Chapter 2 - THE SECOND MESSAGE
Luca refused to leave the restaurant.
He sat across from Nia while the twins quietly finished their lunch at another table with a waitress.
Evelyn remained standing.
“Show me the messages,” Luca said.
Nia opened her old email account.
She still had the original message.
The ultrasound attachment.
The timestamp.
And Luca’s cruel response.
DON’T CONTACT ME AGAIN.
Luca stared at it.
“That isn't my email address.”
Nia frowned.
“What?”
He pointed toward the screen.
“My personal account had a different security signature.”
“You’re saying you didn't send this?”
“No.”
Nia felt the room tilt.
For years, she had built her entire life around those words.
She had believed Luca had rejected his children before they were even born.
Luca looked devastated.
“I would never have written this.”
“You did.”
“No.”
He pulled out his phone.
“Look.”
He opened his archived email records.
The original message from Nia was there.
But it had been marked as deleted.
Another message had been sent from his account minutes later.
Luca read it aloud.
Nia, I received your message. Please don't contact me until I resolve a private family matter. I will reach out when I can.
Nia stared.
“That isn't what I received.”
Luca shook his head.
“It isn't what I remember sending.”
Evelyn suddenly whispered:
“That was the second message.”
Nia turned.
“What second message?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“I found it six years ago.”
Luca stood.
“You found it?”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me?”
Evelyn began crying.
“I was told you would lose everything if I did.”
“By whom?”
She hesitated.
Then she said a name.
“Victor.”
Luca’s expression changed.
Victor Moretti was his younger cousin and one of the few relatives who had remained close to the family after Anthony's death.
“He told me your father had arranged everything before he died,” Evelyn continued.
Nia felt cold.
“What did he arrange?”
“The divorce.”
Luca stared at her.
Evelyn continued.
“He said your father believed Nia was trying to gain access to the Moretti fortune.”
Nia laughed bitterly.
“I was pregnant.”
“I know.”
“And you believed him?”
“No.”
Evelyn looked at Luca.
“But I was twenty-six, terrified, and completely dependent on my job.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“You helped destroy my marriage.”
“I know.”
Before he could respond, the restaurant doors opened.
A man in a gray coat entered.
Victor.
He looked at Luca.
Then at Nia.
Then at the twins.
His face collapsed.
“You found them.”
Luca stepped forward.
“You knew about my children?”
Victor didn't answer.
He only whispered:
“You have no idea what your father was protecting you from.”
Then every light in the restaurant flickered.
And Victor received a text.
May you like
His face went white.
THE TWINS ARE NOT SAFE.
