Chapter 7 - THE LIE THAT SAVED MY LIFE
Nobody moved.
Then Alessandro lunged.
Vincent Gallo grabbed him before he reached his uncle.
“Alex!”
Alessandro fought him.
“You touch her and I'll kill you.”
Vincent Moretti laughed.
“You always were dramatic.”
I stared at him.
“You're lying.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
He pulled a folded document from his coat.
A birth certificate.
My mother's name.
Sofia Rossi.
Father: Vincent Moretti.
My stomach turned.
Elena stepped forward.
“That proves nothing.”
Vincent smiled.
“Still protecting Carlo?”
Alessandro turned toward his mother.
“What is going on?”
Elena's face was wet with tears.
“The records were falsified.”
“Which records?” I demanded.
“All of them.”
My voice broke.
“Then tell me the truth.”
She looked at me.
“Vincent assaulted Sofia.”
Silence.
I felt something inside me go numb.
Elena continued carefully.
“When Sofia became pregnant, Vincent wanted the child hidden. Carlo discovered what happened. He offered to claim the baby as his own to protect Sofia.”
My chest tightened.
“So Carlo wasn't my father.”
“No.”
“But he tried to protect me.”
“Yes.”
Alessandro looked sick.
Vincent Moretti's smile disappeared.
“Don't romanticize him.”
Elena glared.
“You murdered him.”
Vincent shrugged.
“He became inconvenient.”
Alessandro stopped struggling.
His voice became terrifyingly quiet.
“You killed my father.”
“Yes.”
Vincent Gallo tightened his grip.
I understood why.
Alessandro looked capable of murder.
Then Vincent turned to me.
“You should be grateful.”
“For what?”
“For surviving.”
I stared at him.
“You destroyed my family.”
“I created you.”
My hand moved before I could think.
I slapped him.
Hard.
Vincent stumbled half a step.
Everyone froze.
I looked directly into his eyes.
“You don't get to call what you did creation.”
For the first time, fear flickered across his face.
Then he smiled.
“There she is.”
Alessandro stepped beside me.
“Where's Marco?”
Vincent shrugged.
“Ask Elena.”
Elena's expression changed.
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
She looked toward me.
“Marco isn't here anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“He left ten minutes before you arrived.”
“With who?”
Elena hesitated.
Vincent laughed.
“Tell her.”
I looked between them.
“Tell me what?”
Elena whispered,
“Daniel Voss.”
The man in the gray coat.
The man who told Marco our father had been murdered.
I stared.
“You trusted him?”
“I had no choice.”
Vincent began laughing.
Alessandro turned.
“What?”
Vincent looked delighted.
“Daniel doesn't work for Salvatore.”
Elena went pale.
“What?”
“He works for me.”
Everything stopped.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“Where did he take Marco?”
Vincent smiled.
“To get the key.”
I looked at Alessandro.
“The key opened Dad's toolbox.”
Vincent shook his head.
“No.”
Then his gaze dropped to my necklace.
My hand instinctively touched the small silver pendant I'd worn since childhood.
He smiled.
“The brass key was a distraction.”
May you like
My heart stopped.
“The real key has been around Isabella's neck for twenty-eight years.”
