Chapter 4 - LUCA’S FATHER
Luca did not defend his father.
That surprised Elina.
He simply sat in his office and read.
Again.
Again.
Then:
“If he did this, I want proof.”
Correct.
Vincent Moretti had been an attorney before taking over family businesses.
He handled private adoptions occasionally for employees and associates.
Could Rosa’s adoption be legitimate?
Possibly.
But why hidden?
Why no agency record?
Why Bellandi amendment?
Then independent investigators found payment.
Three weeks after Elina’s birth:
$75,000 from Bellandi Family Holdings to Vincent Moretti Legal Services.
Description:
Emergency family restructuring.
Another:
$50,000 to Matteo Moretti.
Consulting.
Then:
$100,000 to St. Agnes administrator.
That looked worse.
But still needed context.
Elina refused to become a conclusion before evidence.
Then Luca found one of Sofia’s journals.
Locked inside safe he had never opened because Sofia told him not to touch it.
He had respected that even after death.
Elina noticed.
Good.
Journal entry:
I found Elena.
I think.
She works at Orelio.
She looks like me before I learned to hide every feeling.
Elina’s eyes filled.
Then:
I watched her from across the street today.
I wanted to go inside.
I didn’t.
Matteo’s car was behind me.
So Sofia was watched.
Another entry:
Noah reacts to my jasmine oil.
If Elena really is my twin, maybe she uses same scent without knowing.
Elina froze.
She wore jasmine lotion.
Cheap pharmacy brand.
Had since teenager because Rosa used it.
Maybe scent explained baby.
Not supernatural.
Memory.
Then:
I recorded my voice saying the lullaby Mama sang.
If Noah ever meets Elena, maybe her voice will sound familiar too.
Identical twins can share vocal qualities.
Not magic.
Still emotional.
Then Sofia wrote:
Luca is not involved.
I believe that.
But his father was.
Matteo still is.
Elina looked at Luca.
His face tightened.
Then:
I need proof before I tell him.
He would burn his family apart for me.
And I don’t know which pieces would fall on Noah.
Elina exhaled.
Sofia feared Luca’s protection too.
Not because he was evil.
Because power escalates.
Then final journal entry, three days before Sofia’s death:
Matteo knows.
He asked me whether I enjoy Orelio.
I never told him I went there.
Luca stood.
“How did Sofia die?”
Elina asked quietly.
His face became stone.
“Postpartum cardiomyopathy.”
Medical.
Diagnosed.
Could be genuine.
Hospital records confirmed.
No poisoning.
No murder twist required.
But Matteo had known her secret before she died.
Then a sealed note fell from back cover.
Sofia’s handwriting:
If Matteo reaches Elena first, he will tell her I wanted her money.
Don’t believe him.
Why would Matteo want Elina to distrust her dead sister?
Because if sisters never united, trust remained easier to control.
Then Luca’s phone rang.
Uncle Matteo.
Perfect timing.
He answered.
Matteo said:
“So she finally found the letter.”
Luca went silent.
May you like
Elina heard.
Matteo already knew.
