Chapter 11 - THE LIE ABOUT BRENA’S BLOOD
Brena stared at Malcolm Reed.
For one impossible second, the entire terminal became silent.
“You’re lying.”
Reed smiled.
“Ask Grant.”
“No.”
“Ask him why he never had a paternity test.”
Tiberio listened through the hidden transmitter beneath Brena’s collar.
She knew he wanted to enter.
She also knew he would wait.
Because this time, he trusted her.
“Where is Mara?”
“Safe.”
“I want to see her.”
Reed pointed toward a vehicle.
Mara sat inside.
Alive.
Brena’s heart steadied.
“You said my mother told you who my father was.”
“She did.”
“Who?”
Reed stepped closer.
“Vittorio Valkcari.”
Everything inside Brena stopped.
No.
Impossible.
If Vittorio were her father—
Then Tiberio—
Her husband—
Her stomach turned.
Reed laughed softly.
“You see why Elaine kept secrets.”
Brena could barely breathe.
“Proof.”
“What?”
“You’re a politician. Lying professionally is practically continuing education.”
His smile vanished.
“Proof.”
Reed reached into his coat and handed her a photocopy of an old laboratory report.
Paternity probability.
Vittorio Valkcari.
Brena Walsh.
99.7%.
Her vision blurred.
Then she noticed something.
The birth date.
Wrong by one day.
And the laboratory logo.
She had seen it before.
Not in her life.
In Tiberio’s archive.
A company acquired by Salvatore fifteen years ago.
“Nice try,” she said.
Reed’s face changed.
Brena tore the paper in half.
“My mother taught me something you apparently forgot.”
“What?”
“Tailors notice details.”
Reed’s men moved.
That was the signal.
Tiberio’s team entered from three directions.
Federal agents followed.
Mara was pulled from the vehicle.
Reed reached for a weapon.
Brena dropped.
Tiberio hit him before he could fire.
The fight lasted seconds.
Reed ended on the concrete floor.
Handcuffed.
Bleeding from his lip.
Still smiling.
“You think the paternity report is fake?”
Brena stood.
“It is.”
“The paper is.”
His smile widened.
“The secret isn’t.”
Tiberio froze.
Reed looked toward him.
“Ask Marco who his mother really was.”
Agents dragged Reed away.
Tiberio and Brena stared at each other.
Neither spoke.
That night, Marco finally told them.
Lucia Bellandi was not Marco’s biological mother.
His biological mother was Elaine’s older sister.
Margaret.
Brena’s aunt.
Marco was Brena’s cousin.
Vittorio had fathered him during an affair.
Elaine knew.
That was the family secret referenced in her letter.
Vittorio’s hidden first son was real.
But Brena was not his daughter.
The relief hit her so suddenly she nearly laughed.
Tiberio looked equally shaken.
“You thought—”
“For approximately eight minutes.”
“That might be the worst eight minutes of my life.”
“Mine too.”
Silence.
Then Brena started laughing.
Tiberio stared at her.
“What is funny?”
“I married a mafia boss for revenge, discovered my dead brother-in-law is alive, found out my cousin is your secret half-brother, and spent eight minutes believing I accidentally married my own brother.”
Tiberio rubbed one hand over his face.
“When you summarize it, it sounds excessive.”
“Excessive?”
She laughed harder.
For the first time in weeks, so did he.
Then his expression softened.
He touched her cheek.
“Brena.”
“Yes?”
“I need to tell you something before another criminal reveals it first.”
Her laughter faded.
“What?”
He looked at her for a long moment.
“The marriage contract has an expiration clause.”
She frowned.
“What clause?”
“One year.”
“What happens after one year?”
“You become free to leave with everything promised to you.”
Brena stared.
“You never told me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because when I married you, I assumed I would want you gone.”
His thumb moved lightly against her cheek.
“And now?”
May you like
Tiberio’s answer was quiet.
“Now I’m afraid you will.”
