Chapter 2 - The Man Who Knew My Mother’s Secret
Vincent Moretti did not take me home immediately.
He took me somewhere else.
A private office above Belladonna.
There was a fireplace, dark leather furniture, and a wall covered with photographs I was too afraid to examine.
He ordered milk and toast.
I didn’t touch either.
I sat on the couch wrapped in his jacket.
“Where is my mother?” I asked.
“At the hospital.”
“Can you call her?”
“I already did.”
“And?”
“She didn't answer.”
That frightened me.
My mother always answered when Vincent called.
At least, she should have.
Vincent placed the evidence envelope on the table.
“Do you know this man?”
He showed me a photograph.
I shook my head.
The picture showed the gray sedan parked outside a hospital.
“Do you recognize the car?”
“Yes.”
“Have you seen this place?”
I stared harder.
The hospital entrance looked familiar.
“That’s where Mom works.”
Vincent nodded.
“Your mother has been hiding something.”
I became angry.
“My mother doesn't lie.”
“Everyone lies.”
“Not her.”
His expression softened.
“Sometimes people lie because telling the truth would put someone else in danger.”
I frowned.
“Am I in danger?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, he asked, “Do you know your father's name?”
“My mother says his name was Daniel.”
“Was?”
“He died before I was born.”
Another silence.
Vincent looked at me for a long time.
Then he said something that made my chest hurt.
“That's not what your birth certificate says.”
I shook my head.
“You're wrong.”
“I rarely am.”
He opened a folder.
There was a copy of my birth certificate.
Father: Unknown.
Mother: Elena Vale.
But beneath it was another document.
A second certificate.
Father: Adrian Moretti.
I looked at Vincent.
“Your name is Moretti too.”
“Yes.”
“Is he your brother?”
“No.”
“Your father?”
Vincent leaned back.
“He was my uncle.”
My heartbeat sped up.
“Then why is his name there?”
“That is what I'm trying to find out.”
A knock sounded.
A man stepped into the room.
“Boss, we found the driver's phone.”
Vincent stood.
“Anything useful?”
“Three calls to a number registered under Elena Vale.”
My mother.
I shook my head.
“No.”
The man placed the phone down.
“There's something else.”
He opened a message.
The last message sent to the driver's phone was only four words.
Keep the girl scared.
I started crying.
Vincent immediately closed the file.
“Don't look at that.”
“He wants me scared.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“So you'll run.”
“Where?”
Vincent's jaw tightened.
“Somewhere he can control.”
I suddenly understood.
All those weeks.
The gray sedan.
The whispers.
The slow driving.
The way the driver never touched me.
He wasn't trying to kidnap me.
He was trying to make me afraid enough to run somewhere else.
“Where?” I repeated.
Vincent looked at me.
“To someone you believe will protect you.”
I thought about my mother.
Then the police.
Then him.
“Why would somebody want me to come to you?”
Vincent's expression became unreadable.
“I don't know.”
A phone rang.
The sound came from the hallway.
One of Vincent’s men answered.
His face changed.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“The driver escaped.”
Vincent went still.
“How?”
“He had a second vehicle waiting.”
Vincent cursed under his breath.
Then he looked at me.
“Can you tell me exactly what you saw?”
I nodded.
“The driver had a scar.”
“Where?”
“Near his mouth.”
“Anything else?”
“He wore a black ring.”
Vincent froze.
“What kind?”
I pointed to my own finger.
“Like this, but with a bird.”
Vincent's face turned pale.
“What bird?”
“A black crow.”
The room became silent.
One of his men whispered, “Impossible.”
Vincent stared at him.
“Tell me.”
The man swallowed.
“The Crow Circle died fifteen years ago.”
I didn't understand.
Vincent did.
And suddenly, the most feared man in the city looked genuinely afraid.
That night, instead of taking me home, he sent six men to protect my mother at the hospital.
And he took me to his private residence.
As I lay in a guest room, I heard shouting downstairs.
Then I heard my mother's voice.
“You have no right to involve my daughter!”
I sat up.
Vincent answered.
“You involved her fifteen years ago.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The second birth certificate.”
Silence.
Then my mother whispered:
“Vincent…”
“What did you promise my father?”
My mother's voice broke.
“I promised I would never let them find her.”
“You failed.”
“I tried!”
“You let a man follow her for seven days.”
“I didn't know!”
“You knew enough to be afraid.”
The door opened.
My mother rushed into my room.
She dropped beside my bed and pulled me into her arms.
“I'm sorry.”
I cried into her shirt.
“Who is Adrian Moretti?”
She closed her eyes.
May you like
Then whispered the words I would never forget.
“Your father.”
Related Stories
