Chapter 15 - Rafe's Son
Rafe did not move.
Nico paused the video.
Everyone looked at him.
Rafe finally spoke.
“Play it.”
Nico studied his face.
“You know what she's going to say.”
“I know what I lied about.”
Nico resumed.
Elena appeared.
“Rafe told me he began helping because he discovered Marcella's accounts.”
“That isn't true.”
“He began helping because Corrado contacted him first.”
Nico turned toward Rafe.
Rafe nodded.
The video continued.
“Corrado had leverage.”
“A boy named Matteo.”
Rafe closed his eyes.
Nico frowned.
“Who is Matteo?”
Rafe answered quietly.
“My son.”
Nico stared.
“You don't have children.”
“I do.”
“How old?”
“Sixteen.”
“Where?”
“With his mother in Bologna.”
Nico couldn't believe another secret.
“Why hide him?”
Rafe's voice broke.
“Because his mother was married when he was born.”
“Her husband raised him.”
“Matteo doesn't know I'm his father.”
The video continued.
“Corrado discovered the DNA records.”
“He threatened to expose everything unless Rafe gave him information about me.”
Nico looked at Rafe.
“You informed on Elena.”
Rafe nodded.
“At first.”
Marcella whispered.
“Oh, Rafe.”
He ignored her.
“I gave Corrado meeting locations.”
“Phone numbers.”
“Nothing I thought could hurt her.”
Nico laughed without humor.
“Apparently everyone provided Corrado harmless information.”
Rafe accepted the accusation.
“Then Elena caught me.”
On screen, Elena said the same thing.
“I confronted Rafe yesterday.”
“He admitted everything.”
“I wanted to hate him.”
“But fear makes people stupid before it makes them cruel.”
Rafe lowered his eyes.
Elena continued.
“He agreed to help me set a trap.”
Nico frowned.
“What trap?”
Rafe finally looked at him.
“The red ledger never existed.”
Everyone stared.
Marcella whispered.
“What?”
Rafe nodded.
“Elena invented it.”
“The pages at the mill?”
“Manufactured from real transactions.”
“The council thought one complete ledger connected everything.”
“So they focused on finding it.”
Nico understood.
“While Elena collected evidence elsewhere.”
“Yes.”
Vivia smiled faintly.
“Mommy tricked them.”
Rafe looked at her.
“She did.”
Nico returned to the recording.
Elena continued.
“If Rafe survives this, forgive him only if he tells Nico about Matteo himself.”
Rafe laughed bitterly.
“Too late.”
Elena's face softened.
“Rafe is not innocent.”
“But neither am I.”
“We all lied because we thought we were protecting someone.”
“The difference is what we do after the lie becomes dangerous.”
The video ended.
Nico looked at Rafe.
“You should have told me.”
“Yes.”
“You should have told Elena earlier.”
“Yes.”
“You should have told Matteo.”
Rafe looked wounded.
“That isn't your decision.”
“No.”
“But maybe it's his.”
Rafe said nothing.
Nico extended his hand.
Rafe stared at it.
“This isn't forgiveness.”
“I know.”
“It means we're not finished.”
Rafe clasped his hand.
“Fair.”
A knock came at the door.
An investigator entered.
“We found Sofia.”
Nico stood.
“Where?”
“Rail station outside Bologna.”
“Alone?”
“No.”
“Corrado was with her.”
Nico frowned.
“Corrado escaped national custody too?”
The investigator looked embarrassed.
“He never reached the detention facility.”
Rafe cursed.
“How?”
“The transport vehicle was diverted using authenticated orders.”
“Signed by whom?”
The investigator hesitated.
“Adrian Voss.”
Nico slowly looked toward Adrian.
Adrian stood at the far end of the room.
His face showed genuine shock.
“I signed nothing.”
The investigator handed him a tablet.
Digital signature.
Biometric approval.
Adrian's credentials.
Camilla stared at her father.
“Dad?”
“I didn't do this.”
Nico approached.
“Who has access to your credentials?”
“No one.”
“Think.”
Adrian shook his head.
Then stopped.
“My medical proxy.”
“Who?”
Adrian looked at Isabella.
Everyone followed his gaze.
Isabella frowned.
“Why are you looking at me?”
Adrian whispered.
“Because you are still listed as my emergency proxy.”
Nico stared.
Isabella laughed in disbelief.
“That authorization is thirty years old.”
“Apparently still valid.”
Isabella stepped backward.
“I didn't sign anything.”
Rafe examined the digital record.
“Signature originated from San Luca.”
Nico looked at his mother.
Isabella's face went white.
“The housekeeper.”
“What?”
“The woman who opened the door when you arrived.”
Nico remembered her.
Quiet.
Gray-haired.
Forgettable.
Isabella grabbed the table.
“Her name is Teresa Miro.”
Adrian suddenly looked terrified.
“No.”
Nico frowned.
“You know her?”
Adrian whispered.
“That isn't her real name.”
“Then who is she?”
Adrian looked at Isabella.
“Tell him.”
Isabella seemed unable to speak.
Nico stepped toward her.
“Who?”
His mother finally whispered.
“Teresa is Sofia's daughter.”
Marcella gasped.
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
“She is Sofia's daughter and Salvatore's.”
Silence.
Nico felt the floor disappear beneath him again.
Salvatore had a daughter.
A secret daughter.
One who had lived inside Isabella's house.
Adrian continued.
“If Salvatore's biological child proves Vivia's trust invalid—”
Rafe finished.
“She becomes the legitimate Bellandi heir.”
Nico turned toward the door.
“Where is Teresa?”
An alarm suddenly sounded.
The building's fire doors began closing.
Rafe checked security.
His face changed.
“Vivia.”
Nico spun around.
His daughter was no longer beside Luca.
The chair was empty.
The old wedding dress lay on the floor.
On top of it was a handwritten message.
May you like
THANK YOU FOR FINDING THE SECOND PEARL.
NOW I ONLY NEED THE THIRD.
