Chapter 7 - THE SISTER'S SECRET
The word echoed in the cold concrete garage. Sister. Vanessa stopped crying. She slowly lifted her head, her mascara-stained face a mask of absolute confusion. "What did he say?" Luca stared at the scorched earring in his hand, then at Vanessa. "My mother was pregnant when she died." "No," Joe interrupted, his voice surprisingly firm. "She wasn't pregnant when she died, Anthony. She had given birth three months before the fire." "That's impossible," Luca said, his voice cracking. "I was seven. I would have known if I had a baby sister." "You didn't know because she was born prematurely and kept at a private clinic," Joe explained softly. "Maria, the housekeeper, was the only one your mother trusted to visit the clinic. Your mother was terrified. She knew Carlo was plotting against your father, and she knew a baby girl would be used as a pawn." I looked at Vanessa. She was trembling, pulling her torn red gown tightly around her shoulders. "The night of the fire," Joe continued, "Maria wasn't running into the nursery to save her own child. She was trying to save you, Anthony. Because your mother had already safely smuggled the baby out of the house that afternoon." "If she smuggled me out," Vanessa whispered, standing up slowly, "how did Carlo get me?" "Carlo intercepted the car," Luca realized, the dark puzzle finally snapping together. "He killed the driver. He took you. Then he went back to the house to eliminate my mother and Maria so no one would ever know you existed." "He raised me as a hostage," Vanessa said, the horror of it stripping away all her previous arrogance. "He kept me close so he could control the Moretti bloodline without anyone knowing. And then he arranged for me to marry you..." She gagged, covering her mouth, suddenly sickened by the profound twistedness of Carlo's plan. He had orchestrated a marriage between brother and sister to consolidate his power forever. "My God," Luca whispered, stepping away from her. The silence was broken by the sound of sirens wailing in the distance. Carlo's men must have triggered an alarm when the shooting started. "We have to go," Luca said, instantly snapping back into survival mode. He turned to me. "Emma, take Liam and Joe. My driver will take you to a safe house in the suburbs. You'll be protected there." "What about you?" I asked, my heart aching for the man who had just had his entire reality shattered. "I have to deal with the police, and then I have to dismantle Carlo's remaining loyalists," Luca said, his jaw setting with ruthless determination. He looked at Vanessa. She stood alone in the center of the garage, stripped of her fake identity, her fake father, and her engagement. She was a victim of the exact same monster who had orphaned Luca. "Come with me," Luca told her, his voice softening just a fraction. "You're a Moretti. I won't let them touch you." Vanessa nodded numbly and followed him toward the elevators. I helped Joe back into the SUV, and Liam climbed in beside me. As the armored car peeled out of the garage and into the rainy Chicago night, I looked back. My life as a simple housekeeper was over. I had saved the boss, uncovered a thirty-three-year-old murder, and stopped a monstrous marriage. But as I sat in the dark car, listening to the rain, my phone buzzed again. I looked at the screen. It was a text message from a blocked number. You think Carlo was acting alone? Ask Joe why he really came tonight. My blood turned to ice. I slowly turned to look at the frail old man sitting next to me. Joe was staring out the window, his hands resting on the battered metal lunchbox. "Joe?" I whispered. He didn't look at me. "Emma," Joe said, his voice suddenly sounding much steadier, much colder than it had all night. "Did you ever wonder how a homeless old man bypassed a multi-million dollar security system to sit at the loading dock of a mafia boss's mansion?" I couldn't speak. Joe slowly turned to face me. The gentle, confused old man was gone. His eyes were sharp, calculating, and terrifyingly clear. "Carlo set the fire," Joe said quietly. "But who do you think paid him to do it?"
