Chapter 14 - THE LAST SECRET OF ALESSANDRO MORETTI
The reason Alessandro Moretti chose me had nothing to do with my shares.
That was the final lie.
Thomas waited inside an abandoned Hudson River warehouse with Daniel restrained near the loading doors.
My mother came despite every argument.
Adrien came too, hidden with federal agents outside.
But I entered first.
Thomas smiled.
“Margaret’s daughter. Alessandro’s perfect solution.”
“Let Daniel go.”
“When I have the ledger.”
I held up the case.
“Tell me why Alessandro wanted Adrien to meet me.”
Thomas’s smile faded.
“Because he was dying.”
I frowned.
“He knew his empire was rotten. He knew I had leverage over him. He knew Luca’s birth would eventually surface.”
“So?”
“He wanted Adrien attached to someone who could legally destroy Moretti Global if necessary.”
My mother closed her eyes.
I understood.
Alessandro hadn’t chosen me because I was easy to control.
He chose me because my Bellini shares could challenge the Moretti empire.
“He wanted me as insurance.”
“Yes.”
Thomas laughed bitterly.
“Then Adrien ruined the plan by actually falling in love with you.”
Adrien stepped from the shadows.
“I’ve ruined better plans.”
Thomas raised a gun.
Everything stopped.
“You were told to stay outside.”
Adrien’s eyes remained on Daniel.
“I was also told Elena and I were legally married. Apparently instructions around here are unreliable.”
Even Thomas almost smiled.
Then his expression hardened.
He demanded the ledger.
My mother handed him a duplicate.
Thomas opened it.
Federal agents entered from both sides.
He fired once into the ceiling and grabbed me.
Adrien moved.
“Don’t.”
Thomas pressed the gun against my side.
Adrien stopped instantly.
That was the moment Thomas made his mistake.
He believed Adrien’s fear would control him.
Old Adrien might have lunged.
Might have ordered.
Might have risked everything because he trusted only himself.
Instead, Adrien looked at me.
Not Thomas.
Me.
And waited.
I understood.
Thomas shifted his grip.
I drove my heel down onto his foot and dropped.
Adrien moved at the same second.
Agents tackled Thomas before he could fire again.
The gun skidded across concrete.
Daniel was freed.
My mother sank against him, crying.
Thomas Vale left the warehouse in handcuffs.
Alive.
Exposed.
Ordinary.
There would be no disappearing body, no private revenge, no Moretti solution.
There would be courtrooms.
Evidence.
Victims.
Consequences.
As dawn rose over the Hudson, Adrien stood several feet from me.
He did not touch me.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“The baby?”
“I’m okay.”
Relief nearly dropped him to his knees.
Then an agent approached.
“We found something in Vale’s vehicle.”
A cream envelope.
Addressed to Adrien.
Inside was a letter written by Alessandro Moretti shortly before his death.
Adrien read it silently.
Then handed it to me.
The final paragraph said:
If Elena Bennett ever becomes your wife, make sure it is because she chooses you after knowing everything. If you build your marriage on my secrets, you will lose her exactly as I lost everyone I loved.
Adrien looked toward the river.
“My father knew.”
I folded the letter.
“Yes.”
“He knew exactly what I would become.”
“No.”
Adrien faced me.
“He knew what you might become.”
I placed the letter in his hand.
“What happens next is your choice.”
May you like
Then I walked away.
And for the first time in our story, Adrien did not follow me.
