Chapter 6 - Her Adoptive Father Was Alive—and He Was the One Man Even Rafe's Family FearedMarin's world shattered.
Daniel Sullivan stood beneath the church lights.
Older.
Thinner.
But unmistakable.
“You.”
He looked at her.
“I know.”
Marin's voice trembled.
“You're dead.”
“I needed to be.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
“You abandoned me.”
“I saved you.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Daniel looked at Rafe.
“Your father was not the man you think he was.”
Rafe approached.
“Who are you?”
Daniel smiled.
“The man who built the war between your families.”
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
That frightened Rafe more than anything else.
Daniel continued.
“Twenty-one years ago, I discovered the Castellanos and Sullivan families were planning to merge.”
“Marriage.”
“Yes.”
“But your mother Lucia refused.”
“She loved Gabriel.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“I loved Lucia.”
Marin stared.
“You're my father.”
“Yes.”
The truth hit her like a physical blow.
Not Gabriel.
Not Daniel the kind man from her childhood.
This man.
A strategist.
A criminal.
A man capable of destroying two empires to possess one woman.
“You killed my mother.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
He looked at Marcus.
“Your uncle.”
Marcus raised his weapon.
Daniel smiled.
“You never could finish what you started.”
Chaos erupted.
Rafe attacked Marcus.
Luca pulled Marin behind a pillar.
Nico fired toward the entrance.
The church became a storm of gunfire.
Daniel disappeared through a side door.
Marcus escaped.
But not before leaving one sentence.
“Ask Daniel why he separated the twins.”
Marin turned toward her father.
He was gone.
They searched the building.
Nothing.
Only a small metal box remained.
Inside was Lucia's wedding ring.
And a note.
For my daughter.
Marin opened it.
My love, if you are reading this, then you survived.
My daughter.
Not my son.
Marin began to cry.
I had to choose one child to save.
I chose you because the world believes girls are easier to hide.
I was wrong.
You were always stronger.
The next pages revealed the truth.
Lucia had planned to escape with both babies.
Gabriel wanted to follow.
Marcus discovered their plan.
Daniel intervened.
He arranged for Marin to disappear.
Luca was taken by Marcus.
But Lucia wasn't killed that night.
She survived for another year.
She lived under another name.
She watched Marin from a distance.
Then she vanished.
The final paragraph was only one sentence.
Do not trust the man who says he saved you.
Marin looked at Rafe.
He immediately understood.
“Your mother was warning you about Daniel.”
Marin nodded.
That meant everything Daniel had said was suspect.
Nico interrupted.
“We found something.”
They returned to the estate.
The ledger had been located.
Not in the trust.
In the basement.
Marin held the box.
Inside were names.
Payments.
Dates.
Murders.
And one repeated code.
M.S.
Rafe frowned.
“Marcus Sullivan?”
Luca shook his head.
“Marin Sullivan?”
Marin stared.
“No.”
Nico flipped through the ledger.
“This appears beside every major transaction.”
Rafe looked closer.
The initials weren't attached to a name.
They were attached to a company.
Mercer Shipping.
Marin's blood ran cold.
“That company doesn't exist.”
“Not anymore.”
Rafe recognized the name.
“Your adoptive mother worked there.”
Marin stared.
Nell had never mentioned it.
The ledger revealed the final secret.
Nell was not merely Marin's adoptive mother.
She had been Lucia's sister.
Which meant Marin had been raised by her biological aunt.
And Luca had been knowingly left in the hands of the enemy.
The family tree was twisted.
Lucia.
Nell.
Daniel.
Gabriel.
Marcus.
Everyone had lied.
And everyone had done it for a different reason.
Marin finally understood why the lullaby had survived.
It belonged to the Sullivan family.
It was a code.
Each verse represented a location.
And the final verse identified the place where Lucia had hidden the master ledger.
Rafe looked at Marin.
“Do you know the last verse?”
She nodded.
“I thought it was just a song.”
“Sing it.”
She did.
Slowly.
Nico recorded every word.
Then they decoded the locations.
The final destination was an abandoned lighthouse.
Three hours away.
Before dawn, Marin, Rafe, Luca, and Nico arrived.
Inside the lighthouse was a metal safe.
The key was Lucia's wedding ring.
It opened.
Inside was the truth.
A video recording.
Lucia appeared.
Alive.
Healthy.
Holding a newborn.
Marin recognized herself.
Lucia looked into the camera.
“My daughter, I don't know when you'll see this.”
She began to cry.
“But if you're watching, I need you to know something.”
She paused.
“I didn't abandon you.”
Marin's eyes filled.
“I gave you to Nell because Daniel wanted you dead.”
Rafe stared.
“Daniel.”
Lucia continued.
“He is your biological father.”
Marin whispered:
“I know.”
“He will tell you he loves you.”
Lucia shook her head.
“But he loves power more.”
Then she said the sentence that changed everything.
“And he is not the man who ordered your separation.”
Marin waited.
Lucia looked terrified.
“The order came from someone above him.”
The video cut.
A final frame appeared.
A name.
VINCENT MORETTI.
Rafe stared.
“That's impossible.”
Luca asked:
“Who is that?”
Rafe slowly answered.
“The man who controls half the West Coast.”
Marin looked at him.
“And the other half?”
Rafe said:
May you like
“My family.”
The truth had just become bigger than either of them.
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