Chapter 12: The Real Father
Antonio survived the collapse.
At the hospital, he finally explained the final piece of Vittorio’s plan.
Matteo was infertile.
Vanessa’s pregnancy had not occurred naturally.
Vittorio had stolen genetic material from Antonio during his captivity and used it through an illegal fertility procedure.
The unborn baby was Antonio’s biological child.
Alessandro’s half-sibling.
Vittorio intended to place the child inside the line of succession by presenting Alessandro as the father. After the marriage, Vanessa would gain legal influence over the Moretti holdings.
Once Alessandro died, she and Vittorio would control everything through the supposed heir.
Matteo believed the child was his.
Vanessa had lied to everyone.
A prenatal DNA test using the recovered clinic records confirmed Antonio’s story.
When Matteo learned the truth, he contacted Daniel.
He offered to testify against Vanessa and Vittorio in exchange for protection.
We arranged to meet inside the Moretti ballroom, the place where the war had begun.
Matteo arrived alone.
He looked exhausted.
“My father promised Vanessa the Moretti empire,” he said. “She promised me a family.”
“Where is she?” Alessandro asked.
“I don’t know.”
A gunshot shattered the window.
Matteo fell.
Vanessa entered through the terrace doors holding a pistol.
She was no longer wearing white.
She wore a black coat over a crimson dress.
“You should have stayed loyal,” she told Matteo.
He pressed both hands against the wound in his shoulder.
“You used me.”
“I used everyone.”
Guards surrounded her, but Vanessa held a small device in her left hand.
“If anyone shoots, Harbor Hospital explodes.”
Antonio was recovering there.
So was Lila Grant.
Vanessa demanded the ledger and Alessandro’s controlling shares.
Alessandro placed the ledger on the ballroom floor.
“You can have it.”
I understood his plan when Emma’s toy bracelet vibrated against my wrist.
Before entering the room, Daniel had hidden a tracking device inside the false ledger.
Vanessa picked it up.
Then the ballroom doors opened.
Vittorio entered with Emma in his arms.
My daughter had been taken from the secure bedroom again.
A knife rested against her throat.
“Your mistake,” Vittorio said, “was believing Vanessa was the most dangerous person in this family.”
Vanessa aimed her gun at him.
“You were supposed to bring Antonio.”
Vittorio smiled.
“You were supposed to give birth before becoming difficult.”
May you like
They had turned against each other.
And Emma was trapped between them.
