Chapter 4 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
The image on the giant wedding screen became clearer.
The ballroom was silent.
Nobody breathed.
Nobody moved.
Simone stared at the person standing beside her mother in the old security footage.
Her hands began shaking.
Because she knew that face.
Everyone in her family knew that face.
It was impossible.
The man in the video was supposed to be dead.
"My uncle..."
The words escaped Simone’s mouth.
The crowd turned toward her.
The man standing beside her mother twelve years ago was Edward Bellamy.
Her father’s older brother.
The man everyone told her had died in a car accident six months before her mother disappeared.
The man whose funeral Simone attended as a child.
The man whose photograph sat in her grandmother’s house with a black ribbon around it.
But there he was.
Alive.
Standing beside her mother.
And holding the same black box that was now in the stranger’s hand.
Alessandro looked at the screen.
Then at the stranger.
"Who are you?"
The stranger did not answer immediately.
Instead, he watched Simone.
Like he was waiting for her to understand something.
The recording continued.
Her mother’s voice filled the ballroom.
"Simone, if you are watching this, then Edward finally found a way to reach you."
A shocked whisper moved through the guests.
Richard stepped backward.
"No..."
Simone turned toward him.
"You knew."
Richard’s face was pale.
"I didn't know he was alive."
The words were barely spoken.
But everyone heard them.
Alessandro looked at him.
"You didn't know?"
Richard avoided his eyes.
"Things are not as simple as you think."
Simone laughed quietly.
The sound carried pain.
"Nothing is ever simple when my family is involved."
She looked back at the screen.
Her mother continued.
"Your uncle Edward was the only person who believed me."
A pause.
"Because he knew the truth."
The video glitched.
The screen became distorted.
Then her mother’s face appeared again.
Closer.
More serious.
"Simone, you need to understand one thing."
The ballroom went completely still.
"I did not leave you."
Simone closed her eyes.
Those words hurt more than anything.
Because for twelve years, she had wondered why she was not enough for her own mother to stay.
Why she was abandoned.
Why she was left behind.
And now she finally heard the truth.
Her mother had never chosen to leave.
Someone had made her disappear.
The video ended.
The lights came back on.
But nobody celebrated.
The wedding was forgotten.
The beautiful decorations.
The expensive flowers.
The guests.
Everything felt meaningless.
Simone looked at Margaret.
"You knew."
Margaret lowered her head.
"Yes."
The answer came quietly.
Simone looked at Richard.
"You knew too."
Richard said nothing.
That silence was enough.
Her father had spent twelve years watching her believe the worst thing imaginable.
And he had done nothing.
Alessandro stood beside Simone.
His expression was controlled.
But Simone could feel the anger beneath it.
Not anger for himself.
For her.
The stranger finally spoke.
"My name is Daniel Cross."
Everyone looked at him.
"I worked with your mother."
Simone frowned.
"Worked with her doing what?"
Daniel looked toward the screen.
"Your mother was investigating your family."
A cold feeling moved through Simone.
"My family?"
Daniel nodded.
"Not just your family."
He looked at Alessandro.
"The people connected to them."
Alessandro's expression changed slightly.
"You know who I am?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Everyone knows who Alessandro Romano is."
A few guests stepped away.
They had heard rumors.
But Simone realized something.
Daniel was not afraid of him.
That was unusual.
Very few people looked Alessandro Romano directly in the eyes.
"What did my mother discover?" Simone asked.
Daniel reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small folder.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
Records.
He handed them to Simone.
The first photograph showed her mother meeting different people.
The second showed Richard.
The third showed Margaret.
The fourth made Simone freeze.
It was Clara.
Her sister.
Young.
Standing outside a building Simone did not recognize.
"Why is Clara in these?"
Nobody answered.
Daniel looked at Clara.
"Because she was there the night everything changed."
Simone turned slowly.
Clara looked like she wanted to disappear.
"Tell me."
Clara shook her head.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because if I tell you, they will come after you."
Alessandro stepped forward.
"Who?"
Clara looked at him.
And for the first time, she looked at him with fear.
"People even you can't fight."
The room became quiet.
Alessandro almost smiled.
Not because it was funny.
Because he had heard threats before.
"You don't know what I can fight."
Clara looked down.
"You don't understand."
She took a deep breath.
"The Bellamy family wasn't protecting a secret."
She looked at Simone.
"We were protecting ourselves from someone who owns the secret."
Simone felt a chill.
"Who?"
Before Clara could answer, the ballroom doors suddenly opened.
Everyone turned.
A group of men in dark suits entered.
Not wedding guests.
Not security.
Their movements were too controlled.
Too professional.
The first man walked forward.
His eyes immediately found Simone.
Alessandro moved in front of her.
The man stopped.
"Mr. Romano."
Alessandro stared at him.
"You are interrupting my evening."
The man ignored the comment.
"We are here for Simone Bellamy."
Simone felt her heart drop.
"Why?"
The man looked at Daniel.
Then at the old photograph.
Then back at Simone.
"Because she has something that belongs to us."
Daniel whispered:
"No."
The man smiled slightly.
"Her mother knew this day would come."
Alessandro's voice became colder.
"Leave."
The man looked amused.
"You really think this is about power?"
He stepped closer.
"This is about blood."
Simone looked at the stranger.
"What are you talking about?"
The man reached inside his coat.
He pulled out an old document.
A birth record.
He held it up.
"Your mother hid the truth about who your father really was."
The entire room froze.
Simone stared at the paper.
"My father is Richard Bellamy."
The man smiled.
"That is what they wanted you to believe."
Richard suddenly shouted:
"Enough!"
Everyone turned.
Because Richard Bellamy was no longer afraid.
He was furious.
"You don't get to destroy her life."
The man looked at him.
"Funny."
A pause.
"You're the one who destroyed it twelve years ago."
Simone looked between them.
"What does that mean?"
Nobody answered.
The man slowly placed the document on the table.
Then he walked away.
But before leaving, he stopped beside Simone.
"Ask your father why your mother spent her last night protecting someone who wasn't you."
Simone froze.
The doors closed.
Silence returned.
Then Daniel looked at the document.
His face changed.
Because he recognized the signature.
He whispered one name.
May you like
And Simone realized the person who signed her birth record was not Richard Bellamy.
It was the man her entire family claimed had been dead for twelve years.
