Chapter 3 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Adrian DeLuca was alive.
Nora couldn't understand it.
Neither could she accept it.
Roman took her to a private apartment where Adrian had been hiding.
When the door opened, Nora saw a man sitting by the window.
Older.
Thinner.
A scar crossed his jaw.
But the eyes were familiar.
They matched Maisie's.
Nora stopped.
Adrian stood.
“Nora.”
She almost slapped him.
Instead she cried.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had to.”
“You had a daughter.”
“I know.”
“You missed everything.”
“I know.”
She pushed him.
He didn't defend himself.
“You missed her first steps.”
“I know.”
“Her first word.”
“I know.”
“You missed the nights she was sick.”
His eyes filled.
“I know.”
Nora broke down.
Roman stood silently.
Adrian looked at him.
“Did you tell her?”
“Yes.”
Adrian nodded.
“You couldn't keep it forever.”
Roman answered:
“No.”
Maisie came running from the next room.
“Daddy?”
Adrian froze.
The word hit him like a bullet.
He knelt.
Maisie stared.
She tilted her head.
“You know Bunny.”
Adrian smiled through tears.
“I know Bunny.”
She ran into his arms.
Nora turned away.
She couldn't watch.
Adrian held his daughter as though the world had stopped.
Roman stood near the doorway.
Nora looked at him.
“You brought him here.”
“Yes.”
“Why now?”
“Because the people who attacked us know about Maisie.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“They found her.”
Roman nodded.
Nora realized the danger was larger than she understood.
“What did your father do?”
Adrian looked at Roman.
Roman answered.
“Our father built an organization around shipping and finance.”
“And?”
“He betrayed people.”
“He killed people.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Money.”
Nora shook her head.
“Then why were you fighting him?”
Adrian answered.
“Because our father wanted control of a trust.”
“What trust?”
Roman showed her the documents.
The Ellis Trust.
Created by Nora's mother and Roman's mother.
It contained millions.
But more importantly, it contained evidence of the DeLuca family's corruption.
The trust was designed to transfer to Maisie when she turned eighteen.
Until then, it was protected by a guardian.
Nora.
She stared.
“Me?”
Roman nodded.
“That's why they want you.”
“Why not kill me?”
“Because only you can authorize certain transfers.”
Nora understood.
“This whole time…”
“You were the key.”
“And Maisie?”
“The beneficiary.”
She looked at her daughter.
The child she had thought was simply caught in adult problems was the center of everything.
Nora turned to Roman.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Would you have believed me?”
“No.”
“That's why.”
She couldn't argue.
Later that night, they discovered another threat.
The trust had been hacked.
Someone had attempted to transfer funds.
The attack came from inside DeLuca Holdings.
Roman's security team traced it.
The access code belonged to Marco Bellini.
Roman's oldest friend.
Nora remembered him.
The quiet man who always stood behind Roman.
“He betrayed you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Money.”
“Everyone says that.”
Roman looked at her.
“Sometimes it is that simple.”
Marco fled.
Roman ordered his capture.
But before they found him, he sent one message.
You don't know what your mother did.
Nora froze.
“My mother?”
Roman read the message again.
Then another arrived.
Ask Nora why Evelyn didn't raise her.
Nora stared.
She didn't know.
She had always been told her mother wanted her to have a normal childhood.
But if that was true, why had Evelyn raised Nora?
Why had her mother disappeared?
Why had she left the locket with Roman?
She looked at the photograph.
Something was wrong.
The date.
It had been taken after her mother's supposed death.
Nora whispered:
“She was alive.”
Roman nodded.
“Probably.”
“Where?”
“We don't know.”
Adrian entered.
“She left me a message.”
Nora looked at him.
“What?”
“She said if I ever returned, I should find you.”
Nora felt cold.
“Why?”
Adrian took out a letter.
It was addressed to Nora.
My daughter,
I know you will hate me.
I know you will think I chose fear over you.
But there are things I could never tell you while the DeLuca family still had power over us.
If Roman is beside you when you read this, trust him.
He is the only one who chose you before he knew you.
Nora looked at Roman.
He looked away.
The letter continued.
Your daughter is not merely an heir. She is the proof that the DeLuca family can become something better.
Nora cried.
Then she read the final line.
Protect her from the man who taught us all to be afraid.
Roman went still.
“Who?”
Nora looked up.
The answer came from Adrian.
May you like
“Our grandfather.”
---
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