Chapter 9 - The Truth About Lily’s Father
The question remained hanging in the air.
A question that felt more dangerous than the gunfire outside.
More dangerous than the enemies surrounding the mansion.
More dangerous than everything Victor Moretti had faced that night.
Who is Lily’s father?
Hannah felt the world shift beneath her feet.
She looked at Elena.
Her mother.
The woman who had disappeared.
The woman who had spent twenty-five years protecting secrets.
The woman who had just returned from the dead.
And now…
There was another secret.
One that involved her daughter.
“My father?” Hannah whispered.
Elena looked away.
That was enough.
Hannah’s heart sank.
“You knew.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Hannah…”
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
“You knew something about Lily’s father.”
Victor watched silently.
He understood something important.
This was not just another secret.
This was a wound.
A wound Hannah had carried without even knowing it existed.
The mansion shook again.
Another explosion.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The guards shouted from the hallway.
But nobody moved.
Not yet.
Because the truth had finally reached the center of the room.
Isabella Rossi smiled.
“You see?”
She looked at Hannah.
“Your entire life has been built on lies.”
Hannah stared at her.
“You don’t get to talk about my life.”
Isabella tilted her head.
“You have no idea who you are.”
“I know exactly who I am.”
Hannah held Lily tighter.
“I’m her mother.”
A pause.
“And that’s enough.”
For a moment, even Victor looked impressed.
Because Hannah had walked into the most dangerous room in New York with nothing.
No power.
No weapons.
No protection.
And she was still standing.
Elena finally spoke.
“Lily’s father was Marco.”
Victor looked at her.
“Marco?”
The name was unfamiliar.
Hannah frowned.
“Who is Marco?”
Elena looked at Victor.
“Your brother.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Victor’s face changed.
“What?”
Hannah looked confused.
“I don’t understand.”
Elena swallowed.
“Before you became Victor Moretti…”
She looked at him.
“You had a brother.”
Victor stared at her.
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
Elena shook her head.
“You buried him.”
Victor’s expression hardened.
“Marco died.”
“Yes.”
“But…”
Victor stopped.
Because something about Elena’s face told him she wasn’t finished.
“He didn’t die the way you thought.”
Twenty-six years earlier.
Before Victor Moretti became the feared man everyone knew, there were two Moretti brothers.
Victor.
And Marco.
They were completely different.
Victor was disciplined.
Focused.
Always thinking about consequences.
Marco was the opposite.
He was kind.
Emotional.
The kind of person who believed everyone deserved a second chance.
When their father died, Victor took responsibility for the family.
Marco wanted nothing to do with the criminal world.
He wanted a normal life.
A family.
A future.
Then he met Elena Rossi.
And everything changed.
They fell in love.
But their love created a problem.
Because Marco discovered the same truth Elena had discovered.
The Moretti empire was not built on honest foundations.
There were people inside controlling everything.
Including Thomas Vale.
Including Isabella Rossi.
And when Marco tried to expose them…
He disappeared.
Hannah stared at Elena.
“You’re saying my father was Marco Moretti?”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
The words felt impossible.
Hannah looked at Victor.
Then Lily.
Then back at Elena.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because if anyone knew you were a Moretti…”
She looked toward Isabella.
“They would have found you.”
Hannah shook her head.
“You let me grow up not knowing my own father.”
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
“But I spent my entire life wondering why I wasn’t enough for anyone to stay.”
That sentence broke Elena.
Because she knew.
No explanation could erase that pain.
Victor stepped closer.
His voice was quiet.
“Marco was alive when Elena disappeared?”
Elena nodded.
“For a short time.”
“What happened?”
Elena looked down.
“Thomas found him.”
Victor’s face darkened.
“No.”
“Yes.”
A painful silence.
“Marco tried to protect me and Hannah.”
Victor closed his eyes.
His younger brother.
The brother he believed he lost.
The brother he never had a chance to save.
Another person he had failed.
At least that was what he believed.
“I should have known.”
Elena looked at him.
“No.”
“You were his brother.”
“You were manipulated.”
Victor looked away.
But the guilt remained.
Isabella laughed softly.
“This is beautiful.”
Everyone looked at her.
“The Moretti family finally reunited.”
She smiled.
“Too bad it won’t last.”
Victor turned toward her.
“You used Thomas.”
“Yes.”
“You used Adrian.”
“Yes.”
“You killed Marco.”
Isabella’s expression remained calm.
“He made a choice.”
“He chose the truth.”
“No.”
She looked at Victor.
“He chose weakness.”
Victor stepped forward.
“He chose humanity.”
Isabella smiled.
“And that is why he died.”
Suddenly, a loud crash came from the lower level.
A guard rushed into the room.
“Mr. Moretti!”
Victor turned.
“What happened?”
“The north entrance has fallen.”
“How many?”
The guard hesitated.
“More than we expected.”
Victor looked at Isabella.
“You brought an army.”
She smiled.
“No.”
A pause.
“I brought witnesses.”
Victor frowned.
“What?”
Isabella looked toward the hallway.
Then everyone heard it.
Voices.
Many voices.
Not attackers.
Reporters.
Police.
People outside.
Cameras.
Isabella had not just attacked the mansion.
She had created a public event.
Hannah realized.
“She wants everyone to see.”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
“See what?”
Elena looked at Lily.
“See the Moretti family destroyed.”
Victor moved toward the window.
Outside the gates were dozens of vehicles.
News cameras.
Police lights.
The entire city was watching.
Isabella had planned everything.
If Victor fought back, he would look guilty.
If he surrendered, Lily would disappear.
It was a perfect trap.
“She wants me to choose,” Victor said.
Elena looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Between protecting Lily and protecting myself.”
Hannah stepped beside him.
“No.”
Victor looked at her.
“You don’t understand.”
“Yes, I do.”
She looked outside.
“She thinks everyone chooses power.”
A pause.
“But she doesn’t understand something.”
“What?”
Hannah looked at Lily.
“Some people choose love.”
Thomas suddenly spoke.
Everyone turned.
The old man looked different.
Broken.
Not powerful.
Not confident.
Just old.
“I know where the real evidence is.”
Victor stared.
“Why should I believe you?”
Thomas looked at him.
“Because Isabella is going to kill me too.”
Nobody spoke.
Thomas continued:
“She never planned to let anyone leave.”
Elena looked surprised.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
Victor narrowed his eyes.
“Where is the evidence?”
Thomas looked toward Lily’s locket.
“Not inside.”
A pause.
“Underneath.”
Hannah frowned.
“Underneath what?”
Thomas looked at Victor.
“The first place you and Marco ever built together.”
Victor froze.
The answer came immediately.
The old family house.
The one abandoned twenty years ago.
The place where Marco had hidden his final message.
Victor whispered:
“The Rossi-Moretti estate.”
Elena nodded.
“Yes.”
Thomas continued:
“That is where the truth has been waiting.”
Isabella suddenly raised her phone.
A countdown appeared on the mansion screens.
10:00
Hannah stared.
“What is that?”
Isabella smiled.
“A choice.”
Victor looked at her.
“What did you do?”
“If you leave the mansion…”
She looked at Lily.
“The world sees you as guilty.”
A pause.
“If you stay…”
The countdown continued.
09:30
“The mansion burns.”
Everyone froze.
Hannah looked at Victor.
“What do we do?”
Victor stared at the countdown.
Then at Lily.
Then at Elena.
For the first time in decades…
Victor Moretti had no perfect plan.
No strategy.
No advantage.
Only a choice.
And somewhere beneath the city…
The truth about Marco Moretti was waiting.
09:00
Victor finally spoke.
“We’re going back.”
Hannah looked at him.
“Where?”
Victor looked toward the snow-covered city outside.
“Home.”
A pause.
“To the place where this all began.”
The Rossi-Moretti estate.
But before they could leave…
The mansion doors opened.
A figure entered.
Someone everyone thought was dead.
Someone who knew the truth.
Someone who had been watching everything.
Victor turned.
And his face went pale.
Because standing there…
May you like
Was Marco Moretti.
Alive.
