Chapter 3 - The Secret Identity His Father Had Been Hiding From Him
Nico spent the entire night investigating Clara Moretti.
He found nothing online.
No public records.
No employment history after 2002.
No death certificate.
No bank accounts.
Nothing.
Rachel sat across from him at four in the morning.
"She's alive."
Nico looked up.
"How do you know?"
"My mother never accepted that she was dead."
"And you believed her?"
"She was the most paranoid woman I ever knew."
He frowned.
"That's not reassuring."
"It wasn't meant to be."
He almost smiled.
Then the door opened.
Diane Whitfield entered.
She took one look at Rachel.
Then at Nico.
"You found out."
Rachel stood.
"Found out what?"
Diane sighed.
"I was afraid this would happen."
Nico's voice hardened.
"You knew."
"Not everything."
"Start talking."
Diane sat.
"Rachel's mother contacted me seven years ago."
Rachel froze.
"What?"
"She needed documents under another identity. She said people connected to the Sabatini organization were searching for her."
"Why did you never tell me?"
"Because she begged me not to."
Nico stared.
"And you still sent Rachel to me."
"I sent Rachel because she asked to be placed near you."
Rachel looked stunned.
"I did what?"
Diane looked at her.
"You didn't know. She didn't tell you."
"Why would my mother want me near Nico?"
Diane looked at Nico.
"Because she believed Salvatore was preparing to eliminate you."
Silence.
Nico stood.
"My father?"
"Your father had been removing anyone connected to Clara's old investigation."
Nico's mind raced.
"Why?"
"Because Clara found money moving through accounts that were supposed to be untouchable."
Rachel whispered, "What accounts?"
Diane handed them a folder.
Inside were shipping manifests, hotel transfers, offshore payments and handwritten notes.
At the center of it all was one name.
Victor Petro.
The head of the Petro Consortium.
Nico stared.
"Petro?"
Diane nodded.
"Your father didn't build the war between Sabatini and Petro."
"Someone else did."
"Exactly."
Rachel looked at Nico.
"Then who benefits?"
Diane's expression was grave.
"Someone who wants both families weakened."
Before they could continue, the building lost power.
The penthouse went dark.
Nico moved instantly.
He pulled Rachel behind him.
A window shattered.
A bullet struck the wall.
He grabbed her hand.
"Down."
They crawled toward the hallway.
Nico gave orders through his phone.
Security responded.
Three minutes later, silence returned.
Rachel was shaking.
Nico crouched beside her.
"Look at me."
She did.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
He touched her cheek.
Only for a second.
Then he withdrew.
Rachel noticed the trembling in his hand.
"You're scared."
"No."
"You are."
He looked at her.
"For the first time in my life, I'm terrified."
She swallowed.
"Of what?"
He answered without thinking.
"Losing you."
The words hung between them.
He stared at her.
Rachel stared back.
Neither moved.
Then Nico leaned closer.
He stopped before kissing her.
"We can't."
"I know."
"We're under contract."
"I know."
"We don't know what happens next."
"I know."
She whispered.
"But knowing doesn't make this less real."
He kissed her.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like he was breaking a law he had spent his life obeying.
When they pulled apart, Rachel's forehead rested against his.
"That was a mistake."
"Yes."
"Are we going to regret it?"
"Probably."
She smiled.
"Good."
The next morning, Nico found an envelope outside the penthouse.
Inside was a single note.
STOP DIGGING, OR RACHEL DIES FIRST.
Nico's blood ran cold.
He called Diane.
No answer.
He called security.
No answer.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
A distorted voice said:
"Ask your father what happened to Clara Moretti."
The line died.
Nico went directly to Salvatore.
He found his father in the same office where their entire conflict had begun.
"You knew Clara was alive."
Salvatore stared at him.
"No."
"Don't lie."
"I am not lying."
"Then why does Rachel have her mother's photograph?"
Salvatore's face changed.
He sat down.
"Because Clara never wanted Rachel to know the truth."
"What truth?"
Salvatore looked toward the window.
"When Rachel was a child, Clara discovered that I wasn't responsible for the corruption inside our family."
Nico stared.
"Then who was?"
Salvatore whispered one name.
"Your uncle Adrian."
Nico stopped breathing.
Adrian Sabatini.
His father's younger brother.
Officially dead for twenty-one years.
Officially.
Salvatore opened a locked drawer.
Inside was an old passport.
A photograph.
Adrian.
Alive.
Older.
Living under another name.
Rachel looked at the passport.
"He's been alive this whole time."
Salvatore nodded.
"He's the one who started the Petro war."
"And Clara?"
"Clara escaped with evidence."
"Where is she?"
May you like
Salvatore looked at Nico.
"Closer than you think."
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