Chapter 6 - The Truth Buried Under My Name
The message stayed on my screen.
"Ask Adrian why he was the one who saved you in 2006."
I read it again.
And again.
But the words didn't change.
My hands felt numb.
Because there was only one person in that room who could answer.
Adrian Valenti.
The man I had believed was a stranger until tonight.
The man who had stopped a $150 million betrayal.
The man who had uncovered my father's secret.
And apparently...
the man who had been part of my past before I even remembered it.
I looked at him.
"Is it true?"
Nobody spoke.
The silence was louder than any answer.
Adrian didn't move.
He just stared at the message.
Then he looked at me.
"I didn't know you remembered."
My heart dropped.
Remembered.
That one word told me everything.
"You knew me?"
Adrian looked away.
For the first time since I met him, he looked human.
Not powerful.
Not untouchable.
Just a man carrying something heavy.
"Elena..."
"Answer me."
My voice shook.
"You knew me."
A long pause.
Then Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
The room disappeared.
Twenty years of my life suddenly felt like a lie.
"How?"
Adrian looked at Luca.
Then at me.
"Because I was there the night your father disappeared."
The words hit harder than anything before.
I stepped back.
"No."
"It's true."
"No."
I shook my head.
Because accepting it meant accepting something I wasn't ready for.
My father didn't just vanish.
People were there.
People knew.
People watched.
And nobody told me.
"What happened that night?"
Adrian stayed silent.
I felt anger rising.
"Tell me."
His eyes met mine.
"Your father found out Luca wasn't the only person planning the betrayal."
I looked at Luca.
He lowered his head.
"There was someone above him."
Adrian continued.
"Someone who had access to both families."
"Who?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Not immediately.
That scared me.
Because I was starting to understand something.
Everyone was afraid of one person.
Even Adrian.
"Your father discovered the name."
Adrian's voice became quieter.
"And before he could expose it, they came after him."
My breathing became uneven.
"What does that have to do with me?"
Adrian looked at me.
"Everything."
The word made my stomach tighten.
"You were there."
I froze.
"I was a child."
"Yes."
"Then how would I remember?"
"You don't."
Adrian paused.
"But your mind protected you."
I stared at him.
"What are you saying?"
He looked at the floor.
"The night your father disappeared, you were found unconscious near the house."
The room went silent.
"I was told you had no memory of what happened."
I felt cold.
Because suddenly, small pieces of my childhood started appearing.
A locked room.
A man's voice.
My father's hand holding mine.
A car door closing.
A woman crying.
Memories I had buried so deeply they felt like dreams.
"I thought they were nightmares."
Adrian looked at me.
"They weren't."
I couldn't speak.
Luca finally stepped forward.
"Your father knew they would come for you."
I turned toward him.
"Why?"
"Because you saw something."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
Luca's face was full of regret.
"The person who betrayed us."
I stared.
"You mean I saw who did it?"
He nodded.
"And your father spent his final days trying to protect your memory."
I felt tears forming.
"He erased it?"
"No."
Luca shook his head.
"He hid it."
"Why?"
"Because if they knew you remembered, you wouldn't have survived."
The room became silent.
I looked at Adrian.
"And you?"
His expression changed.
"I found you after the attack."
"Where?"
"Near the old Valenti estate."
I waited.
"What did you do?"
Adrian looked at me.
"I got you out."
"You saved me."
"Yes."
"Then why did you never tell me?"
His face hardened.
"Because your father made me promise."
I laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was impossible.
"Everyone keeps making promises about my life."
Nobody answered.
I wiped my eyes.
"What was my father protecting me from?"
Adrian looked at Luca.
Then back at me.
"The truth about your identity."
My chest tightened.
Again.
That word.
Identity.
"What does that mean?"
Before Adrian could answer, the restaurant doors suddenly opened.
Everyone turned.
A woman walked inside.
No guards stopped her.
No one questioned her.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The second thing was Adrian's reaction.
He went completely still.
Not angry.
Not surprised.
Afraid.
I looked at the woman.
She was in her late fifties.
Elegant.
Calm.
Her dark hair had streaks of silver.
Her eyes immediately found mine.
And the moment she saw me...
she started crying.
"Elena."
I froze.
I didn't know her.
But she knew me.
Adrian stepped between us.
"How did you get here?"
The woman ignored him.
She only looked at me.
"I've been waiting twenty years to say this."
My heartbeat became louder.
"Say what?"
She took one step forward.
And whispered:
"Your father wasn't your real father."
Everything stopped.
I felt like the floor disappeared.
"No."
The woman looked at Adrian.
"He promised you would tell her when the time came."
Adrian said nothing.
That was the answer.
I turned to him.
"Tell me she's lying."
He didn't speak.
My voice broke.
"Adrian."
Finally, he said:
"She's telling the truth."
I couldn't move.
I couldn't think.
The life I knew was breaking apart piece by piece.
The woman reached into her bag.
She pulled out an old photograph.
"My name is Sofia Moretti."
Luca looked shocked.
"You're alive."
She ignored him.
She walked toward me.
Then placed the photograph in my hand.
I looked down.
A man.
A woman.
And a baby.
Me.
On the back of the photograph was a handwritten note.
A note written by my father.
My hands shook as I read it.
"Elena, if you are reading this, it means they found you."
I stopped breathing.
There was more.
One final sentence.
One sentence that changed everything.
"Trust no one, not even the man who saved you."
I slowly looked up.
May you like
At Adrian.
And behind him, one of the security guards quietly locked the restaurant door from the inside.
