Chapter 8 - The Man Who Lied to Me
Adrien stared at his mother.
"What?"
She looked toward Daniel.
Then back at him.
"The night Sophia disappeared, I was there."
Adrien's chest tightened.
"What happened?"
His mother struggled to speak.
"Sophia had proof."
"Proof of what?"
"Daniel had been stealing from your father's company."
Adrien looked toward Daniel.
Daniel smiled.
"She found the accounts."
His mother nodded.
"She was going to expose him."
Adrien understood.
"Daniel stopped her."
"He tried."
"Did he hurt her?"
His mother shook her head.
"No."
"Then where is she?"
Silence.
Daniel laughed softly.
"Still asking the wrong question."
Adrien turned.
"What do you mean?"
Daniel walked toward the center of the hall.
"Sophia wasn't the only person who knew."
Adrien stared.
"Who else?"
"Your father."
Adrien's face hardened.
"My father knew about the theft?"
"Of course."
"Then why didn't he stop you?"
Daniel's smile vanished.
"Because your father had his own secret."
Adrien looked at his mother.
She nodded slowly.
"Your father had been preparing to expose Daniel."
Adrien stared.
"Then what happened?"
"Daniel discovered the plan."
"And?"
Daniel said:
"He forced your father to choose."
"Choose what?"
"His company or his family."
Adrien's eyes narrowed.
Daniel continued.
"He chose his family."
Adrien felt sick.
"Meaning?"
"He signed everything over."
Adrien understood.
The twenty-million-dollar agreement he had signed earlier suddenly became part of something larger.
Daniel had been manipulating the family's business structure for years.
Adrien's father had transferred control.
But not to Daniel.
To Adrien.
Adrien looked at his mother.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because the documents were hidden."
"Where?"
She looked toward Lily.
"In the nursery."
Adrien turned.
The little girl was holding a small wooden box.
She had apparently found it beneath the crib.
Adrien walked toward her.
"Lily, where did you get that?"
She handed it to him.
Inside was a key.
And another photograph.
Adrien turned the photograph over.
A handwritten sentence appeared.
"The truth is beneath the family table."
Adrien looked toward the dining room.
Daniel suddenly moved.
Adrien stepped between him and Lily.
Daniel stopped.
"You always were stubborn."
Adrien's voice was cold.
"You lied to my family for years."
"I did what was necessary."
"You destroyed lives."
"I preserved an empire."
Adrien looked at his mother.
"Is there anything else?"
She hesitated.
"Yes."
"What?"
"Daniel wasn't alone."
Adrien's expression hardened.
"Who helped him?"
His mother looked toward the dining room.
Adrien followed her gaze.
The old dining table had been in the house for generations.
He walked toward it.
Beneath the table was a small metal plate.
The key fit.
A hidden drawer opened.
Inside was a thick folder.
Adrien opened it.
Financial records.
Photographs.
Contracts.
Bank transfers.
Names.
Dates.
Everything.
Daniel's entire scheme.
But one document made Adrien stop.
It was a birth certificate.
Lily's.
Mother: Sophia Bell.
Father:
Adrien Moretti.
Adrien stared.
His name was there.
He looked at Lily.
Then at his mother.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
His mother began crying.
"Because Sophia believed you were too young."
Adrien shook his head.
"I was fourteen."
"You were still a child."
He looked at the document.
"I could have protected her."
"You would have tried."
"Yes."
"And Daniel would have killed you."
Adrien closed his eyes.
His mother was right.
He had been a boy.
He could not have defeated a man like Daniel.
Then he noticed something else.
A second birth certificate.
This one was different.
It listed a second child.
Born two years before Lily.
Adrien stared.
"What is this?"
His mother went pale.
"I don't know."
Daniel suddenly lunged for the folder.
Adrien grabbed it first.
Daniel stopped.
Adrien looked at him.
"What is this?"
Daniel said nothing.
Adrien read the name.
The father's name was not his.
It was Daniel's.
Adrien slowly looked up.
Daniel's face had changed.
For the first time, the confident man looked afraid.
Adrien whispered:
"That's your child."
Daniel said nothing.
Adrien understood.
Daniel had another secret.
A much bigger one.
Then Elena rushed into the room.
"Mr. Moretti!"
Adrien turned.
She was holding a phone.
"Someone just called."
"Who?"
May you like
Elena looked terrified.
"They said Sophia is coming home."
