Chapter 6 - The Truth Hidden Behind My Husband's Name
The screen went black as I held my daughter tighter, whispering: "Please tell me I was wrong about everyone." When Damian Voss opened the final file left by my father, he discovered a hidden contract connecting Alessandro Castellano to my family. But one signature was circled in red: "Nadine." Damian suddenly realized I was never just Alessandro's wife.
I couldn't move.
The name Damian whispered stayed inside my mind.
"Lucian Moretti."
I had heard that name before.
Not from my father.
Not from Damian.
From Alessandro.
Years ago.
It was the only time I ever saw my husband's confidence disappear.
We had been at a charity event.
Someone mentioned Lucian Moretti in a conversation.
Alessandro immediately changed the subject.
I remembered asking him afterward.
"Who is Lucian Moretti?"
He had looked at me and smiled.
But it wasn't his normal smile.
It was a warning.
"Someone you should never meet."
At the time, I thought he was protecting me.
Now I wondered if he was hiding something.
Damian turned away from the dark screen.
His hands were clenched.
"You need to leave."
I stared at him.
"Who is he?"
Damian didn't answer.
"Damian."
His eyes met mine.
"Lucian Moretti is the reason your father disappeared."
My heart stopped.
"But my father died."
Damian was silent.
And that silence told me everything.
"No."
I shook my head.
"No, don't do that."
"Nadine—"
"Everyone keeps telling me people are dead."
My voice broke.
"My father."
"My old life."
"The person I thought my husband was."
I looked at him.
"I can't keep finding out that everything was a lie."
Damian stepped closer.
For once, he didn't look like a powerful man.
He looked like someone carrying a burden for too long.
"Your father wasn't killed because he was weak."
He paused.
"He was killed because he discovered something."
"What?"
Damian looked at the documents on the table.
"That Alessandro wasn't the person controlling everything."
I remembered the recording.
The voice.
The warning.
Someone above Alessandro.
"Lucian."
Damian nodded.
"Lucian Moretti built an empire before Alessandro ever had power."
I frowned.
"Then why did Alessandro work for him?"
"Because Alessandro didn't start at the top."
Damian walked toward the window.
"He was chosen."
The word made me uncomfortable.
"Chosen for what?"
Damian looked back at me.
"To marry you."
My stomach dropped.
"No."
I wanted to reject it.
I wanted to say it wasn't true.
But too many pieces were falling into place.
The timing.
The secrets.
The way Alessandro entered my life.
The way my father disappeared.
"No."
My voice became quieter.
"Alessandro loved me."
Damian didn't immediately answer.
That hurt more than if he had said no.
Finally, he said:
"I believe he cared about you."
I looked at him.
"But?"
Damian looked away.
"But caring about someone doesn't mean you weren't using them."
Those words broke something inside me.
Because they were exactly what I feared.
A person could love you.
And still destroy you.
A person could hold you close.
And still be the reason you were hurt.
My daughter moved in my arms.
I looked down at her tiny face.
The only person in my life who had never lied to me.
"I need to know everything."
Damian nodded.
"Then you need to see what your father left behind."
He opened another folder.
Inside were pages of documents.
Contracts.
Photos.
Records.
But one document caught my attention.
My name.
Written at the top.
"Nadine Castellano."
My hands went cold.
"Why is my name on this?"
Damian hesitated.
"Because your father prepared something for you."
I read the first lines.
It was a legal document.
An agreement.
A transfer of ownership.
I looked at Damian.
"What is this?"
"Your father's final protection."
I continued reading.
Then I saw it.
A list of names.
People involved.
People connected.
And one name appeared again and again.
Alessandro Castellano.
My husband's name.
My hands started shaking.
"He planned everything."
Damian didn't answer.
"Didn't he?"
"He planned the marriage."
The words hurt.
Even though I already knew.
"He planned the relationship."
Damian lowered his voice.
"But I don't think he planned to fall in love with you."
I looked at him.
"You sound like you're defending him."
"No."
Damian's expression hardened.
"I'm explaining him."
I looked back at the papers.
Because somehow...
That was even worse.
If Alessandro never cared, I could hate him.
If everything was fake, I could walk away.
But if part of him was real...
Then I had to accept something much more painful.
That someone could love me and still betray me.
A noise came from upstairs.
Damian immediately reacted.
He reached for his weapon.
I froze.
"What is it?"
"Someone entered."
"Alessandro?"
Damian checked the security system.
His face changed.
"No."
"Then who?"
The cameras switched on.
The screen showed the entrance hall.
A woman was standing there.
Not Isabella.
Not one of Alessandro's guards.
An older woman.
I recognized her.
My heart stopped.
"That's impossible."
Damian looked at me.
"You know her?"
I couldn't speak.
Because the woman on the screen...
Was my mother's closest friend.
The woman who attended my father's funeral.
The woman who told me my father died peacefully.
The woman who hugged me and said:
"Your family will always protect you."
Her name was Clara Bellini.
She had disappeared after my father's death.
Everyone thought she left the country.
But now she was standing inside Damian's estate.
Alive.
Waiting.
"How did she get inside?"
Damian asked.
I couldn't answer.
Because suddenly I remembered something.
Something small.
Something I ignored.
The night before my wedding.
Clara had pulled me aside.
She had looked terrified.
She wanted to tell me something.
But Alessandro interrupted us.
And she never spoke again.
The security monitor showed Clara walking slowly toward the room.
Damian moved in front of me.
"Stay behind me."
I looked at him.
"You trust nobody, do you?"
"No."
"Why?"
His answer was immediate.
"Because everyone I trusted died."
The words surprised me.
Before I could ask what he meant...
The door opened.
Clara Bellini stepped inside.
Her eyes immediately found mine.
Not Damian.
Me.
She looked at my daughter.
Then at me.
And tears filled her eyes.
"Nadine..."
My entire body froze.
Nobody had said my name like that in years.
Like they were seeing someone they thought was gone.
She took one step forward.
"I thought I would never see you again."
Damian raised his weapon.
"How did you find this place?"
Clara ignored him.
She kept looking at me.
Then she said something that changed everything.
"Your father didn't disappear because of Lucian Moretti."
I stared at her.
"What?"
She reached into her bag.
Pulled out a small envelope.
And placed it on the table.
"Your father disappeared because he discovered who Lucian was working for."
The room became silent.
Damian's expression changed.
"Impossible."
Clara looked at him.
"You knew him too."
Damian stepped forward.
"Who?"
Clara looked at me.
Then whispered:
"The person who destroyed your family was not Alessandro."
My heartbeat stopped.
She opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
A photograph taken years ago.
A photograph of my father.
Alessandro.
Lucian Moretti.
And one more person.
A person standing behind them.
A person whose face I knew better than anyone.
May you like
Clara looked at me and said:
"Nadine... your mother was never dead."
