Chapter 10 - THE SISTER
The flashing police lights painted the alleyway in violent strokes of red and blue.
Margaret stood trembling in the freezing rain, her hands covering her mouth as she stared at the exhausted, bleeding maid leaning against Luca.
"Lucy?" Margaret repeated, her voice cracking.
Lucy froze.
She looked at the older woman with the silver hair and the brown suitcase. Recognition didn't dawn slowly; it hit her like a physical blow.
Lucy let go of Luca’s arm and took a slow, staggering step forward.
"Aunt Margaret?" Lucy breathed, the words barely audible over the hum of the idling police cruisers.
Luca’s head snapped toward Lucy. "Aunt?"
Reversal.
Margaret wasn't just the mother of the real Vanessa Bellini.
Margaret was Lucy’s aunt.
Margaret rushed forward, throwing her arms around Lucy, sobbing into the girl’s damp shoulder. Lucy hugged her back tightly, her own tears mixing with the rain.
"I thought I lost you," Margaret wept. "When your mother died, you just vanished. Nobody knew where you went."
"I had to hide," Lucy cried, clinging to the older woman. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry."
Luca stood frozen, the pieces of the puzzle colliding in his mind with terrifying clarity.
If Margaret was Lucy’s aunt, that meant the real Vanessa Bellini—the girl who had drowned eight years ago in a quarry—was Lucy’s cousin.
"You knew Vanessa," Luca said slowly, stepping closer to them.
Lucy pulled back from Margaret, wiping her face. She looked at Luca, her eyes filled with a fresh wave of agony.
"We grew up together," Lucy whispered. "Vanessa was like my sister."
"And Clara?" Luca asked, his voice tight.
Lucy swallowed hard. "Clara was Vanessa’s roommate. I met her twice. She was always quiet. Always watching Vanessa. Watching how she dressed, how she talked."
"When Vanessa died," Margaret added, her voice hardening with grief and anger, "Clara disappeared. And then, a month later, Lucy vanished too."
Margaret looked at Lucy, a sudden, desperate question in her eyes. "Why did you run, sweetheart? We thought you couldn't handle the grief."
Lucy looked down at the wet pavement. She squeezed Leo’s small hand tightly.
"I didn't run because of the grief," Lucy said softly. "I ran because I found something in Vanessa’s dorm room the day after she died."
Luca’s jaw clenched. "What did you find?"
"A journal," Lucy said, looking up at him. "Vanessa’s journal. She wrote that Clara had been acting strange. Stealing her mail. Asking for her social security number. But the last entry... the entry she wrote the night she died..."
Lucy took a shaky breath.
"Vanessa wrote that Clara had convinced her to go swimming at the quarry. And that Clara had brought a heavy backpack with her."
The implication hung in the heavy, damp air.
Clara hadn't just stolen Vanessa’s identity after a tragic accident.
Clara had murdered her.
"I took the journal," Lucy cried. "I was going to take it to the police. But Clara caught me leaving the dorm. She saw the journal in my hands."
"What did she do?" Luca asked, his voice a low, lethal rumble.
"She told me if I went to the cops, she would kill my mother," Lucy sobbed. "She said she had people backing her. Powerful people."
The Moranos.
"I was terrified," Lucy continued. "So I ran. I hid. I changed my name. I thought if I stayed invisible, Clara wouldn't find me."
"But she did," Luca said, piecing it together. "She found you working at my estate."
"She didn't find me," Lucy shook her head. "I found her."
Reversal.
Luca stared at the twenty-seven-year-old maid.
"You knew Clara was playing Vanessa?" Luca asked, stunned. "When I hired you nine months ago, you knew who she was?"
Lucy nodded, her eyes fierce despite her tears.
"I saw the engagement announcement in the paper," Lucy said. "I saw Clara smiling next to you, wearing my cousin’s name. I couldn't let her get away with it. I couldn't let her ruin another life. So I applied for a job at the estate. I wanted to find proof. I wanted to expose her."
Luca was speechless.
This girl, this quiet, unassuming maid, hadn't just stumbled into a cartel conspiracy. She had intentionally walked into the lion’s den to avenge her family.
"And she realized who you were today," Luca deduced. "When Margaret showed up at the gate."
"She panicked," Lucy said. "She knew Margaret would recognize me. She knew the entire lie was falling apart."
The sound of handcuffs clicking drew their attention.
Two police officers were dragging Clara out of the paper mill. She was bleeding from her shoulder, her face bruised, her expensive tactical gear ruined.
As they hauled her past the group, Clara locked eyes with Lucy.
The pure, venomous hatred in Clara’s expression was chilling.
"You think you won?" Clara spat, blood on her teeth. "You’re nothing but a maid. A cheap little nobody."
Luca didn't yell. He didn't draw his weapon.
He simply stepped in front of Lucy, shielding her completely from Clara’s view.
"She’s not a nobody, Clara," Luca said coldly. "She’s the woman who just ended your life."
Clara screamed in frustration as the officers shoved her into the back of a cruiser, slamming the door shut.
Margaret hugged Lucy again, kissing her cheek. "It’s over, sweetheart. It’s finally over."
Luca looked at Lucy. She was exhausted, shivering, her black uniform torn and bloody.
But she was the strongest woman he had ever met.
"Daniel," Luca called out, turning to his head of security. "Take Margaret to a hotel. Make sure she’s comfortable. And call Dr. Harris. Have him waiting at the estate."
He gently picked Leo up in one arm and offered his other hand to Lucy.
She looked at his large, scarred hand, then up into his dark, protective eyes.
She took it.
They walked to the SUV and drove away from the flashing lights.
An hour later, they were back at the Moretti estate. The doctor had cleaned and stitched Lucy’s leg. Leo was fast asleep in a massive guest bed, completely unaware of the chaos he had slept through.
Lucy was sitting in Luca’s private study, wearing a soft, oversized sweater he had given her. She was staring blankly at the fireplace.
Luca walked in, carrying a tray with two cups of hot tea. He set it on the mahogany desk and sat in the leather armchair across from her.
"He’s asleep," Luca said softly.
"Thank you," Lucy whispered, pulling the sweater tighter around her. "For everything."
"You don't have to thank me," Luca replied. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "What happens now, Lucy?"
She looked at the fire. "I guess I go back to work. Try to find a new apartment. Save up for Leo’s school."
"No," Luca said firmly.
Lucy looked at him, confused.
Luca reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled child’s drawing of the woman, the boy, and the Morano crest.
He placed it on the desk between them.
"The Morano family might be backing off for now," Luca said, his voice serious. "But Leo is still a target. If Vincenzo passes, someone else might come looking for the heir."
Fear flared in Lucy’s eyes. "Then we’ll run again. I’ll change our names again."
"No more running," Luca said, his dark eyes locking onto hers. "I have a better idea."
He reached into his other pocket.
He pulled out a small velvet box. Not Vincenzo’s signet ring.
A different box.
May you like
"Luca," Lucy breathed, her heart suddenly hammering against her ribs.
"Clara wanted this estate to take my power," Luca said softly. "I want to give it to someone to share it."
