Chapter 5 - The Man Who Had Been Waiting for His Daughter
My father was in a federal prison three states away.
His name was officially Gabriel Moretti.
The surname meant nothing to me until Silvano explained it.
Moretti.
A rival family.
A man who had once been accused of working against the Rinaldis.
My father had not disappeared because he didn't love us.
He had disappeared because someone had framed him for Alessandro's murder.
He had been sentenced at twenty-seven.
My mother had been terrified.
She had hidden my identity.
Isabella had helped.
And Victor's family had spent decades believing my father was responsible.
The truth was almost unbearable.
I met Gabriel in a secured visitation room.
He entered slowly.
Older.
Thinner.
Gray-haired.
But when he saw me, his face changed.
“Serena.”
I couldn't speak.
He stood several feet away.
“I've imagined this moment for twenty-eight years.”
I cried.
“Why didn't you find me?”
“Because every time I tried, people around me disappeared.”
He explained.
He had loved my mother.
He had loved me.
He had known Alessandro.
He had been there the night Alessandro was killed.
He had seen someone leave.
Victor's uncle.
Matteo's employer.
The man everyone thought was dead.
Salvatore Rinaldi.
Victor's father.
I felt sick.
“Victor's father killed Alessandro?”
“No.”
My father shook his head.
“He was there.”
“Then who?”
He whispered the name.
“Malcolm Vieri.”
The same man now working with Matteo.
Everything came together.
Malcolm had manipulated the feud between the Rinaldis and Morettis.
He had arranged Alessandro's murder.
He had framed my father.
He had helped Isabella hide the truth.
Then years later, he had manipulated Victor's fiancée.
Celeste? no.
He had no connection.
I realized I was mixing stories.
I forced myself back to the facts.
Malcolm wanted the Rinaldi empire.
But Victor had become too strong.
So Malcolm needed leverage.
Me.
The Rinaldi bloodline.
And Lucia.
I returned to the estate.
Victor was waiting.
I told him everything.
He listened without interrupting.
When I finished, he looked devastated.
“My father knew.”
“Yes.”
“And said nothing.”
“He was afraid.”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“I spent my entire life protecting a legacy built on a lie.”
I reached for his hand.
“You can end it.”
He looked at me.
“How?”
“By choosing your sons.”
That night, Victor did something no one in his organization expected.
He told his men to destroy the weapons.
Not surrender them.
Destroy them.
He announced that he was removing the Rinaldi family from criminal operations.
Silvano looked at him as though he had lost his mind.
Victor simply said,
“I spent enough of my life becoming what everyone feared.”
Then he looked at me.
“I don't want my sons inheriting it.”
The decision created chaos.
Some men stayed.
Others left.
A few became enemies.
But Victor remained steady.
The estate became quieter.
The boys changed too.
Without the atmosphere of fear, they stopped destroying things.
They started playing.
Reading.
Cooking.
Luca learned to make paper boats.
Marco started asking for vegetables.
Nico apologized when he broke something.
Alessandro became obsessed with gardening.
And Lucia became their unofficial leader.
Victor watched from the porch one afternoon.
“You created this.”
I smiled.
“No. They were always capable of this.”
He shook his head.
“You saw them before I did.”
I looked at him.
“You were grieving.”
“So were they.”
He nodded.
“I thought being strict would make them stronger.”
“Sometimes children need to know they can fall without being abandoned.”
His eyes softened.
“How did you learn that?”
“My mother.”
We sat quietly.
Then Victor said,
“I never wanted another marriage.”
I looked at him.
“Neither did I.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
We both laughed.
It was the first time our laughter felt natural.
That evening, he kissed me.
Not suddenly.
Not forcefully.
He paused.
Gave me time to step away.
I didn't.
The kiss was gentle.
More fragile than either of us expected.
When we pulled apart, he touched my forehead.
“I don't want to complicate your life.”
“You already did.”
A faint smile.
“How?”
“You made me care.”
He looked almost relieved.
Then the phone rang.
Silvano.
“Victor.”
“What?”
“Malcolm has taken Matteo.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“Why?”
“Because Matteo tried to leave.”
May you like
A pause.
“And Lucia is missing.”
