Chapter 5 - My Mother’s Buried Secret
My mother sat down.
She looked smaller than she ever had.
Luciano remained on the stage.
Sophia stood beside me.
Emma was still outside.
For once, I didn't care about the empire.
I needed the truth.
“What do you know?”
My mother looked at Luciano.
“You survived.”
He nodded.
“And you hid.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your father asked me to.”
“Why?”
“Because Matteo was already working against the family.”
I felt anger.
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
My mother looked at me.
“Because your father made me promise.”
“Promise what?”
“Never to tell you until you were ready to leave the empire.”
I laughed bitterly.
“And did you think I was ever going to leave?”
“I hoped.”
The words hurt more than any accusation.
My mother continued.
“Your father had been planning to dissolve the criminal organization.”
I looked at Luciano.
“Is that why you disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“Why did everyone think you died?”
“Because if Matteo knew I was alive, he would have killed me.”
My mother explained that Luciano had discovered Matteo's plan.
Matteo wanted to take control after my father's death.
But he needed something more.
He needed an heir.
Emma.
Because a clause in the old Moretti trust required a biological descendant outside Alessandro's direct line to trigger the transfer of assets.
It was a legal trap my grandfather had created decades earlier to stop one person from owning everything.
My father had altered the trust before his death.
Emma was included.
But Matteo didn't know the complete wording.
He believed marrying Isabella and controlling me would give him access.
Luciano had allowed him to believe that.
“Why?”
“To keep him busy.”
“And Sophia?”
Luciano looked at her.
“She was never supposed to be involved.”
Sophia stared at him.
“Then why did Daniel die?”
Luciano lowered his head.
“Because he found out too much.”
I asked the question I'd been avoiding.
“Did you kill him?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
Luciano looked at Matteo's empty chair.
“Someone Matteo feared.”
“Who?”
He gave me a name.
Richard Moretti.
My grandfather's former financial adviser.
I knew him.
He had retired years ago.
He was still on the board of several legitimate Moretti companies.
I felt a chill.
“He's alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why would he help Matteo?”
“He isn't helping Matteo.”
Luciano looked at me.
“He is using him.”
We returned to my estate.
Richard had already called.
He wanted a meeting.
“Tomorrow,” I told him.
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“Tonight.”
I agreed.
He arrived with two bodyguards.
An elderly man in a gray suit.
He carried a cane.
He looked harmless.
That was exactly what frightened me.
He sat across from me.
“You're angry.”
“You should be.”
He smiled.
“Perhaps.”
“What did you do to Daniel?”
“I gave an order.”
“What order?”
“Keep him quiet.”
“So you killed him.”
“No.”
“Someone else did.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Matteo.”
Matteo wasn't loyal to anyone.
Richard had controlled him through money and fear.
Richard explained that the true Moretti fortune had been divided decades ago.
One portion became the visible empire.
The other was hidden.
The hidden portion funded political influence, shipping routes, private intelligence operations, and protected accounts.
My father had wanted to dismantle it.
Richard wanted to control it.
Matteo wanted it.
Luciano wanted to destroy it.
I wanted none of it.
That was the irony.
Richard leaned toward me.
“You have your father's strength but none of his ambition.”
“That's supposed to be an insult?”
“No.”
He smiled.
“It's why I want you alive.”
He placed a folder on the table.
Inside were photographs of Emma.
At school.
At the park.
At my mansion.
Watching her.
My anger exploded.
“You've been following her.”
“For months.”
I stood.
Richard's guards reached for their weapons.
Marco stepped forward.
“Don't.”
Richard raised a hand.
“Sit down, Alessandro.”
I remained standing.
“You're done.”
He sighed.
“That's what your father said.”
“What happened to him?”
Richard smiled.
“Matteo poisoned him.”
I froze.
My mother had been right.
But Richard continued.
“He did it because I told him to.”
My fist tightened.
“Why?”
“Because your father was going to destroy the system.”
“And you wanted the empire.”
“Yes.”
No apology.
No excuse.
Just truth.
“What about Emma?”
“She was never supposed to exist.”
I stared at him.
“That is why Luciano arranged her birth under Daniel's name.”
Richard looked at Sophia.
“He wanted to protect the child.”
Sophia stood.
“You knew about her?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you kill her?”
Richard looked almost offended.
“Because she is the only reason the hidden trust can be transferred.”
He wanted the trust.
All of it.
But there was one condition.
Emma had to willingly acknowledge him as a legal guardian.
That would only happen if Sophia disappeared.
So Richard had manipulated Isabella.
He had manipulated Matteo.
He had manipulated Daniel.
And he had been watching my family for years.
I looked at my mother.
“Why didn't you stop him?”
She began crying.
“Because I was threatened.”
“With what?”
“Your life.”
Richard smiled.
“Your mother chose correctly.”
I walked toward him.
“Get out.”
He stood.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“This family has survived because men like me made cruel decisions.”
“No.”
I looked him in the eyes.
“This family survived despite men like you.”
His smile disappeared.
He left.
Three hours later, every financial account connected to my family was attacked.
Transactions began moving.
Companies switched ownership.
Bank systems flagged suspicious withdrawals.
Richard had started his final assault.
Marco looked at the screens.
“He's using old family authorizations.”
“Can we stop it?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe isn't enough.”
Sophia stepped forward.
“Emma has to sign something?”
“That's what he thinks.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“What?”
“Emma isn't the beneficiary.”
I stared.
“The trust documents were changed.”
“By whom?”
“Daniel.”
She pulled a hidden document from inside her coat.
Daniel had discovered the original trust.
He had changed the beneficiary clause.
The new wording gave control to—
The surviving Moretti family member who chooses family over power.
I stared.
It wasn't Emma.
It wasn't me.
It was whoever voluntarily surrendered the empire.
My father had planned this.
He hadn't wanted me to inherit the criminal organization.
He wanted me to end it.
I looked at Sophia.
“If I dissolve the empire, the trust activates.”
“Yes.”
“What happens to the money?”
“It goes to the children.”
I thought about the countless people harmed by the Moretti organization.
The warehouses.
The ports.
The fear.
The blood.
My father had left me one final choice.
Keep the empire.
Or destroy it.
I knew what I wanted.
But before I could act, the security system screamed.
A camera showed Emma's room.
Empty.
Sophia screamed.
“Emma!”
I ran upstairs.
Her bed was empty.
The window was open.
On the pillow was a white rose.
May you like
And beneath it, a note.
You chose too late.
