Chapter 5 - The Truth About Vanessa
The next morning, Vanessa asked to see me.
I refused.
She asked again.
I still refused.
Then Luca told me:
“She knows about your mother.”
I went.
Vanessa was sitting in a private room under guard.
Her face looked different without makeup.
Tired.
Afraid.
“Natalie.”
“What do you know about my mother?”
She looked at Luca.
“Can we speak privately?”
“No.”
Vanessa sighed.
“Fine.”
She looked at me.
“Your mother helped Julian.”
“I know.”
“She helped him disappear.”
“Why?”
“Because my father wanted him dead.”
“And Anthony?”
Vanessa nodded.
“He was my father's partner.”
“Why did you marry Julian?”
“To save him.”
“That doesn't explain why you lied about him.”
“I didn't know if Julian was alive.”
“But you told Luca he was dead.”
“I was trying to protect Luca.”
I laughed bitterly.
“From what?”
“From Anthony.”
She stared at me.
“Your life is in danger because of me.”
“That isn't an apology.”
“I know.”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“Julian loved me.”
“Did you love him?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you let everyone believe he was dead?”
“Because Anthony threatened him.”
“What happened after the fire?”
“He escaped.”
“And then?”
“He disappeared.”
“Where?”
“New York.”
I turned to Luca.
“Can we trust her?”
“No.”
Vanessa smiled sadly.
“I wouldn't either.”
Then she reached into her sleeve.
A small key.
She handed it to me.
“This belongs to your mother.”
I stared.
“Where did you get it?”
“Julian gave it to me.”
“Why?”
“Because he trusted me once.”
“What does it open?”
“A safe.”
“Where?”
“St. Mary's Hospital.”
My mother's old hospital.
I felt my hands go cold.
That night, Luca and I went there.
The hospital archives had been abandoned after a renovation.
We found the safe behind an old records cabinet.
The key worked.
Inside was a small box.
Letters.
Photographs.
A birth certificate.
I stared at it.
My name.
Natalie Brooks.
Mother's signature.
Father's signature.
Then another document.
Guardianship transfer.
Dated twelve years earlier.
My mother had transferred me into temporary guardianship.
To Eleanor Moretti.
I looked at Luca.
“My mother knew your family.”
“Yes.”
“Why would she transfer me to your grandmother?”
He looked stunned.
“My grandmother died eleven years ago.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
We found another letter.
My mother wrote:
“Natalie must never be raised in the Bellini or Moretti worlds. If anything happens to me, Eleanor is the only person I trust.”
Luca stared.
“She was protecting you.”
“From whom?”
Anthony.
The name appeared again.
Always Anthony.
We searched further.
The final letter was from Julian.
“Natalie, if you're reading this one day, I need you to know something.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Your mother never abandoned you.”
“She gave you to Eleanor because she knew Anthony was watching.”
I started crying.
Luca stood behind me.
“I am sorry.”
I kept reading.
“Your father believed he could protect you.”
I froze.
My father.
He had died when I was twelve.
I had always believed he was a construction worker who died in an accident.
Then the letter continued.
“He was working with Adrian Moretti to expose Northstar.”
Luca looked at me.
“Adrian was my father.”
“Yes.”
My world shifted.
Our fathers had known each other.
Our mothers had known each other.
The families had crossed paths long before either of us knew.
And somehow, all roads led to Anthony.
Then I found the worst page.
A hospital report.
My father hadn't died in an accident.
He had been murdered.
The official report had been changed.
Cause of death: workplace accident.
Actual cause: gunshot wound.
Anthony's signature appeared on the payment authorization for the cleanup.
I dropped the paper.
Luca caught me.
“This ends tonight.”
I looked at him.
“You can't promise that.”
“I can.”
“No.”
I stepped away.
“You don't know what this is.”
“I know enough.”
“You're protecting me because you feel guilty.”
“No.”
“Then why?”
He stared at me.
“Because I don't want anything to happen to you.”
My heart stopped.
Neither of us moved.
Then he said softly:
“You matter to me.”
Everything inside me went quiet.
Before I could answer, gunfire erupted down the hallway.
The hospital windows shattered.
Luca pulled me to the floor.
Security returned fire.
When the shooting stopped, the safe was gone.
Someone had taken the documents.
Everything except one thing.
The birth certificate.
I grabbed it.
May you like
On the back was a handwritten sentence.
“He will come for Natalie next.”
