Chapter 9 - THE MAN WHO CAME FOR THE SECOND TWIN
We drove back to the estate through streets that felt impossibly long.
Anna held Lucia against her chest in the armored SUV.
She kept touching the baby’s fingers as if she needed proof they were real.
I understood.
Marco called ahead.
No answer.
Security lines were down.
My mansion appeared through the snow.
Dark.
Front gates open.
I knew immediately.
Matteo was inside.
Reeves ordered Anna to remain in the vehicle.
She looked at him.
“No.”
He started to argue.
I stopped him.
“She stays behind the police line.”
Anna stared at me.
Then nodded.
Compromise.
Another new skill.
We entered with law enforcement.
The nursery was empty.
Sofia gone.
Dr. Hayes had been locked inside a pantry.
Two guards were injured but alive.
One told us Matteo had taken the baby upstairs.
To my father's old office.
I climbed the stairs.
Reeves behind me.
Marco on the other side.
The office door stood open.
Matteo Morelli sat behind my father’s desk.
Sofia rested inside a bassinet beside him.
He held no weapon I could see.
That made me more nervous.
“Elias.”
“Matteo.”
He smiled.
“Family reunion.”
My jaw tightened.
“Step away from the baby.”
He looked toward Sofia.
“Beautiful, isn't she?”
“Yes.”
“Pity she destroyed everything.”
I stared.
“She was born.”
“That’s enough.”
The words made something inside me go cold.
This man had whipped Anna.
Thrown her into snow.
Tried to kill newborns because their existence embarrassed him.
I had known monsters.
I had been one in other people’s stories.
But some lines still existed.
“You’re going to prison.”
Matteo laughed.
“From you? That's rich.”
“No.”
I looked toward Reeves.
“From them.”
For the first time, Matteo’s smile faltered.
“You brought federal agents into your home?”
“Yes.”
He stared.
“Victor would spit on your grave.”
“My father is dead.”
I stepped closer.
“And I’m tired of letting dead men decide who I become.”
Matteo’s face hardened.
Then he reached beneath the desk.
Reeves shouted.
But Matteo didn’t pull a gun.
He lifted a file.
Anna’s medical records.
“Do you know what she did?”
I didn’t answer.
“She came to me with nothing.”
He laughed bitterly.
“I gave her a house.”
“Money.”
“A name.”
“And she betrayed me with your brother.”
I stared.
“She owed you nothing.”
His face twisted.
“She was my wife.”
“Not your property.”
Silence.
Then Matteo’s eyes narrowed.
“You think rescuing her makes you good?”
“No.”
That answer surprised him.
“I've done things I’ll answer for.”
I looked toward Sofia.
“But tonight isn't about whether I’m good.”
“It’s about whether she survives you.”
Matteo reached inside his jacket.
Marco moved.
Reeves moved.
Everything happened fast.
A gun appeared.
Matteo raised it.
Then a woman’s voice sounded from behind us.
“Put it down.”
Anna.
She stood in the hallway holding Lucia.
Police officers surrounded her.
Matteo stared.
His face changed.
For the first time, fear.
Anna walked forward until she could see Sofia.
Then looked at the man who had tortured her.
“You don’t own me.”
Matteo’s hand shook.
“You’re nothing without me.”
Anna smiled through tears.
“No.”
She looked toward both daughters.
“I’m their mother.”
Matteo’s gun lowered slightly.
Reeves took the opening.
Officers disarmed him.
No execution.
No blood on my floor.
Just handcuffs.
Matteo screamed threats as they took him away.
Anna didn't look at him again.
She went directly to Sofia.
Lifted her.
Held both babies.
And collapsed into tears.
I stood nearby.
Then Anna looked at me.
“Elias.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
I shook my head.
“Don't.”
She frowned.
“I mean it.”
“So do I.”
I looked toward the police.
“The system finally did something my family should have learned decades ago.”
May you like
“What?”
“Stopped a man without becoming him.”
