Chapter 12 - THE BROTHER WHO WAS NEVER A MORETTI
Luca watched his mother repeat the sentence three times.
Then he turned off the television.
Nobody moved.
“I knew,” he said.
Adrian stared at him.
“What?”
“I've known for six years.”
“You knew?”
“Mother left me another letter.”
Adrian's anger exploded.
“You let me believe—”
“What was I supposed to say? Congratulations, our father isn't my father and probably murdered our mother?”
“You should have trusted me.”
Luca laughed bitterly.
“Trust? In this family?”
The words landed hard.
I understood something then.
The Morettis had spent their lives surviving secrets.
No wonder none of them knew how to tell the truth before it became a weapon.
“Who's your father?” I asked gently.
Luca looked at the screen.
“Samuel Hayes's business partner. Thomas Bell.”
Ellen gasped.
Thomas Bell had vanished months before my grandfather died.
According to the records, Black Harbor killed him after he discovered Vittorio's takeover.
That meant Luca's biological father had died trying to protect my family.
The connection between us stretched back decades.
But the ledger still wasn't in the room.
Instead, Sofia's recording provided a clue.
“Samuel always said the safest place to hide the truth was beneath the lie everyone could see.”
Ellen frowned.
“The foundry sign.”
“What?” I asked.
“The old Hayes Foundry sign was saved before demolition. It's in a warehouse.”
We found the enormous rusted sign two hours later.
Behind the letter H was a sealed metal compartment.
Inside sat three black ledgers.
Financial records going back thirty-two years.
Names filled every page.
Police officials.
Developers.
Judges.
Union leaders.
Politicians.
And Vittorio Moretti.
Adrian stared at his father's name.
“This ends now.”
Copies were immediately made and distributed to federal authorities and independent attorneys.
For the first time, we had leverage.
Real leverage.
Then Nathan called.
His voice was frantic.
“Vittorio knows you found the ledger.”
“How?” Adrian asked.
“There was a sensor in the compartment.”
Adrian cursed.
Nathan continued.
“He isn't leaving Chicago anymore.”
“What does he want?”
“Claire.”
My blood chilled.
“Why me?”
“He knows the trust activates when your son is born. If you disappear before then, guardianship gets challenged and the assets remain frozen.”
Adrian's voice became deadly.
“He won't touch her.”
Nathan laughed nervously.
“You still don't understand your father.”
A gunshot sounded through the phone.
Nathan gasped.
The line stayed connected.
Then a new voice came through.
Older.
Smooth.
Terrifyingly calm.
“Hello, son.”
Adrian turned white.
May you like
Vittorio Moretti continued.
“I believe it's time you introduced me to Claire.”
