Chapter 11 - THE BLOODLINE LIE
Victor did not react for almost a minute.
Then he walked out.
I found him in the courtyard.
Cold rain had started again.
He stood beneath it.
“Victor.”
“Don’t.”
I stopped.
He turned.
“All my life, I have been told who I am.”
His voice was dangerously calm.
“Antonio’s son. Romano heir. Protector of the family.”
Rain ran down his face.
“And now some piece of paper says Richard Vale is my father.”
“Paper doesn’t raise a child.”
He looked at me.
I stepped closer.
“Who taught you to ride a bike?”
“Antonio.”
“Who stayed beside your bed when you broke your arm?”
He blinked.
“Antonio.”
“Who taught you to shave?”
His expression cracked.
“Antonio.”
“Then you know who your father was.”
Victor looked away.
For a long time, we stood in the rain.
Then he said:
“You’re very annoying.”
“I’m a maid. It’s in the job description.”
He laughed.
Quietly.
Genuinely.
Then kissed me.
It shocked both of us.
He immediately stepped back.
“I’m sorry.”
I stared.
“You apologize too much for a mafia boss.”
“Hannah.”
I kissed him back.
This time, deliberately.
No fear.
No obligation.
When we separated, he rested his forehead against mine.
Then Marco ruined everything.
“Boss.”
Victor closed his eyes.
“I’m going to fire him.”
Marco ignored that.
“We confirmed the DNA.”
Victor turned.
Richard Vale was indeed his biological father.
Victor’s mother had had an affair before marrying Antonio.
Antonio knew.
He raised Victor anyway.
But Richard never accepted losing both the woman and the child.
After Antonio’s death, Richard wanted control over the Romano companies through Victor.
When Victor refused to behave like a puppet, Richard turned to manipulation.
The bomb.
Mia’s trauma.
Salvatore.
Carlo.
Everything overlapped.
Then Carlo showed us one last recording.
Victor’s mother, filmed days before her death.
She looked frightened.
If Richard learns Mia knows the truth, he’ll come for her.
Victor’s eyes hardened.
“What truth?”
The video continued.
Mia saw him at the garage. Richard was there before the explosion.
I looked toward Mia.
She sat beside Hannah DeLuca.
Coloring.
Victor whispered:
“Mia saw my biological father help kill my parents.”
Carlo nodded.
“That’s why she stopped speaking.”
Not simply trauma.
Protection.
She knew words could get people killed.
Then Marco received a message.
One of the estate guards had disappeared.
Security camera footage showed him leaving through the south gate.
Beside him sat a man in a dark coat.
Richard Vale.
Victor stared at the screen.
He was no longer hidden.
He was coming openly.
Then the gate intercom buzzed.
Victor answered.
Richard’s voice filled the room.
“Hello, son.”
Victor went still.
“I’m outside.”
A pause.
“And I brought someone you’ll want back.”
The camera changed.
A second vehicle pulled forward.
May you like
Inside the back seat sat Rebecca Brooks.
My mother.
