PART 5 — THE CHILD SHE HID FOR SIX MONTHS
Lorenzo didn't move.
He couldn't.
The words were still echoing inside his head.
Three babies.
Not two.
Three.
And one of them had been born six months ago.
His eyes remained fixed on Isabella.
"Say it again."
Isabella's lips trembled.
"Lorenzo..."
"Say it."
She closed her eyes.
"I was carrying three babies."
The room went silent.
"You knew?"
"Yes."
"You knew there were three?"
"Yes."
"And you gave birth to one six months ago?"
Isabella began crying.
"Yes."
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
"Where is that child?"
She didn't answer.
"Where is my child?"
"I don't know."
Lorenzo's eyes became terrifyingly cold.
"You don't know?"
"I was told the baby was safe."
"By whom?"
Isabella hesitated.
"Adrian."
Lorenzo took one slow step toward her.
"You trusted Adrian Bellini with my child?"
"I didn't have a choice!"
Her voice cracked.
"They found me before I could disappear!"
"Who?"
"Your family!"
Lorenzo stopped.
Isabella was shaking now.
"Your uncle knew I was pregnant. He knew about the third baby. He wanted that child."
"Why?"
"I didn't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not!"
"Then tell me the truth!"
Isabella stared at him through tears.
"Because the third baby wasn't supposed to survive."
Lorenzo's face went blank.
"What?"
Isabella lowered her voice.
"The doctors said the pregnancy was extremely dangerous."
She pressed a trembling hand against her stomach.
"They told me I might lose all three."
Lorenzo's eyes softened for only a second.
Then Isabella continued.
"But someone changed my medical records."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Isabella."
"I swear."
She wiped away her tears.
"When I was seven months pregnant, I received a message."
"What message?"
Isabella looked toward the door.
"It said..."
She swallowed.
'One child belongs to the De Lucas. One belongs to the Bellinis. And the third belongs to neither.'
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
"I didn't know."
"Then why did you run?"
"Because the next message contained a photograph."
Her hands began shaking.
"Of what?"
Isabella looked directly at him.
"Your father."
Lorenzo froze.
"My father is dead."
"I know."
"What was he doing?"
"He was holding a newborn."
Lorenzo's breathing stopped.
"When was the photograph taken?"
"The date on the back..."
Isabella's voice broke.
"...was six months before your father died."
Lorenzo stared at her.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Isabella shook her head.
"What's impossible is what he said in the recording."
Lorenzo stepped closer.
"What recording?"
Isabella's eyes filled with fear.
"Your father left a message."
"For me?"
"No."
She whispered:
"For the third child."
* * *
Lorenzo immediately ordered his men to prepare the family mausoleum.
No police.
No lawyers.
No outsiders.
Only his most trusted security team.
And Isabella.
The convoy left the estate at dawn.
Isabella sat beside Lorenzo in the armored SUV.
Neither spoke.
For the first time since he had found her...
They were alone.
Finally, Lorenzo spoke.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Isabella stared out the window.
"Because every time I tried..."
She paused.
"...someone died."
Lorenzo looked at her.
"My brother's driver was killed."
"Two weeks later, my doctor disappeared."
"Then my lawyer."
She closed her eyes.
"Then Elena."
Lorenzo frowned.
"Your sister?"
Isabella nodded.
"She was the one who discovered the pregnancy records had been altered."
Lorenzo's expression darkened.
"Elena is dead."
"That's what they wanted us to believe."
He turned toward her.
"You told me she was dead."
"Because I was protecting her."
"Where is she?"
Isabella looked at him.
"I don't know."
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
"Isabella."
"I haven't seen her in eleven years."
"Then how do you know she's alive?"
She didn't answer.
Lorenzo's voice became quieter.
"How?"
Isabella finally whispered:
"Because she sent me a message three days before I disappeared."
"What did it say?"
Isabella looked down at her hands.
'Don't trust Lorenzo.'
Lorenzo stared at her.
She looked at him.
"That's why I left."
* * *
The SUV suddenly stopped.
Lorenzo looked up.
"What happened?"
His security chief opened the door.
"Boss..."
"What?"
"We're here."
Lorenzo stepped out.
The De Luca family mausoleum stood beneath a gray morning sky.
Stone angels watched from both sides.
Lorenzo had visited his father's grave hundreds of times.
But he had never suspected that the truth about his entire family was buried underneath it.
He walked inside.
Isabella followed.
At the center stood his father's marble tomb.
Lorenzo stared at the inscription.
ANTONIO DE LUCA
A beloved father.
A respected leader.
A man Lorenzo had worshipped as a child.
Now...
He wondered whether he had ever known him at all.
"Where?"
Isabella pointed toward the tomb.
"Underneath."
Lorenzo's men began moving the marble slab.
Then—
A metallic sound echoed through the chamber.
Click.
Everyone froze.
Lorenzo's security chief raised his weapon.
"Step back!"
Another click.
Then another.
Lorenzo looked down.
A thin red light appeared across the floor.
Laser sensors.
"Everyone freeze."
The security team stopped.
Isabella's face went white.
"That's not supposed to be there."
Lorenzo turned toward her.
"What?"
"I never saw that."
His security chief carefully examined the mechanism.
"Boss..."
"What?"
"This isn't a security system."
"Then what is it?"
The man looked up.
"It's a trigger."
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
"For what?"
A sudden explosion shook the mausoleum.
BOOM!
The ceiling cracked.
Stone crashed to the floor.
Isabella screamed.
Lorenzo grabbed her and threw both of them behind a massive pillar.
"GET HER OUT!"
His men rushed toward Isabella.
Smoke filled the room.
Then—
A voice came through the darkness.
"Hello, Lorenzo."
Lorenzo froze.
He knew that voice.
Adrian.
Lorenzo raised his gun.
"Show yourself."
A figure slowly stepped from behind the smoke.
Adrian Bellini.
Black suit.
Calm expression.
A pistol in his hand.
But he wasn't alone.
Someone stood beside him.
Someone Lorenzo had believed dead for eleven years.
The woman stepped into the light.
Dark hair.
Green eyes.
A small scar above her eyebrow.
Isabella gasped.
"Elena..."
Lorenzo's gun lowered slightly.
Elena looked at her sister.
Then at Lorenzo.
"I'm sorry."
Isabella began crying.
"You were alive."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you come back?"
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"Because they had your daughter."
Lorenzo's blood froze.
"My daughter?"
Adrian smiled.
"Now we're getting somewhere."
Lorenzo pointed his gun directly at him.
"Where is my child?"
Adrian's smile disappeared.
"She's alive."
"Where?"
"Safe."
Lorenzo's finger tightened against the trigger.
"Give me one reason not to kill you."
Adrian looked at Isabella.
"Because if I die..."
He smiled.
"...you'll never find the third child."
The entire room went silent.
Lorenzo slowly turned toward Isabella.
She looked devastated.
Adrian continued.
"Your daughter is with someone you trust."
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
Adrian leaned closer.
"The man who has been protecting your empire for the last twenty years."
Lorenzo's face changed.
His security chief looked at him.
"Boss?"
Lorenzo slowly realized what Adrian meant.
There was only one man who fit that description.
The man who knew every safe house.
Every bank account.
Every secret passage.
Every security code.
The man who had been beside Lorenzo since his father's death.
His most loyal lieutenant.
Marco Bellini.
Lorenzo's eyes turned murderous.
"But Marco is your father."
Adrian smiled.
"Exactly."
Then Elena whispered something that made everyone freeze.
"Marco isn't Adrian's father."
Lorenzo turned.
Elena looked directly into his eyes.
"Adrian is your father's son."
Silence.
Lorenzo stared at her.
"No."
Elena nodded.
"Your father had another son."
Adrian slowly lowered his gun.
"And that's why the third child matters."
Lorenzo's mind raced.
His father.
Victor.
Adrian.
Isabella.
Three babies.
One missing daughter.
One hidden child.
And a family secret spanning generations.
Then Lorenzo heard a sound.
A baby's cry.
Very faint.
Coming from beneath the tomb.
Everyone turned.
Lorenzo's face went pale.
He rushed toward the marble grave.
"Open it!"
His men tore away the remaining stone.
Beneath it was a hidden chamber.
And inside...
A small crib.
Empty.
Beside it was a photograph.
Lorenzo picked it up.
His hands began to shake.
It showed Isabella holding a newborn.
But the photograph was dated six months ago.
And written across the bottom were six words:
SHE ISN'T THE CHILD YOU LOST.
Lorenzo slowly turned toward Isabella.
She was crying.
"Tell me the truth."
Isabella couldn't speak.
Lorenzo's voice broke.
"Isabella..."
She finally whispered:
"The baby you think is yours..."
She looked at Adrian.
"...isn't the baby Adrian took."
Lorenzo froze.
"Then where is my daughter?"
Isabella closed her eyes.
And answered:
"She's been living in your house for six months."
TO BE CONTINUED...
