Chapter 2 - THE SIGNATURE
Luca stared at the surrogacy document in his hand.
The heavy parchment felt like lead.
Custody.
Vanessa didn't just want a baby to secure her place in the Moretti family. She wanted full legal control over the child, and by extension, a permanent claim on his estate—whether they stayed married or not.
The door opened behind him.
Daniel, his head of security, stepped into the nursery. His dark eyes swept over the pristine white walls, the ultrasound on the table, and finally landed on Hannah, who was trembling by her suitcase.
"You called for me, boss?" Daniel asked quietly.
"Take Miss Walsh to the south guest wing," Luca said, his voice dangerously calm. "Put two men at her door. No one enters. Especially not my fiancée."
Daniel didn't ask questions. He merely nodded. "And Dr. Harris?"
"Have him check her vitals, then send him to my study. Lauren should be waiting there."
As Hannah walked past Luca, she stopped. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, crumpled object.
"Mr. Moretti," she whispered. "Vanessa dropped this when she grabbed my wrist earlier. I didn't know what it was, but she looked terrified when it fell."
Luca took the item.
It was a faded vintage train ticket. The date stamped on it was from exactly twenty years ago. The destination was a small town in rural Pennsylvania.
But what caught Luca’s eye wasn't the location.
It was the handwritten name scrawled on the back in faded blue ink: Evelyn Mitchell.
Lauren’s last name.
Luca’s jaw tightened. "Thank you, Hannah. You're safe now."
Once the room was empty, Luca slipped the train ticket into his jacket pocket. He walked down the back staircase, avoiding the dining room where the guests were still drinking his champagne and toasting a lie.
He pushed open the heavy oak doors to his study.
Lauren was sitting on the edge of the leather sofa. Dr. Harris had already cleaned and bandaged her knee. She looked pale, her hands tightly gripping the fabric of her uniform skirt.
When Luca walked in, she immediately tried to stand.
"Sit," he ordered gently.
She froze, slowly lowering herself back down. "Sir, I should get back to the kitchen. Mrs. Carter will be angry—"
"Mrs. Carter works for me," Luca said, pulling up a chair opposite her. "And right now, I need you to answer a question."
He reached into his pocket and placed the vintage train ticket on the coffee table between them.
Lauren glanced at it.
Instantly, the color drained entirely from her face.
She stopped breathing. Her trembling fingers hovered over the faded paper but didn't touch it.
"Where did you get this?" she whispered, her voice cracking.
"Vanessa dropped it," Luca said, watching her carefully. "Who is Evelyn?"
Lauren looked up, her eyes wide with a terror that went far deeper than the fear of losing a job.
"Evelyn is my mother," Lauren said. "She disappeared twenty years ago on a train to Pennsylvania. I was eight years old. We were told she died in a crash."
Luca went completely still.
"If she died," Luca said slowly, "why does my fiancée have her ticket?"
Lauren shook her head, tears spilling over her lashes. "I don't know. But Mr. Moretti... that’s not my mother's handwriting on the back."
She reached out and turned the ticket over, pointing to the bottom corner.
"Look at the stamp."
Luca leaned in.
Beneath the signature was a faded red seal. It was the crest of the Bellini family. Vanessa's father.
Before Luca could process the implication, the study door swung open.
Vanessa stood in the doorway, her red silk gown shimmering in the dim light. Her smile was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating glare.
May you like
Her eyes dropped to the coffee table. She saw the train ticket.
And then, she reached into her purse and pulled out a heavy, silver revolver.
