Chapter 5 - THE RIGHT-HAND HEIR AND THE BURNER PHONE
I stared at the photograph of Marco on the glass table, my mind refusing to accept what my eyes were seeing.
Marco. The man who stood faithfully behind Luca’s right shoulder at every meeting. The man who had dragged Vanessa out of the house last night. The man who had carried the iron-bound chest into the study just hours ago.
He wasn’t just a loyal lieutenant. He was Julian Rossi.
"Mrs. Moretti..." I whispered, my voice shaking so badly I could barely form the words. "Marco is your son?"
Teresa didn’t blink. She picked up the photograph and slipped it back into the pocket of her cardigan.
"I gave him to a trusted family in the suburbs," Teresa said quietly, staring out at the gardens. "A family loyal to the Morettis. They raised him as their own. They named him Marco. He grew up believing he was the son of a low-level enforcer who died in the line of duty."
"Does he know?" I asked, terrified of the answer.
"No," Teresa said firmly. "He knows nothing. He only knows his loyalty to Luca. I watched him grow up from afar. When he was eighteen, I made sure my husband brought him into the family business. I wanted him close. I wanted both my boys safe, under the same roof, even if they didn't know they were brothers."
My stomach churned. Thirty-five years of lies.
"But why tell Luca he died?" I asked. "Why lie to your own son just now?"
Teresa turned to me, her eyes flashing with a fierce, protective fire.
"Because if Luca knows Marco has Rossi blood, he will never trust him again," Teresa said. "And if Dante Rossi finds out his firstborn son has been serving as a foot soldier for the Moretti family his entire life... Dante will burn Chicago to the ground to take him back. Luca would go to war to protect his friend. They would all die, Hannah. The lie keeps them alive."
I swallowed the lump of panic in my throat. "Then why are you telling me?"
Teresa leaned forward, grabbing my wrist with surprising strength for a seventy-eight-year-old woman.
"Because Vanessa knows," Teresa whispered, panic finally bleeding into her voice. "She didn't just find the birth certificate in that chest, Hannah. She found the adoption papers. The papers that trace Julian Rossi directly to Marco."
The blood drained from my face.
If Vanessa had the adoption papers, she had the ultimate weapon. She could go to Dante Rossi today and tell him the truth. She could hand him the heir he had spent thirty-five years mourning, and in return, Dante would give her the vengeance against Luca she craved.
"She took the adoption papers when she opened the chest yesterday," Teresa said, her hands shaking again as she released my wrist. "She left the birth certificate to scare me, but she kept the proof. If she gives those papers to the Rossis..."
"Mr. Moretti has to know," I said, standing up quickly. "I have to tell him, Mrs. Moretti. Vanessa could start a war today!"
"No!" Teresa cried, grabbing my blazer. "If you tell Luca, he will confront Marco! The trust will break! You can't tell him!"
"But Vanessa—"
"You have to get the papers back," Teresa pleaded, tears welling in her eyes. "You are the Head of Household now. You have access to the staff vehicles. You have the authority to move freely without raising suspicion. Please, Hannah. Go to Vanessa. Offer her money. Offer her my jewelry. I will give you anything you need. Just buy those papers back before she goes to Dante Rossi."
I looked down at the desperate old woman.
I was twenty-five years old. Two days ago, my biggest worry was whether the chef was using the right brand of olive oil. Now, I was being asked to negotiate with a scorned mafia fiancée to stop a mob war.
But I looked at Teresa. She wasn't just a powerful matriarch; she was a mother terrified of losing both her sons in a bloodbath.
"Where is she?" I asked softly.
Teresa let out a ragged breath of relief. "She's at the St. Regis Hotel downtown. Her father refused to let her back into their house after the embarrassment last night. She is staying in the penthouse suite."
I nodded. "I'll get them back, Mrs. Moretti."
I walked out of the sunroom, my mind racing. I needed a plan. I couldn't just walk into Vanessa's hotel room and ask nicely. She hated me. She blamed me for her ruined engagement.
I went to my quarters, changed out of my formal uniform into a plain black sweater and jeans, and grabbed my purse.
As I walked toward the staff garage, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
It was an unknown number.
I hesitated, then answered. "Hello?"
"Hannah."
The voice was cold, sharp, and dripping with venom. It was Vanessa.
I stopped walking. "How did you get this number?"
"I ran this household for a year, you idiot," Vanessa sneered. "I have everyone's file. Are you enjoying your promotion? The view from the Head of Household desk?"
"What do you want, Vanessa?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.
"I want my life back," she snapped. "But since Luca took that from me, I'm going to take everything from him. Is Teresa weeping in her tea yet?"
"She's fine," I lied.
"She won't be for long," Vanessa laughed cruelly. "I'm sitting in the lobby of the St. Regis right now. And I'm looking at a very interesting piece of paper. An adoption record."
My heart hammered against my ribs. "Vanessa, don't do this."
"I have a meeting with Dante Rossi in one hour," Vanessa said smoothly. "I'm going to hand him the heir to his throne. And when I tell him that the Morettis stole his son and turned him into a glorified guard dog... Dante will wipe Luca and that pathetic old woman off the map."
"Wait!" I yelled, panicked. "Vanessa, please! I can pay you! Teresa will give you whatever you want!"
Vanessa scoffed. "I don't want her money. I want Luca to bleed."
"I'll give you something better than money," I blurted out, desperately searching for leverage.
The line went silent for a second. "What could a maid possibly give me?"
"Information," I said, my mind working frantically. "Information on the chest in Luca's vault. There was something else in it. Something Teresa didn't even know about."
I was lying. I had no idea if there was anything else in the chest. But I needed her to stall.
"What information?" Vanessa demanded, her curiosity piqued.
"Meet me," I said. "Not at the hotel. Somewhere private. I'll trade you the information for the adoption papers."
Vanessa was silent. Then, she let out a low chuckle.
"Fine," Vanessa said. "But not a public place. You know the old abandoned boathouse on the edge of the Moretti estate property? By the lake?"
I knew it well. It was isolated, surrounded by dense woods, a mile away from the main mansion.
"Yes," I said.
"Meet me there in thirty minutes," Vanessa ordered. "Come alone. If I see Luca or any of his guards, I call Dante Rossi immediately."
"I'll be there," I promised.
She hung up.
I stared at the phone in my hand, my hands shaking. I was walking into a trap. I knew it. Vanessa had no intention of giving me those papers. She just wanted to punish me before she destroyed Luca.
I needed help. But I couldn't tell Luca, and I couldn't tell Marco.
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I scrolled through my contacts. There was only one person in the Moretti family I could trust with this. Someone who hated Vanessa just as much as I did, but had the power to stop her.
I pressed the call button for Sofia Moretti. Luca's aunt.
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