Chapter 8 - We Found My Mother Beneath Milan, and She Revealed Why Daniel Had Betrayed Me
The tunnel beneath Milan was older than the Moretti organization.
At least, according to Daniel.
“It was built centuries ago.”
“Why?”
“To move people without being seen.”
The passages wound beneath churches, warehouses, and old government buildings.
The blue rabbit's hidden compartment contained a tiny magnetic strip.
Daniel placed it against a metal door.
It opened.
Inside was a control room.
Screens covered the walls.
Cameras showed underground routes.
Names flashed.
Alessandro stared.
“This is the real network.”
Daniel nodded.
“The Morettis only controlled part of it.”
“Who controls the rest?”
“My mother.”
I stared.
“My mother is being held prisoner.”
“Yes.”
“Then why say she controls it?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Because Raffaele thinks she does.”
That answer made no sense.
Then we heard a woman's voice.
“You finally came.”
I froze.
My mother.
A hidden door opened.
She stood there.
Older.
Silver streaks in her hair.
Her face was thinner.
But her eyes were the ones I remembered from childhood photographs.
“Mom.”
I ran into her arms.
She cried.
“My baby.”
I held her tightly.
“You were alive.”
“I tried to find you.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because every road led back to them.”
She looked at Emma.
“And this is my granddaughter.”
Emma smiled.
“I'm Emma.”
My mother knelt.
“You have your father's eyes.”
I started crying.
She touched my face.
“I never wanted you to know.”
“Know what?”
“That your father isn't Daniel.”
Silence.
Alessandro looked shocked.
I couldn't speak.
“My father?”
“Daniel was your husband.”
“Yes.”
“But not your biological father.”
I stared.
“Then who?”
She looked at Alessandro.
His face changed.
“No.”
My mother nodded.
“Lorenzo Moretti.”
The room went silent.
Alessandro looked like he had been struck.
“My father?”
“He was your father.”
“For Lena?”
“Yes.”
Alessandro stepped back.
“That can't be.”
My mother explained.
Lorenzo had been obsessed with controlling the First House bloodline.
He believed marrying into it would give him legitimacy.
But my mother refused.
He tried to take me as a child.
She escaped.
She changed my name.
She used Daniel to help protect me.
Daniel had agreed to marry me and keep me safe.
I covered my mouth.
“Daniel knew?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't he tell me?”
“Because he loved you.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“He thought the truth would destroy you.”
Alessandro looked at me.
My half-brother.
The same man who had protected me.
The same man whose father had been my biological father.
The family connection was impossible.
Yet somehow it explained everything.
The mark.
The protection.
The prophecy.
The hidden records.
Then my mother took my hand.
“There is one more thing.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Raffaele isn't trying to control the empire.”
“What does he want?”
“To awaken the First House.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
She showed us an ancient stone seal.
It matched the mark on Emma's rabbit.
“The First House left behind a legal claim over the underground network.”
“Legal?”
“Not just criminal. Financial.”
She explained that centuries ago, wealthy families built a hidden trust that controlled shipping routes and properties throughout Europe.
The Morettis had stolen control.
The original heirs were believed extinct.
Until me.
“So he needs me.”
“Yes.”
“And Emma?”
My mother's face tightened.
“Emma carries the next generation of the bloodline.”
I looked at my daughter.
The three-year-old who had innocently carried the key to a war she couldn't understand.
Alessandro stepped forward.
“Then Raffaele will never get them.”
My mother smiled.
“You say that like you aren't the target too.”
He looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because Lorenzo's heir is you.”
Alessandro went still.
“Lorenzo named you in the final succession document.”
“The final succession?”
“Yes.”
My mother handed him a sealed envelope.
He opened it.
Inside was a statement.
If I die, Alessandro Moretti becomes guardian of the Bennett bloodline.
He stared.
“Why would my father do this?”
“Because he regretted what he became.”
Alessandro looked at me.
“He knew he was going to die.”
“He did.”
“He protected us?”
“Yes.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“There was one reason I helped.”
“What?”
He looked at me.
“I loved you.”
I began crying.
“You should have told me.”
“I know.”
“I hated you.”
“I know.”
“I buried you.”
“I know.”
He lowered his head.
“I couldn't give you your husband back without putting a target on Emma.”
I hugged him.
“I don't forgive you yet.”
He nodded.
“But I'm trying.”
“I know.”
Then the alarms sounded.
My mother's face changed.
“He found us.”
The underground doors began opening.
Raffaele's men entered.
Alessandro drew his weapon.
“Everyone behind me.”
My mother pulled a lever.
The floor opened.
A hidden staircase appeared.
“Go.”
“Mom?”
“I'll hold them.”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“You've spent your whole life running.”
She smiled.
“Now it's my turn to stop.”
I refused.
Alessandro grabbed my hand.
“We all leave.”
He fired toward the corridor.
We escaped into the tunnel.
Behind us, explosions shook the walls.
Then my mother's voice came over the speakers.
“Lena.”
I turned.
Her final message came through.
“Trust Alessandro.”
The speakers went silent.
I began to panic.
“Mom!”
Daniel caught me.
“She knew what she was doing.”
But I saw his face.
He wasn't convinced.
We ran.
And at the end of the tunnel stood Raffaele.
Holding a gun.
Smiling.
“Your mother was always my favorite.”
May you like
He raised the weapon.
“Now let's finish this family.”
