak to you?"
"No."
"Did he see you?"
Saraphina hesitated.
"Yes."
Lucien swore under his breath.
Rafael looked at him.
"If Vetrano knows she's alive..."
"He'll come."
The attack happened that night.
The house alarms screamed.
Windows shattered.
Security moved through the halls.
Lucien pushed Saraphina behind him.
"Stay here."
She grabbed his sleeve.
"I'm not hiding."
"This isn't an argument."
He drew his weapon.
Then turned.
A gunshot cracked.
Lucien staggered.
Saraphina screamed.
Blood appeared at his shoulder.
"Lucien!"
"I'm fine."
"You've been shot!"
"I said I'm fine."
He pushed her behind a wall.
She looked toward the hallway.
Men moved through the darkness.
Then silence.
Rafael's team secured the house.
One attacker was captured.
Lucien walked over.
"Who sent you?"
The man laughed.
"You're too late."
Lucien crouched.
"Too late for what?"
The man looked at Saraphina.
"The little witness."
Saraphina froze.
"The boss knows where she is."
"Who is your boss?"
The man smiled.
"Her family."
Lucien's eyes went cold.
The man died before he could say more.
Later that night, Lucien sat while Saraphina cleaned his wound.
"You shouldn't be doing this."
"You can't do it properly with one arm."
He gave her a look.
She smiled despite herself.
Then she became serious.
"Do you trust me?"
Lucien looked at her.
"Yes."
"Even though I might be connected to everything that happened to your brother?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I don't think you're guilty."
She lowered her eyes.
"That isn't what I asked."
He leaned closer.
"Because I chose you before I knew the truth."
May you like
Her heart skipped.
That sentence stayed with her long after he left the room.
