Chapter 4 - The Date That Was Never a Date
I was supposed to have dinner with Tyler that evening.
Instead, I was sitting inside Lorenzo Vitali's secure apartment, wondering whether my boss's dead fiancée had a living twin who knew why someone wanted me frightened.
At eight the next morning, Tyler called.
His voice sounded weak.
"Lily?"
I sat upright.
"Tyler! Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I think so."
"What happened?"
He exhaled.
"I woke up in the hospital."
My stomach tightened.
"Lorenzo said someone found you unconscious."
"Someone hit me outside my apartment."
I covered my mouth.
"Why?"
Tyler hesitated.
"Because of you."
I went still.
"What?"
"I need to tell you something."
I looked toward the door.
Lorenzo was speaking with Marco in the next room.
"Tyler, what are you talking about?"
He swallowed.
"I didn't meet you by accident at Sophia's birthday party."
My blood ran cold.
"I was asked to introduce myself."
"By whom?"
Another pause.
"A man named Adrian Bellini."
I frowned.
"Bellini?"
"Yes."
The same surname as Lorenzo's dead fiancée.
My heart began pounding.
"What did he want?"
Tyler's voice trembled.
"He said you were working for Lorenzo Vitali. He wanted me to get close enough to learn what files you handled."
I stared at the wall.
"So our date was fake?"
"No. It started that way, but—"
I interrupted.
"Don't."
"Lily, I really liked you."
I closed my eyes.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was scared."
I almost laughed.
That word again.
Everyone in Lorenzo's world seemed afraid of someone.
I was getting tired of being the last person told why.
"Tyler, did you tell Adrian where I lived?"
Silence.
My stomach dropped.
"Answer me."
"Yes."
I ended the call.
For several seconds, I sat motionless.
Then Lorenzo appeared in the doorway.
"What happened?"
I looked up.
"Tyler was hired to get close to me."
Lorenzo's expression changed.
"By whom?"
"Adrian Bellini."
The name hit him like a punch.
He crossed the room.
"Are you certain?"
I nodded.
Lorenzo took out his phone and called Marco.
"Find everything on Adrian Bellini."
He ended the call.
Then he looked at me.
"Lily, Adrian is Isabella's older brother."
I swallowed.
"Why would he want information about your company?"
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
"Because I was supposed to marry his sister, and he blamed me for her death."
I stared at him.
"Did you have something to do with it?"
His expression hardened.
"No."
"Then why does he blame you?"
Lorenzo looked away.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Finally, he whispered:
"Because Isabella died on the night I discovered she was pregnant."
I stopped breathing.
May you like
Then he added the secret he'd kept for eleven years.
"And the baby wasn't mine."
