PART 4 — THE SON WHO KNEW MY NAME BEFORE WE MET
Luca couldn’t move.
The little boy standing in front of him was looking at him with innocent curiosity.
Not fear.
Not rejection.
Just curiosity.
Like he had been waiting for this moment.
“Mommy…”
Leo held tighter to Jessi’s hand.
“Is he really the man from my dream?”
Jessi swallowed hard.
“Leo, go inside for a moment.”
“But Mommy…”
“Please.”
Something in her voice made the little boy obey.
He slowly walked toward the living room, still looking back at Luca.
Only when the door closed did Jessi finally speak.
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
Luca stared at her.
After three years of searching for answers, after all the pain, all the anger…
Those were the first words she gave him.
Not hello.
Not I missed you.
Not I’m sorry.
“You knew I existed.”
Jessi’s expression changed.
“What?”
“You knew I would find out eventually.”
She looked away.
“No.”
“Then why did Leo say he dreamed about me?”
A long silence filled the apartment.
The same silence that had followed Luca for three years.
The silence of secrets.
Finally, Jessi whispered:
“Because I never stopped talking about you.”
Luca’s heart tightened.
“What?”
“When he was a baby, I showed him your pictures.”
She walked toward the window.
“I told him stories about his father.”
Luca felt his eyes burn.
“He knows who I am?”
“He knows your name.”
A painful smile appeared on her face.
“But he doesn’t know why you weren’t there.”
Those words hit harder than any accusation.
Because Luca had no answer.
He wasn’t there.
Not because he didn’t want to be.
But because someone stole that chance from him.
“I wrote to you.”
Jessi turned around.
Luca froze.
“What?”
“Many times.”
“Why didn’t I get anything?”
Her eyes filled with sadness.
“Because your mother made sure you didn’t.”
The anger inside Luca returned.
“She told me you left.”
Jessi laughed quietly.
A broken laugh.
“She told me you never wanted to see me again.”
The two of them stared at each other.
And suddenly they understood.
Both of them had been victims of the same lie.
* * *
Three years earlier.
Jessi remembered that night clearly.
She had stood outside the Vance estate.
Seven months pregnant.
Cold.
Terrified.
And alone.
Wendy Vance had appeared at the door.
“You need to understand something, Jessi.”
Her voice had been calm.
Almost kind.
“You are not part of this family.”
Jessi had placed a hand over her stomach.
“This is Luca’s child.”
“Yes.”
Wendy looked at her.
“And that is exactly why I am here.”
She had offered Jessi an envelope.
Money.
A lot of money.
“Leave Greenwich.”
Jessi had stared at her.
“You can’t buy me.”
“No.”
Wendy had replied.
“But I can protect my son.”
The words hurt.
Because Jessi knew what Wendy meant.
She had power.
Connections.
Influence.
And Jessi had nothing.
“I will tell Luca.”
Wendy’s expression changed.
“Will you?”
That question had confused her.
Until Wendy showed her something.
A photograph.
Luca.
With Stephanie.
Standing together at a business event.
Jessi remembered her hands shaking.
“What is this?”
“Your boyfriend has already made his choice.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Is it?”
Wendy had placed another document in front of her.
A family agreement.
A future arrangement.
Everything designed to make Luca marry Stephanie.
Jessi had refused to believe it.
Until Wendy said the one thing that broke her.
“Luca’s father is sick. The company is collapsing. If you love him, you won’t destroy his future.”
That night, Jessi left.
Not because she stopped loving Luca.
Because she loved him enough to believe she was protecting him.
* * *
Back in the apartment, Luca looked at Jessi.
“I hate that I believed them.”
Jessi looked down.
“I hate that I believed them too.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then a small voice came from behind them.
“Daddy?”
Both adults froze.
Leo stood in the doorway.
His tiny hand held the toy airplane.
Luca looked at him.
The word echoed in his mind.
Daddy.
The first time anyone had called him that.
But there was something strange.
Leo didn’t say it like a question.
He said it like a fact.
“Leo…”
The little boy smiled.
“I knew you were real.”
Luca’s throat tightened.
“Why?”
Leo shrugged.
“Because Mommy keeps your picture next to my bed.”
Jessi immediately looked embarrassed.
“Leo…”
“And she says you have kind eyes.”
Luca looked at Jessi.
She quickly looked away.
The years disappeared for one second.
Because beneath everything…
The love had never completely died.
* * *
That evening, Luca stayed for dinner.
It was the first time he sat across from his son.
He watched Leo eat.
The way he held his fork.
The way he frowned when concentrating.
The way he laughed.
Every small movement felt like something stolen being returned.
“Do you like airplanes?”
Luca asked.
Leo nodded.
“Daddy, do you fly?”
The question caught him off guard.
“I used to travel a lot.”
“Did you look for me?”
Luca stopped.
Children asked the questions adults were afraid to answer.
“Yes.”
His voice cracked.
“I looked for you.”
Leo smiled.
“I knew you would.”
Jessi looked at Luca.
And for the first time…
She saw pain in his eyes.
Not guilt.
Not excuses.
Pain.
* * *
Later that night, after Leo fell asleep, Luca and Jessi stood in the kitchen.
“I’m getting a DNA test.”
Jessi nodded.
“I expected that.”
“It’s not because I don’t believe you.”
“I know.”
“It’s because I need proof.”
She looked at him.
“Proof for who?”
Luca hesitated.
Then answered:
“For the people who are going to try to take him away.”
Jessi’s face changed.
“What do you mean?”
Before Luca could answer, his phone rang.
The name on the screen made his blood run cold.
STEPHANIE REED.
He answered.
“Luca.”
Her voice sounded different.
Not loving.
Not worried.
Cold.
“I know where you are.”
Luca’s expression hardened.
“How?”
A pause.
Then Stephanie whispered:
“Because your mother isn’t the only person who has been watching Jessi.”
Luca stood still.
“What did you say?”
Stephanie continued:
“You need to come home.”
“Why?”
Her next words changed everything.
“Because if Leo’s DNA test confirms what you think…”
A pause.
“The Vance family will lose everything.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed.
“What are you talking about?”
Stephanie lowered her voice.
“Your son isn’t the only secret Jessi brought back.”
The call ended.
And Luca realized…
The truth about Leo was only the beginning.
Because somewhere in the past three years…
Jessi had discovered something even more dangerous.
Something that could destroy both the Vance and Reed families forever.
