PART 3 — THE MESSAGE FROM THE FATHER WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE GONE
Luca stood frozen in the middle of the dining room.
His father.
A man who had been buried two years ago.
A man whose voice he would never hear again.
A man who apparently knew the truth about Leo before Luca ever had a chance to.
“What message?” Luca asked.
His voice was low.
Almost a whisper.
Wendy Vance looked away.
For the first time in his entire life, Luca saw his mother avoiding his eyes.
That terrified him more than anything.
“Mom.”
She remained silent.
“Where is it?”
“Luca…”
“Where is my father’s message?”
The sharpness in his voice made her flinch.
Wendy walked slowly toward the fireplace.
Behind an old painting of the Vance family estate, she reached into a hidden compartment.
She pulled out a small black box.
Luca stared.
He had seen that box before.
His father, Richard Vance, had always kept important documents inside it.
Business contracts.
Family records.
Private letters.
Things nobody else was allowed to touch.
Wendy placed it on the table.
“Your father left instructions that this box could only be opened by you.”
Luca looked at her.
“Then why didn’t you give it to me?”
Her lips pressed together.
“Because I was afraid of what you would find.”
Luca opened the box.
Inside was a stack of documents.
An old watch.
A photograph.
And a sealed envelope.
His name was written across the front.
LUCA.
His hands trembled as he opened it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
His father’s.
* * *
My son,
If you are reading this, then something happened that forced the truth into the open.
I always knew one day you would discover what your mother tried to hide.
Luca stopped.
His eyes moved toward Wendy.
She looked down.
Three years ago, I learned that Jessi was pregnant with your child.
I also learned that your mother planned to separate you from her.
Luca felt his chest tighten.
Even his father knew.
I disagreed with your mother’s decision.
But at that time, our company was facing its greatest crisis. The Vance name was under attack. Investors were threatening to leave.
Your mother believed that marrying Stephanie Reed would secure our future.
Luca’s eyes widened.
Stephanie.
His fiancée.
His father knew about her too.
She convinced herself that sacrificing one relationship was acceptable if it protected thousands of employees and the family legacy.
But she forgot something important.
A family built on lies eventually destroys itself.
Luca lowered the letter.
His father had known everything.
Everything.
He continued reading.
Jessi was never the problem.
She was the only person who loved you without caring about the Vance fortune.
I met her after you introduced her to us. I watched the way she looked at you.
She wasn’t chasing wealth. She was building a life with you.
A painful memory appeared in Luca’s mind.
Jessi sitting beside him in their tiny apartment.
Cooking cheap dinners.
Laughing when they had almost no money.
She never complained.
She always said:
“Someday, we’ll look back at this and be proud we built something ourselves.”
He had forgotten that.
Because his family convinced him she was a mistake.
* * *
The letter continued.
Luca, there is something else you need to know.
Leo is not just your son.
He is the last person carrying the Vance bloodline after you.
Luca frowned.
That sentence felt strange.
Your grandfather created a private trust. A trust that cannot be controlled by anyone except the direct descendants of the Vance family.
Luca looked confused.
“What does that mean?”
Wendy remained silent.
He kept reading.
Your mother and the board members wanted you to marry Stephanie because they believed her family could protect the company.
But they don’t know what I discovered before my death.
The Reed family has been secretly buying Vance shares for years.
Luca’s heart stopped.
Stephanie’s family.
The same family everyone praised.
The same family his mother wanted him to marry.
They are not protecting us.
They are trying to take control.
The room became cold.
Suddenly everything made sense.
The engagement.
The pressure.
The perfect wedding.
The obsession with reputation.
It wasn’t about love.
It was business.
* * *
A noise came from behind him.
Luca turned.
Wendy was standing near the window.
Tears were running down her face.
“I didn’t know about the Reed family plan.”
Luca stared at her.
“Maybe not.”
His voice was empty.
“But you still destroyed my life.”
Wendy closed her eyes.
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“You took three years away from me.”
“I know.”
“You took three years away from my son.”
“I know.”
“You made Jessi raise him alone.”
“I know.”
The repeated words broke something inside him.
Because for the first time, his mother wasn’t defending herself.
She was admitting it.
Luca grabbed the letter.
“I need to see her.”
Wendy nodded slowly.
“I know.”
“You know where she is.”
A long silence.
Then:
“Yes.”
Luca froze.
“You lied.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
Wendy looked at him.
“Of losing my son.”
The words should have made him angry.
But instead, Luca felt something worse.
Disappointment.
“You already lost me.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later, Luca was driving toward downtown.
Robert sat beside him.
“She lives in an apartment near the river.”
Luca looked out the window.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I promised your mother.”
“And now?”
Robert sighed.
“Now I think keeping that promise was the biggest mistake of my life.”
When they arrived, Luca stood outside the building.
His heart was beating harder than it ever had.
Behind that door was Jessi.
The woman he lost.
The woman who carried his child.
The woman who believed he abandoned her.
He raised his hand.
Knocked.
The door opened.
And Luca forgot every word he planned to say.
Because standing there was Jessi.
But she wasn’t alone.
Behind her stood Leo.
The little boy from the airport.
Holding a small toy airplane.
He looked at Luca carefully.
Then asked:
“Mommy…”
His tiny voice filled the hallway.
“Is this the man from my dream?”
Jessi’s face turned pale.
Luca stopped breathing.
“What dream?”
Jessi looked at him.
And for the first time in three years…
She looked afraid.
Because she knew.
Leo had been dreaming about his father long before he ever met him.
And there was something about those dreams that Jessi had never told anyone.
