Chapter 4 - The Daughter Nobody Was Supposed to Know Existed
I threw up in Luca's bathroom.
Not elegant.
Not dramatic.
Just violently, miserably sick.
When I came out, Luca was waiting.
"Noah?"
"Sleeping."
I wiped my mouth.
"Good."
"Mara—"
"Don't."
He stopped.
I stared at him.
"My mother told me my father died before I was born."
"Antonio died sixteen years ago."
"So technically she wasn't lying."
"You were eight."
"Great. One less lie."
Luca flinched.
That surprised me.
"You believe Salvatore?"
"I believe my mother ran."
I walked downstairs.
Marco had documents spread across the dining table.
"What are those?"
"Family records."
I laughed.
"You people keep family records?"
"Families like ours survive by remembering everything."
"Apparently not secret daughters."
He looked away.
There was a birth certificate.
My name.
Mara Catherine Reed.
Father blank.
Another document lay beside it.
An old medical record from Palermo.
Caterina Bellini.
My mother's photograph.
I sat.
Luca placed another file down.
Antonio Moretti.
Same dark eyes as mine.
Same chin.
The resemblance was unmistakable.
"DNA," I whispered.
Luca nodded.
This time I agreed.
A private doctor arrived.
Swabs.
Mine.
Luca's.
Noah's.
"Why Noah?"
Luca answered quietly.
"Because if Elena and Catherine are identical twins, you and Noah may share more DNA than expected. It gives us another reference."
The results wouldn't come until morning.
At 2:13 a.m., I found Luca sitting alone in the kitchen.
The terrifying mafia boss was warming a bottle.
I almost smiled.
"Doesn't fit the image."
He looked over.
"What image?"
"Crime lord making formula."
"Babies are unimpressed by criminal reputations."
That actually made me laugh.
For the first time all night.
Then Noah cried upstairs.
I followed Luca.
The nanny tried.
Noah screamed.
Luca tried.
Worse.
I took him.
Silence.
Luca looked exhausted.
"Elena used to sing to him."
"What song?"
He hesitated.
Then hummed four notes.
My blood froze.
I knew them.
I began singing without thinking.
A soft Italian lullaby.
My mother had sung it every night when I was little.
Luca slowly lowered himself into a chair.
"Where did you learn that?"
"My mother."
"Elena sang the same song."
I looked at Noah.
He was asleep before I reached the final line.
Luca whispered:
"They were together."
"Who?"
"The twins. Catherine and Elena. Whatever happened, they knew about each other."
Morning brought DNA results.
The doctor looked uncomfortable.
"Mr. Moretti..."
"Say it."
"The probability that Luca and Mara share one biological parent is 99.98 percent."
Silence.
I didn't cry.
Luca didn't speak.
Marco crossed himself.
I stared at the paper.
Twenty-four years of my identity disappeared in one number.
Then the doctor continued.
"There's something else."
We looked up.
"The relationship between Mara and Noah is genetically unusual but consistent with Mara being both his paternal aunt and the daughter of his maternal grandmother's identical twin."
I almost laughed at how absurd it sounded.
Luca didn't.
He looked at me.
"Sister."
The word hurt more than expected.
Then the front gates exploded.
The entire mansion shook.
Marco shouted.
Security alarms screamed.
Luca grabbed Noah.
"Safe room!"
Men rushed through the hall.
I heard gunfire outside.
Luca pushed me toward a hidden door.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
Salvatore.
"You can't keep her forever."
Luca's face hardened.
"Watch me."
Salvatore laughed.
"Then perhaps Catherine should tell you why Elena really died."
A video arrived.
My mother appeared on screen.
She was tied to a chair.
Blood ran from her forehead.
"Mom!"
Her eyes lifted.
"Mara..."
Salvatore stepped behind her.
"Come alone tomorrow, Luca. Bring Mara."
"No."
"Then Catherine dies."
My mother suddenly shouted:
"Don't bring her!"
A man struck her.
I screamed.
Then Catherine looked directly into the camera.
"Luca, listen to me. Elena's death wasn't about you."
She gasped.
"It was about Noah."
Luca froze.
Salvatore cut the video.
May you like
Noah began crying.
And for the first time since I'd met him, Luca Moretti looked truly afraid.
