Chapter 4 - The Man I Trusted for Thirty Years Was Hiding a War Inside My House
Daniel survived surgery.
Barely.
While he was unconscious, I moved Elena and Mia to a hidden apartment outside Manhattan.
I needed answers.
Vincent was gone.
So was my sister.
And someone had erased twenty years of security files.
I returned to the estate alone.
The house felt different without Elena and Mia.
Too quiet.
Too empty.
I found myself looking toward the office, expecting to see Mia sitting in my chair.
The thought hurt.
Then I discovered the hidden room beneath my father's library.
I'd known about it.
I had never opened it.
My father's fingerprint scanner still worked.
Inside were dozens of boxes.
One was marked:
LUCAS — THE TRUTH ABOUT ISABELLA.
I opened it.
The first file contained a photograph of Vincent.
Twenty-eight years earlier.
He wasn't my father's bodyguard.
He was an undercover informant.
My father's organization had been compromised.
Vincent had been recruited to identify the traitor.
The traitor was Elijah Vance.
But there was more.
Vance had a son.
Adrian Kane.
Adrian had been raised around the Moretti family.
He wasn't simply an accountant.
He was Vance's biological son.
I sat back.
Then I found another photograph.
Adrian.
Isabella.
A newborn baby.
Mia.
I stared at it.
Adrian was holding Mia.
Isabella stood beside him.
Elena stood behind them.
On the back:
THE CHILD WILL BE THE KEY.
I felt sick.
The door opened.
My mother walked in.
I hadn't seen her in seven years.
“Mom?”
She smiled sadly.
“I knew you would eventually find this.”
“Did you know Isabella was alive?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know about Mia?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know Vincent was working against Dad?”
“Yes.”
I stood.
“Then why did everyone lie to me?”
“Because every truth came with a body attached.”
She sat down.
“Your father wasn't a good man, Luca.”
I stared.
“But he loved us.”
“That isn't enough to make someone innocent.”
She told me the missing part.
My father had built an empire.
But he had also discovered Elijah Vance's network.
Vance was bribing judges, police officers, city officials, and rival criminal organizations.
When my father tried to expose him, Vance poisoned him.
Isabella discovered it.
Vincent protected her.
Daniel helped.
Adrian escaped.
But then Vance threatened to kill Mia.
So Isabella disappeared.
“She let you think she was dead to keep Vance from using you against her.”
“And Vincent?”
“He remained inside the organization to protect everyone.”
I closed my eyes.
“What about Daniel?”
“He wasn't working with Vance.”
“Then why did he hurt Elena?”
“He didn't.”
I looked at her.
“Daniel never touched Elena.”
“Then who did?”
My mother answered softly.
“Vincent's men.”
I went still.
Vincent had authorized the intimidation.
Not Daniel.
Not alone.
I had accused the wrong man.
I left the room.
My phone rang.
It was Elena.
“Luca.”
“Where are you?”
She hesitated.
“The apartment isn't safe.”
My stomach dropped.
“Where's Mia?”
“She disappeared.”
The world stopped.
“What?”
“I went into the kitchen for thirty seconds.”
“When I came back, she was gone.”
I grabbed my coat.
“Lock the door.”
“I can't.”
“What?”
Someone had written a message across the apartment wall.
LEAVE THE GIRL. COME ALONE.
Beneath it was another sentence.
YOUR FAMILY HAS BEEN WAITING FOR YOU.
I called everyone.
Within fifteen minutes, the city was moving.
Cameras.
Cars.
Contacts.
Money.
Everything I had.
And finally, a location appeared.
An old Moretti warehouse in Brooklyn.
The warehouse where my father had first built his empire.
I went there alone.
Inside, lights flickered.
A child's laugh echoed.
“Mia?”
No answer.
Then she stepped into view.
Three years old.
Yellow dress.
Pink sneakers.
Holding my fountain pen.
I almost collapsed with relief.
“Boss?”
She smiled.
“Uncle Luca.”
I ran toward her.
A gun pointed at my head.
Vincent stepped from the shadows.
Mia walked straight to him.
She wasn't afraid.
That confused me.
“You took her.”
Vincent lowered the weapon.
“No.”
“What?”
“I saved her.”
A woman stepped beside him.
Isabella.
Alive.
My sister looked at me.
“Now you finally see why we couldn't tell you.”
Mia hugged her leg.
I stared at Vincent.
“You shot Daniel.”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Vincent shook his head.
“I would never.”
He reached into his coat.
Pulled out a recording.
Daniel's voice filled the warehouse.
“Vincent, you can't keep pretending.”
Then another voice.
My father's.
“If Luca learns the truth, Vance will come after him.”
Then the sound of a gunshot.
I stared at the recording.
“What am I hearing?”
May you like
Vincent looked at me.
“The night your father died.”
Related Stories
