Chapter 2 - THE LETTER FROM HER FATHER
Emma opened the letter with trembling fingers.
The first line broke her.
Emma, if you are reading this, I failed to keep something away from you.
She sat down.
Luca remained standing several feet away.
Derek tried to leave.
Two hospital security officers had already appeared at the corridor entrance.
Not Luca’s men.
Hospital staff.
The nurse had called them.
Derek noticed and stopped.
Emma continued reading.
Years ago, I invested in a legitimate restaurant project with Vittorio Moretti and William Morrison.
Derek’s father.
Emma looked up.
“My dad was in business with your father?”
Derek said nothing.
Luca answered.
“For six years.”
Emma returned to the letter.
The original business had become part of a larger hospitality company.
Michael Hayes owned twelve percent.
After he decided to leave, financial records showed his stake mysteriously transferred to William Morrison.
Michael denied signing anything.
Emma’s heartbeat changed.
She looked at Derek.
“Your father stole from mine?”
“That’s not what happened.”
Luca asked:
“Then what happened?”
Derek snapped:
“You weren’t there.”
“No.”
Luca’s expression remained calm.
“My father was.”
Emma continued.
William knows I discovered the transfer.
Vittorio believes it was a clerical mistake. I don’t.
If anything happens to me, my shares pass to Emma when she reaches thirty or has her first biological child, whichever happens first.
Emma stopped.
The entire corridor seemed to tilt.
Her eyes went automatically toward the nursery.
Her daughter.
Three days old.
“No.”
Luca said nothing.
Derek’s face told her everything.
“You knew.”
“Emma—”
“You knew.”
He stepped toward her.
She stood immediately.
Her body protested with sharp pain.
Luca moved instinctively, then stopped himself before touching her.
Emma appreciated that more than she could explain.
“When did you find out?” she demanded.
Derek rubbed his forehead.
“It wasn’t like that.”
“When?”
“Last year.”
She almost laughed.
Last year.
The year he started talking about marriage more seriously.
The year he insisted they combine financial information.
The year he began asking strange questions about her father.
“You got me pregnant knowing my child would trigger an inheritance?”
Derek’s jaw hardened.
“Don’t make me sound like some criminal mastermind.”
“I’m asking a simple question.”
Brittany looked uncomfortable now.
“Derek…”
“Stay out of it.”
Emma turned toward Brittany.
“You knew?”
Brittany shook her head.
“Not this.”
For the first time, Emma believed her.
Luca asked:
“How much did Derek tell you?”
Brittany’s hand moved protectively over her own stomach.
“He said Emma had family money she was hiding.”
Emma stared.
“I work in a dental office.”
“I know that now.”
Derek stepped forward.
“Everyone needs to calm down.”
Emma laughed bitterly.
“You have a pregnant mistress standing beside you, you refused your daughter, and apparently you planned to take control of an inheritance I didn’t know existed.”
She looked directly at him.
“I’m remarkably calm.”
Luca’s mouth almost curved.
Then Emma returned to her father’s letter.
The final paragraph was different.
Written later.
Darker ink.
If Emma ever becomes involved with William’s son Derek, do not assume coincidence.
Emma’s skin turned cold.
Below it:
William once said the easiest way to reclaim an asset is to marry the owner.
Emma looked up.
Derek began backing away.
“Your father was paranoid.”
Luca said:
“Maybe.”
Then he removed his phone.
“But someone accessed the dormant Hayes trust eight months ago.”
Derek stopped.
Emma stared.
“What?”
Luca showed her a record.
An electronic login attempt.
Then another.
Then eleven more.
All unsuccessful.
The originating IP address belonged to Morrison Financial Consulting.
Derek’s company.
Emma whispered:
“You were already trying to get the money.”
“No.”
Luca scrolled.
“Then explain this.”
A document request.
TRUST BENEFICIARY STATUS VERIFICATION.
Requested by:
Derek Morrison.
Relationship:
Future spouse.
Emma’s stomach turned.
The date was six months before Derek proposed.
He had been planning around her inheritance before asking her to marry him.
Then Brittany made a small sound.
Everyone turned.
She was staring at Derek.
“What?”
Her face had gone pale.
“You told me you didn’t propose to Emma until after we started sleeping together.”
Emma looked from Brittany to Derek.
Brittany continued:
“You said the engagement was fake.”
Derek’s expression hardened.
“Not now.”
“No.”
Brittany’s eyes filled.
“You told me you were staying with her until the baby was born.”
Emma’s heart stopped.
May you like
Brittany stared at him.
“You said once the child triggered the trust, Emma wouldn’t matter anymore.”
