Chapter 4 - The Key My Sister Carried Could Open a Fortune Worth More Than the Moretti EmpireThe key was old.
Small.
Black.
A wolf engraved into the handle.
I recognized it.
My father had worn it on a chain around his neck.
I thought it was gone.
Maya had it.
“Where did you get this?”
“My mother.”
“Your mother?”
“She died when I was eleven.”
“So who gave it to you?”
“Mrs. Gable.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because she said it was time.”
“Time for what?”
“For me to come home.”
The words hit me.
“You've been waiting.”
“Yes.”
“For me?”
“For the truth.”
She looked toward the door.
“Someone is coming.”
We heard footsteps.
The door opened.
Victor entered.
“Boss.”
He stopped when he saw her.
For a second, his face went blank.
Then he whispered:
“Elena.”
She smiled faintly.
“Hello, Victor.”
He looked at me.
I could see the shock.
He had known.
He had been one of the people who knew.
“How long?” I asked.
He lowered his eyes.
“Three years.”
My chest tightened.
“You knew she was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Your father ordered it.”
I stared.
“Even after he died?”
“The order remained.”
I felt furious.
“Who else knew?”
Victor hesitated.
“Your mother.”
“Dead.”
“Mrs. Gable.”
“Dead?”
“No.”
“She’s alive.”
“Your fiancée?”
Victor's silence answered.
I turned toward Maya.
“She knew?”
“She knew the family was hiding someone.”
“But not exactly who.”
Maya nodded.
“She recognized my locket.”
“Then why didn't she tell me?”
“Because she wants the ledger.”
I looked at the key.
“What does it open?”
“The Moretti vault.”
I knew about the vault.
My father had once told me it held old family documents.
But if Maya had the key, there was more.
We traveled to the old Moretti estate.
The property had been abandoned after my father's death.
It stood on land no one visited.
The vault was beneath the chapel.
Maya inserted the key.
The door opened.
Inside were boxes.
Millions in cash.
Gold.
Documents.
But the real treasure was the ledger.
A thick black book.
I opened it.
Names.
Payments.
Political favors.
Illegal operations.
And one chapter titled:
ELENA MORETTI — ASSET.
I stared.
“She was considered an asset.”
Maya looked away.
“Because of my inheritance.”
“What inheritance?”
“The Moretti trust.”
I frowned.
“My father had billions hidden outside the family companies.”
“How much?”
“Enough to control governments.”
I looked at her.
“Why are you the heir?”
“Because I was the firstborn.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Then what am I?”
“Your father's son.”
“Not the heir.”
“No.”
My entire life had been built on a lie.
I had inherited the empire but not the true trust.
My sister had been the legal heir.
My father had hidden her.
I asked:
“Why?”
“Because he wanted the empire.”
“And the trust?”
“He wanted your name to control everything.”
I felt sick.
Then we found another file.
The marriage agreement.
Between me and Chloe.
The document stated that if we married, the combined companies would gain control over the trust.
But there was a clause.
If Elena returned before the marriage, the agreement would be invalid.
Chloe's family had every reason to keep Elena hidden.
My engagement wasn't just a romance.
It was a trap.
I turned toward Maya.
“Does Chloe know everything?”
“She knows enough.”
“What about her father?”
“He knows all of it.”
I looked at the ledger.
Then at the vault.
Then at my sister.
“We're going public.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because there's one more name.”
She pointed.
At the top of the ledger.
HOWARD MORETTI.
My father.
Beneath it:
Status: Alive.
I felt the room tilt.
My father was alive.
The man I had buried fifteen years ago.
The man who had manipulated my life.
The man who had hidden my sister.
He wasn't dead.
He was still controlling everything.
Then a phone rang.
Maya's.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A man's voice said:
“Hello, Elena.”
She froze.
“Dad?”
I looked at her.
My blood turned cold.
May you like
The voice laughed.
“You finally came home.”
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