Chapter 3 - WHAT KEEP HER REALLY MEANT
For five years, I had believed Adrien’s most dangerous quality was how little he revealed.
That morning, I learned silence could be more destructive than any lie.
Vanessa sat at Hannah’s kitchen table while I remained standing.
“Explain.”
She rubbed both hands around a mug she wasn’t drinking.
“Three months ago, I was hired to audit Moretti Global’s charitable foundation.”
“You’re an auditor?”
“Forensic accounting.”
The hotel photograph suddenly looked less like an affair and more like a puzzle.
“I found transfers I wasn’t supposed to find. Payments moving through shell companies connected to Luca Moretti.”
Adrien’s younger brother.
Charming.
Funny.
Always slightly reckless.
The only Moretti who had ever treated me like a sister instead of a business liability.
“What kind of payments?”
“Private investigators. Medical contractors. Surveillance companies.”
My skin prickled.
“Why would I care?”
“Because your name appeared in one file.”
Hannah stopped moving.
Vanessa pulled out her phone.
“Elena Moretti. Routine monitoring. Location history. Medical appointments.”
My knees weakened.
“My medical appointments?”
“I didn’t understand why until Adrien discovered the file.”
I thought of the study.
Keep her.
“What did he mean?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“Adrien told his security chief to keep you under protection without letting you know.”
I stared at her.
The man on the speakerphone hadn’t asked what Adrien wanted done about Vanessa.
He had said something else before I reached the door.
I had only heard the final question.
“What do you want done about Vanessa?”
Keep her.
Or had he said:
“What about Elena? Vanessa thinks they’re watching her.”
Keep her.
Keep her protected.
Keep her close.
My anger shifted but didn’t disappear.
“He had me followed?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
“That isn’t love.”
“No,” Vanessa said. “It’s fear.”
I shook my head.
“I’m not interested in excuses.”
“You should be interested in why Luca wanted your medical records.”
My hand moved instinctively over my stomach.
The anonymous sender knew.
Vanessa leaned forward.
“Adrien’s father left a trust.”
I knew about the Moretti family trust in vague terms. Billions in property, hotels, logistics companies, investment funds.
“What does that have to do with me?”
“The controlling shares transfer differently if Adrien has a biological child.”
The room went very quiet.
Hannah whispered, “How differently?”
Vanessa answered me.
“If Adrien dies childless, Luca inherits control.”
“And if he has a child?”
“Luca gets almost nothing.”
My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
The threatening text suddenly had an entirely different meaning.
DON’T TELL ADRIEN ABOUT THE BABY.
Vanessa stood.
“You need to call him.”
I reached for my phone.
Before I could unlock it, a message appeared from Adrien.
ELENA, PLEASE ANSWER. I KNOW ABOUT THE BABY.
My breath caught.
Then another message came from the unknown number.
A photograph.
Adrien stood outside our obstetrician’s office.
Taken three days earlier.
He was talking to my doctor.
May you like
Under the image were six words:
HE KNEW BEFORE YOU LEFT.
