CHAPTER 2: THE CHILD NOBODY KNEW
Someone had been lying.
The realization struck Luca like a physical blow.
For six years he had lived with grief.
Six years since Isabella Moretti had died in what police called a tragic highway accident.
Six years of raising four children alone.
Six years of believing he knew every detail of his wife's final days.
Now a bleeding messenger stood in a ballroom full of criminals and billionaires claiming there had been a fifth child.
A child nobody had ever mentioned.
A child who should not exist.
Luca's voice became dangerously quiet.
"Who sent you?"
The messenger swallowed.
"An older woman."
"What woman?"
"I don't know her name."
"Where is she now?"
"Chicago."
The man hesitated.
"She said you'd know where to find her."
Luca's eyes narrowed.
"Did she?"
The messenger nodded.
Then he handed over a sealed envelope.
The room remained silent.
Luca took it.
For the first time since Grace had met him, his hands weren't steady.
The envelope contained only a photograph.
Nothing else.
No note.
No explanation.
No threats.
Just a photograph.
Luca stared.
The color drained from his face.
"What is it?" Grace asked softly.
He didn't answer.
Instead, he handed her the photo.
Grace looked.
And froze.
The picture showed Isabella.
Beautiful.
Smiling.
Very pregnant.
But that wasn't what shocked Grace.
The date did.
The photograph had been taken four months after Isabella supposedly gave birth to her youngest son.
The child currently standing beside Luca.
The child everyone believed had been her last pregnancy.
The room seemed to tilt.
"What..."
Luca closed his eyes.
"When was this found?"
The messenger answered immediately.
"Tonight."
"Where?"
"A storage unit."
"Who rented it?"
"We're still investigating."
The billionaire stood motionless.
Around him, the ballroom guests watched nervously.
Nobody wanted to be near a man receiving devastating news.
Especially not a man like Luca Moretti.
Finally he looked toward his children.
The four kids stood together.
Confused.
Concerned.
Watching their father carefully.
The oldest boy stepped forward.
His name, Grace had learned earlier, was Matteo.
Fourteen years old.
Too serious for his age.
Too protective.
"Dad?"
Luca immediately hid his emotions.
A wall sliding back into place.
"Everything's fine."
It wasn't.
Everyone knew it wasn't.
But Matteo nodded anyway.
Because children of powerful men learned early when not to ask questions.
Grace's heart hurt unexpectedly.
She knew that look.
The look of a child carrying responsibilities that should belong to adults.
The look of someone forced to grow up too soon.
She had worn it herself once.
Luca glanced toward Grace.
"You should leave."
The statement surprised her.
"What?"
"This doesn't involve you."
She almost laughed.
Twenty-four hours ago she had been sold by her parents.
Now she was standing inside a criminal auction while a billionaire discovered he might have a secret child.
Normal had already left the building.
"Where exactly am I supposed to go?"
He paused.
Fair point.
Her family was gone.
Her home was gone.
Her future had been auctioned like property.
There was nowhere to go.
For several seconds Luca simply looked at her.
Then his gaze shifted toward Warren.
The older man was still clutching the check.
Still greedy.
Still calculating.
Still wondering how to profit from the situation.
Luca's expression hardened.
"You're coming with us."
Grace blinked.
"What?"
"The children need supervision."
The explanation sounded suspiciously weak.
Even Luca seemed aware of it.
The little girl immediately brightened.
"Really?"
Luca sighed.
"Really."
The eight-year-old smiled.
For the first time all evening.
It transformed her entire face.
Grace felt something warm twist inside her chest.
Not pain.
Something else.
Something she hadn't allowed herself to feel since the doctor's appointment.
The little girl walked over.
"My name is Sofia."
Grace smiled.
"Hi, Sofia."
"I'm eight."
"That's impressive."
The girl grinned.
"My brothers are annoying."
"SOFIA," Matteo groaned.
The younger boy looked offended.
"I am not."
"You absolutely are."
Grace laughed despite herself.
The sound surprised everyone.
Including Grace.
Because she couldn't remember the last time she had laughed.
A few feet away, Luca watched quietly.
Something unreadable flickering in his eyes.
Then his phone rang.
One glance at the screen changed everything.
"What?"
The voice on the other end spoke rapidly.
Luca listened.
His expression grew colder with every second.
Finally he ended the call.
"What happened?" Matteo asked.
Luca looked at his children.
Then at Grace.
Then back at the photograph.
The answer came out like a weapon.
"We found the woman."
The room froze.
"The one from the message?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
Luca's jaw tightened.
"At Saint Gabriel's Hospital."
Hope flashed across his face.
Fear followed immediately after.
Because if someone had hidden a child for six years...
There was only one reason to reveal the truth now.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Three hours later.
Chicago.
Rain hammered the city skyline.
Grace sat in the back of a black SUV beside Sofia.
The little girl had fallen asleep with her head resting on Grace's shoulder.
Across from them sat Matteo and his younger brother, Nico.
The youngest child, Leo, slept curled against his father.
The sight should have looked ordinary.
A father traveling with his children.
Except for the armed convoy surrounding them.
The bulletproof vehicles.
The bodyguards.
The weapons.
And the fact that Luca Moretti looked ready to go to war.
Nobody spoke much during the drive.
The tension was unbearable.
Finally Nico broke the silence.
"Can I ask something?"
Luca glanced up.
"What?"
The eleven-year-old pointed at Grace.
"Is she staying?"
Grace nearly choked.
Luca raised an eyebrow.
"Staying where?"
"Our house."
The SUV became quiet.
Grace looked out the window.
Pretending not to hear.
Pretending her heart wasn't suddenly beating faster.
Because she already knew the answer.
Of course she wasn't staying.
People like Luca lived in a different universe.
She was just a woman he had helped.
Nothing more.
But then Leo opened one sleepy eye.
"She should."
Silence.
The five-year-old yawned.
Then added:
"She's nice."
Sofia nodded immediately.
"Very nice."
Nico joined in.
"I vote yes."
Matteo rolled his eyes.
Then shocked everyone.
Including himself.
"Me too."
Grace stared.
The children stared.
Finally all four looked at Luca.
Waiting.
The billionaire sighed the sigh of a man realizing democracy had betrayed him.
"We'll discuss it later."
The children cheered anyway.
And for the first time that night...
Luca smiled.
A real smile.
Brief.
Rare.
Beautiful.
Grace immediately looked away.
Which unfortunately didn't stop her heart from noticing.
Saint Gabriel's Hospital stood nearly empty at two in the morning.
The woman waited in a private room on the fourth floor.
Elderly.
Thin.
Nervous.
The moment Luca entered, she burst into tears.
"Oh, Luca."
Recognition flashed across his face.
"You."
Grace watched carefully.
"You know her?"
The older woman nodded.
"My name is Margaret."
Her voice trembled.
"I was Isabella's nurse."
The room became still.
Luca stepped forward.
"You said there was another child."
"There was."
His face turned white.
"Where?"
Margaret began crying harder.
"For years I was afraid."
"Afraid of who?"
She looked toward the door.
As if expecting someone to appear.
"Your uncle."
Silence.
A terrible silence.
Luca went completely motionless.
"My uncle?"
Margaret nodded.
"Victor Moretti."
The room seemed to darken.
Even Grace recognized the name.
Victor Moretti.
Luca's uncle.
Business partner.
Trusted advisor.
Practically family royalty.
"What does Victor have to do with this?"
Margaret's hands shook violently.
"Everything."
Luca's voice became ice.
"Explain."
The nurse swallowed.
Then delivered words that changed every life in the room.
"Your wife gave birth to twins."
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Twins.
Not one baby.
Two.
The world tilted.
Sofia gasped.
Nico stared.
Matteo looked stunned.
Even little Leo sat upright.
Luca's face lost all color.
"No."
"Yes."
"My wife would've told me."
Margaret closed her eyes.
"She tried."
Silence.
The old nurse's next words shattered what remained of the night.
"Victor stole one of the babies before Isabella ever woke up."
A collective gasp filled the room.
Grace felt her stomach drop.
No.
No human being could do something like that.
Could they?
Margaret was crying openly now.
"He told everyone the second baby died."
Luca looked like a man struggling to remain standing.
"But the baby didn't die."
"No."
"Where is my child?"
Margaret's voice cracked.
"I don't know."
The room fell silent.
Then she whispered the words that terrified everyone.
"But Victor does."
And somewhere across Chicago...
A powerful man received a phone call warning him that the truth had finally surfaced.
The secret he had buried for six years was no longer hidden.
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And he was already preparing to make sure no one survived long enough to expose it.
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3 (FINAL)..
