Chapter 3 - THE SECOND SECRET
By midnight, the police had arrived at the mansion.
Salvatore sat in the library with Daniel standing nearby. Vanessa was in the adjoining sitting room, her engagement ring removed and resting on the table.
Detective Alvarez, who had been assigned to the case, asked Salvatore to explain his presence at the estate.
He said he had come to attend his daughter's engagement dinner.
He denied knowing about the restraints placed on Mrs. Carter. He denied taking Eleanor's letters. He also denied arranging the car that had transported her to the hospital.
But when Detective Alvarez asked whether he had taken Luca from Eleanor thirty-nine years earlier, Salvatore did not deny it.
“I arranged for the child to be raised by Giovanni Moretti,” he said. “The boy was in danger.”
“From whom?”
Salvatore looked at the detective.
“People who wanted to use him against me.”
“Did Eleanor consent?”
“She was told he would be safe.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Salvatore's mouth tightened.
“No. She did not consent.”
Detective Alvarez wrote something in her notebook.
“And why did you allow your daughter to become engaged to him?”
Salvatore leaned back.
“Luca was raised as Giovanni Moretti's son. The families had discussed an alliance for years.”
“You knew they shared a biological father.”
Salvatore said nothing.
The detective closed her notebook.
“That will be part of the investigation.”
Meanwhile, Vanessa had asked to speak with Luca.
He returned to the mansion just after one in the morning. He looked exhausted. The birth certificate was folded inside his jacket.
Vanessa stood when he entered.
“Luca.”
“Don't.”
She stopped.
“I didn't know about the blood relationship,” she said quickly. “I swear.”
He looked at her.
“But you knew Eleanor was my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed her letters.”
“I was afraid.”
“You had her removed from my home.”
“I thought she was going to ruin everything.”
“What was everything, Vanessa? The wedding? The company? Your place in this family?”
She started crying.
“I loved you.”
Luca's expression remained still.
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you let me believe my mother was dead?”
Vanessa looked down.
“Because she kept coming back.”
“That's what mothers do.”
She flinched.
“I thought she wanted money. I thought she would make demands.”
“She brought a photograph and a blanket.”
“I know.”
“She wanted to see me once.”
Vanessa covered her face.
“I know.”
Luca took a breath.
“Did you know my father was Salvatore?”
“No. Not until tonight.”
“Did he tell you anything about the past?”
“He told me that your family and ours had been connected for a long time. He said Giovanni had raised you as his own and that the marriage would secure the alliance.”
“Did he tell you that he was my biological father?”
“No.”
Luca studied her.
“Why did you frame Mrs. Carter?”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“She found the letter from Eleanor. She said she was going to tell you. I panicked.”
“So you planted your bracelet in her coat.”
“Yes.”
“And tied her hands?”
“I didn't tell them to hurt her.”
“You told them to detain a seventy-year-old woman.”
“I thought they would just keep her in the staff room until the dinner ended.”
Luca looked toward the dining room.
“She was crying in front of twenty-four guests.”
Vanessa had no answer.
He took the engagement ring from the table and placed it in front of her.
“The wedding is canceled.”
She began to sob.
“Luca, please.”
He turned toward the door.
“You don't get to ask me for another chance while the people you hurt are still paying for what you did.”
Detective Alvarez stepped forward.
“Miss Bellini, I need you to come with me.”
May you like
Vanessa looked at Luca one last time.
He did not turn around.
