Chapter 8 - THE CHILD GABRIEL NEVER KNEW EXISTED
Sofia had been pregnant when she died.
That was the first possibility.
Medical records disproved it.
No pregnancy at death.
So “second child” meant someone else.
We searched diary references.
Sofia wrote about:
L.
E.
The two children.
Leo.
And me?
I was twenty-one when she died.
Not a child.
Then another entry:
Catherine believes Elena should never know until Marco is gone.
That settled it.
I was the second child she meant.
Not Sofia's daughter.
A child under her protection.
She considered Leo and me part of the same promise.
Why?
Then Sadira—no, my mother Catherine—couldn't answer because she was dead.
But Anna could.
“Your father.”
I froze.
“My father is unknown.”
“No.”
Anna looked toward Gabriel.
“His name was Michael Marino.”
Gabriel reacted.
Sofia's brother.
My stomach dropped.
“No.”
Anna nodded.
Sofia had a younger brother, Michael Marino, who disappeared twenty-five years earlier.
Public story:
Drug overdose in Montreal.
Truth:
He had fallen in love with Catherine Bellini.
My mother.
I was their daughter.
Which made Sofia my aunt.
Not by friendship.
By blood.
Gabriel's dead wife had been my father's sister.
That explained the trust.
The protection.
The secret meetings.
Everything.
Gabriel sat down slowly.
“You're Leo's cousin.”
Technically.
Through Sofia.
Leo and I shared Marino blood.
No wonder she had written of two children.
Her son.
Her niece.
Then Anna delivered the worse part.
Michael Marino had not died of an overdose.
Marco killed him too.
Michael discovered Marco's early financial theft from both families.
He planned to expose him.
Then vanished.
Marco built his fortune eliminating people who could reveal where the money came from.
Antonio.
Michael.
Catherine.
Sofia.
Marcus? Wait, different story—not here.
Four deaths.
Maybe more.
Gabriel's face became terrifyingly calm.
I knew what came next.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“You don't know what I'm going to do.”
“Yes, I do.”
“You don't.”
“You're going to kill your brother.”
Silence.
Anna looked away.
Gabriel said:
“He killed my wife.”
“Then prove it.”
“He tried to kill my son.”
“Prove it.”
“He stole from you.”
“Prove it.”
His jaw tightened.
“You took three bullets for Leo.”
“And I'm not taking a fourth because you start a war.”
That landed.
He looked toward the hospital room where Leo slept.
Slowly, the rage changed into calculation.
“Fine.”
One word.
For now.
Then Mara received another break.
Marco's business office had been raided after financial evidence from my stolen trust connected him to fraud.
He wasn't there.
But investigators found a safe.
Inside:
Cash.
Passports.
Sofia's missing wedding necklace.
And a birth certificate.
Baby boy.
Born six years ago.
Mother:
Sofia Rossi.
Father:
Gabriel Rossi.
May you like
Gabriel's hands began shaking.
Leo had a twin brother.
