Chapter 3 - THE SICILIAN CLINIC
I spun around, dropping the birth certificate.
Standing in the doorway of the dressing room was Vanessa.
She wasn't supposed to be back for another two hours. She had changed out of her fitting dress and was wearing a sharp red trench coat, her eyes blazing with a fury that made my blood run cold.
“I asked you a question, Anna,” Vanessa hissed, stepping into the room and closing the heavy door behind her.
I scrambled to pick up the birth certificate, crushing it into my apron pocket with my good hand.
“I... I was cleaning the mirror,” I stammered, backing away until I hit the wall of designer shoes. “The door to the safe was open.”
“Liar,” Vanessa snapped. She walked toward me, her eyes darting to the open safe, noting the missing manila folder and the music box sitting on the vanity.
She grabbed my uninjured right arm, her nails digging into my skin.
“Give me what you took,” she demanded.
“I didn't take anything!” I cried, struggling against her grip.
Vanessa didn't hesitate. She raised her free hand and slapped me hard across the face. The strike was sudden and vicious, sending a shockwave of pain through my jaw. My vision blurred for a second.
“You think you’re so clever, spying for Luca?” Vanessa sneered, yanking me closer. “You think a pathetic little maid can bring me down? Give me the paper, or I swear to God, I will have my father’s men break your sister’s legs.”
The threat was so casual, so immediately violent, that pure adrenaline flooded my system.
She wasn't just a glamorous fiancée. She was a monster who was fully prepared to ruin my family to protect her secret.
“Get off me!” I screamed, shoving her backward with all the strength I had left in my good arm.
Vanessa stumbled, her high heels catching on the plush carpet. She fell backward, crashing into the vanity table.
I didn't wait for her to recover. I bolted out of the dressing room, sprinting through the suite and out into the main hallway.
“Daniel!” I yelled, running toward the grand staircase. “Daniel, help!”
The head of security appeared at the bottom of the stairs instantly, his hand resting on the weapon holstered at his hip.
“Anna, what’s wrong?” Daniel asked, rushing up the steps as he saw the red mark blossoming on my cheek.
Before I could answer, Vanessa appeared at the top of the stairs, smoothing her trench coat, looking entirely composed.
“Daniel, thank goodness,” Vanessa said, her voice dripping with manufactured distress. “The maid was going through my jewelry box. I caught her trying to steal a diamond necklace. When I confronted her, she hit me and ran.”
Daniel looked at me, then up at Vanessa.
“I didn't steal anything!” I cried, pulling the crumpled birth certificate from my apron. “She’s lying! Luca told me to go in there!”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed. He looked at the paper in my hand. He knew Luca had orchestrated this.
“Miss Bellini, I’ll handle the maid,” Daniel said smoothly. “Please remain in your suite.”
“I want her arrested!” Vanessa demanded, gripping the banister.
“I will inform Mr. Moretti immediately,” Daniel replied, stepping between me and the stairs. He gently guided me down, shielding my body from Vanessa’s view.
He didn't take me to the security office. He led me straight to Luca’s private study, knocked once, and pushed the doors open.
Luca was sitting at his desk, reviewing a stack of contracts. When he looked up and saw my red, swollen cheek, he stood up so fast his heavy leather chair slammed into the wall behind him.
“What happened?” Luca asked, his voice a low, terrifying rumble.
“Vanessa came back early,” Daniel explained, closing the doors. “She caught Anna in the safe. She hit her and accused her of stealing jewelry.”
Luca’s jaw clenched tight enough to crack stone. He walked over to me, his dark eyes inspecting the mark on my face. The fury radiating from him was palpable, but he kept his hands perfectly still, refusing to frighten me further.
“I got it, Mr. Moretti,” I whispered, holding out the crumpled birth certificate with shaking fingers.
Luca took the paper. He smoothed it out on his desk.
I watched as he read the name. Leo Cole.
He didn't react to the child’s name. But when his eyes hit the location of the hospital—the clinic in Palermo, Sicily—the color completely drained from his face.
“August 14th, 2018,” Luca murmured, staring at the date.
He looked up at Daniel, his eyes wide with a horrifying realization.
“My brother died on August 12th, 2018,” Luca said quietly.
Daniel went completely still. “Boss... you don't think—”
“Alessandro was in Palermo finalizing a shipping deal for the family,” Luca explained, his voice thick with a sudden, agonizing grief. “He was supposed to be alone. But the police report said there was a woman seen leaving his hotel room the morning his car exploded.”
Luca looked down at the birth certificate.
“Vanessa wasn't just a socialite my father introduced me to two years ago,” Luca whispered, the puzzle pieces clicking together in a terrifying picture. “She knew my brother. She was with him in Sicily.”
“She had his child,” I realized aloud, the sick feeling returning to my stomach.
“And she kept him a secret,” Luca said, his eyes darkening. “Why keep the heir to the Moretti family hidden? Unless she was planning to use him.”
He turned to Daniel.
“If Vanessa had Alessandro’s child eight years ago, she is the mother of the true heir to my empire,” Luca explained grimly. “By mafia law, if I die without a son, the empire goes to the next male bloodline. If I marry her on Saturday, and I have a sudden, tragic 'accident' next week... she inherits everything through the boy. She becomes the most powerful woman in the syndicate.”
The fake domestic abuse photos. The hidden child. The rush to the altar.
Vanessa wasn't marrying Luca for love, or even for standard wealth. She was orchestrating a hostile takeover of the entire Chicago outfit.
“And the car bomb that killed Alessandro?” Daniel asked, voicing the terrifying thought we were all having.
“If she was with him in Palermo...” Luca trailed off, his hands clenching into fists. “She might not just be a gold digger. She might be my brother’s murderer.”
The silence in the study was suffocating.
Suddenly, my cell phone vibrated in my pocket.
I pulled it out. It was an unknown number.
I hesitated, then answered it, putting it on speaker.
“Hello?”
“Anna,” a small, terrified voice whispered.
It was my little sister, Lily.
“Lily? Why aren't you at school?” I asked, panic spiking instantly.
“A lady came to the school, Anna,” Lily cried softly. “She said you were hurt at work and she was supposed to bring me to you. But we aren't at the mansion. We’re in a dark warehouse. Anna, I’m scared.”
“Lily, who is the lady?” I screamed into the phone.
May you like
I heard the sound of the phone being snatched away.
“I told you what would happen if you played games, Anna,” Vanessa’s cold, cruel voice purred through the speaker. “You have the birth certificate. I have your sister. Let’s make a trade.”
