Chapter 6 - The Father Who Said He Knew Nothing.
Luca drove to his father's apartment with the photocopied phone log folded inside his jacket.
Victor Moretti had moved out of the family estate three years earlier and described the change as practical.
Everyone else understood it as a quiet separation from Evelyn.
Victor opened the door himself and smiled until he saw Luca's face.
This isn't a social visit.
No.
Victor led him into a study filled with books, framed sailing photographs, and the old brass telescope Luca had used as a child.
Luca placed the phone log on the desk.
Victor stared at it longer than necessary.
Where did you get this?
Someone left it for me.
Did you call Nia seven years ago?
Victor sat down slowly.
I may have.
Luca felt his patience disappear.
You may have?
Victor removed his glasses.
Your mother told me Nia was asking for money and threatening to create a public problem.
Did you believe her?
At the time, yes.
So you called Nia.
Victor looked toward the window.
I called the number Evelyn gave me.
A man answered.
Luca frowned.
A man?
He said he represented Nia.
He told me she had accepted a settlement and wanted no further contact.
Luca unfolded one of Nia's returned bank-transfer records and placed it beside the log.
She sent the money back.
Victor read the page and his face changed.
I never saw this.
She also emailed you.
Your assistant answered that you considered the matter resolved.
Victor looked up sharply.
Which assistant?
Daniel Voss.
Victor's expression hardened.
Daniel worked for Evelyn before he worked for me.
Luca remembered Daniel as a quiet man who had handled schedules, travel, and confidential correspondence until he left the company five years earlier.
Where is he now?
I don't know.
Luca studied his father.
You knew there was something happening, but you never asked me?
Victor's face showed genuine regret.
You were in Chicago dealing with the Mercer acquisition, and Evelyn told me you had ended the relationship yourself.
I thought bringing it up would reopen something you were trying to close.
Luca laughed once in disbelief.
Everyone was protecting me from a life I was never allowed to choose.
Victor did not defend himself.
That sentence is fair.
Luca looked at the telescope because looking at his father felt harder.
The children may be mine.
Victor closed his eyes briefly.
How old?
Six.
Twins.
A boy and a girl.
Victor sat very still.
Your grandmother was a twin.
I know.
The words settled between them.
Victor asked their names.
Noah and Lily.
For the first time that afternoon, his father smiled, but it vanished almost immediately.
Does Evelyn know about the test?
Yes.
Then assume she is already preparing for the result.
Luca turned back.
What does that mean?
Victor stood and walked to a locked cabinet.
He removed a thin folder and handed it over.
Inside were copies of board minutes from seven years earlier.
The dates covered the month Nia disappeared.
One item authorized a confidential family-risk fund controlled solely by Evelyn.
Luca read the amount and looked up.
Two million dollars?
Victor nodded.
I thought it was for litigation connected to the Mercer deal.
It was closed three months later with almost no documentation.
Luca flipped through the pages.
Who approved the closure?
I did.
Victor's voice was heavy.
I trusted your mother when I should have asked what I was signing.
Luca's phone rang before he could answer.
It was Maya, Nia's attorney.
Luca stepped away and took the call.
Maya did not waste time.
Someone just filed an emergency petition asking the court to restrict Nia from publicly identifying you as the children's father until testing is complete.
Luca stared at the folder in his hand.
Who filed it?
A Moretti family attorney.
Luca looked at his father.
Maya continued.
The strange part is the petition includes a sworn statement saying the family has previously investigated the children's paternity.
Luca went cold.
Previously?
May you like
Yes.
According to this filing, someone in your family claims a DNA test was already done six years ago.
