Chapter 10 — The Woman Who Came Back from the Dead
Chapter 10 — The Woman Who Came Back from the Dead
The phone went silent.
Alessandro kept it pressed against his ear for several seconds after the call had ended.
He was waiting for the voice to return.
It didn't.
Across the study, Luca stood motionless.
The photograph remained between them.
Two identical men.
One labeled Aurelio Moretti.
The other—
nothing.
Alessandro finally lowered the phone.
“Tell me everything.”
Luca didn't answer.
“Dad.”
“I don't know everything.”
“You know enough.”
Luca looked at the photograph again.
“I knew there were two brothers.”
“Names?”
“Aurelio and Gabriel.”
“Gabriel.”
“Yes.”
“Which one was my grandfather?”
Luca's face tightened.
“Aurelio.”
“And which one is alive?”
“I don't know.”
Alessandro stared at him.
“You just told me the man we've been calling Aurelio might actually be Gabriel.”
“I said I don't know.”
“You're hiding something.”
“I've been hiding things for thirty years.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“No.”
Luca looked exhausted.
“But it is the truth.”
A knock sounded at the door.
Everyone turned.
Marco entered.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
Alessandro sighed.
“Another one?”
“This one is different.”
Marco held up a tablet.
“We checked every security camera around the mansion.”
“And?”
“There was someone outside.”
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
Marco turned the screen toward him.
The image showed a woman standing beyond the gates.
She wore a long black coat.
Her face was partially hidden beneath a hood.
Alessandro stared.
Something about her posture was familiar.
Then the woman slowly lifted her face toward the camera.
Alessandro stopped breathing.
His mother's eyes looked back at him.
He dropped the tablet.
“No.”
Luca caught it before it hit the floor.
He looked at the image.
His entire body stiffened.
“Mariana.”
Alessandro shook his head.
“My mother is dead.”
Luca didn't answer.
“Dad?”
Luca stared at the screen.
“Apparently not.”
The woman disappeared before the security team reached the gate.
No vehicle.
No footprints.
No trace.
But she had left something behind.
A small envelope.
It had been placed beneath the iron gate.
Alessandro opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
His mother.
Standing beside Daniel Reyes.
Both were young.
Both were smiling.
On the back was a handwritten message.
You were never supposed to find me.
Alessandro read it twice.
Then again.
Luca took the photograph.
His hands trembled.
“She survived.”
“You knew she might be alive.”
“No.”
“You're lying.”
“I thought she was dead.”
“You said she was killed.”
“I said I believed she was.”
Alessandro's voice became cold.
“You believed?”
Luca looked at him.
“After Daniel disappeared, your mother vanished too.”
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel found her.”
Alessandro froze.
“Gabriel.”
Luca nodded.
“He wanted the ledger.”
“My mother had it?”
“No.”
“Then why did he need her?”
“Because she knew where it was.”
Alessandro looked down at the photograph.
“Where?”
Luca shook his head.
“She never told me.”
“Then why leave this now?”
“I don't know.”
A voice came from behind them.
“I do.”
Everyone turned.
Sophia stood in the doorway.
She looked frightened.
“Your mother contacted me two weeks ago.”
Alessandro stared at her.
“You knew?”
“I didn't know who she was at first.”
“What did she say?”
“She asked about Emma.”
“What exactly?”
Sophia swallowed.
“She asked whether the children were together.”
Alessandro's expression hardened.
“And you didn't tell me?”
“I was afraid.”
“You're always afraid.”
Sophia looked down.
“I've spent six years being afraid.”
“Of whom?”
“Your mother.”
The room went silent.
Luca stared at Sophia.
“Mariana is alive?”
“Yes.”
“And you knew?”
Sophia nodded.
“Not everything.”
Luca stepped toward her.
“What did she want?”
Sophia looked at Alessandro.
“She wanted to come home.”
They found Mariana at midnight.
Not at the mansion.
Not at a hotel.
Not in one of the safe houses Alessandro controlled.
She was standing outside St. Catherine Medical Center.
The same hospital where Sophia had been admitted years earlier.
The same hospital where Emma and Eliza had been born.
Alessandro saw her from across the street.
For a moment, the world stopped.
His mother looked older than he remembered.
Her hair was silver at the temples.
Her face was thinner.
But it was her.
The woman who had kissed his forehead every night.
The woman who had taught him how to tie his shoes.
The woman he had buried in a churchyard three years earlier.
She looked toward him.
Their eyes met.
Mariana began to cry.
Alessandro crossed the street.
He stopped several feet away.
Neither spoke.
Finally, she whispered:
“My boy.”
His jaw tightened.
“Don't call me that.”
Her face broke.
“I deserve that.”
“You're dead.”
“I know.”
“You let me bury you.”
“I know.”
“You let me stand at your grave.”
“I know.”
“You let me think my mother was gone.”
“I had no choice.”
Alessandro laughed bitterly.
“Everyone says that.”
Mariana looked at him.
“Because it's true.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“You all made choices.”
“I made mine to keep you alive.”
“You weren't there.”
“I was.”
“Where?”
“Every year.”
His expression changed.
“What?”
“I watched you.”
She pointed toward a nearby café.
“From there.”
“You watched me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel was watching too.”
Alessandro stared.
“You knew he was alive.”
“I knew someone was pretending to be Aurelio.”
“Who?”
“Gabriel.”
Luca stepped out from behind Alessandro.
Mariana saw him.
Her face went white.
“Luca.”
He stared at her.
“Mariana.”
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Mariana whispered:
“You survived.”
“So did you.”
She smiled sadly.
“I wasn't as lucky.”
They returned to the mansion together.
Mariana refused to enter through the front door.
She stopped at the gate.
“I don't belong here anymore.”
Alessandro looked at her.
“This is your home.”
“No.”
She looked toward the house.
“It hasn't been my home for a long time.”
They entered through the kitchen.
Rosa was waiting.
The moment she saw Mariana, she dropped a tray.
The sound shattered the silence.
“Madam?”
Mariana smiled.
“Hello, Rosa.”
Rosa began crying.
“I thought you were dead.”
“So did everyone.”
“Why didn't you come back?”
Mariana looked at Alessandro.
“Because I was afraid my return would bring the danger back to my children.”
Rosa shook her head.
“You should have trusted us.”
“I trusted everyone once.”
Her expression darkened.
“I won't make that mistake again.”
In the study, Mariana finally told them the truth.
Gabriel and Aurelio had been twins.
Identical.
But their personalities couldn't have been more different.
Aurelio wanted power.
Gabriel wanted freedom.
Their father had chosen Aurelio as heir.
Gabriel had disappeared.
Years later, Gabriel returned.
But Aurelio had already built the Moretti empire.
Gabriel wanted his share.
Aurelio refused.
The brothers became enemies.
Then came Daniel.
Daniel was not Aurelio's son.
He was Gabriel's.
Mariana was Daniel's sister.
And Luca—
was Aurelio's son.
Alessandro stared at her.
“So my mother wasn't a Moretti.”
Mariana shook her head.
“Not by blood.”
“And you married my father.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your father loved me.”
“And did you love him?”
Mariana looked toward Luca.
“I did.”
Luca lowered his eyes.
“Then why did you help Daniel?”
“Because Daniel was my brother.”
“What did he have?”
“The ledger.”
Mariana reached into her coat.
She pulled out a small key.
Alessandro stared.
“The key.”
“Yes.”
“The one under the floor.”
“No.”
She placed it on the desk.
“This opens something much older.”
Luca stepped closer.
“Where did you get it?”
“Your father gave it to me.”
“My father?”
“Aurelio.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“Why would he give you a key?”
“Because he knew he was dying.”
Alessandro stared.
“You mean the real Aurelio.”
“Yes.”
“Then Gabriel killed him?”
Mariana shook her head.
“No.”
“Who did?”
“Daniel.”
Silence.
Mariana continued.
“Daniel killed Aurelio to stop him from killing you.”
Alessandro's eyes widened.
“Me?”
“You were eight years old.”
He remembered.
The night his father had disappeared.
The night his mother had screamed.
The night everyone told him his grandfather had died.
But he had always remembered one detail.
A man standing outside his bedroom.
A shadow.
A voice.
Don't be afraid.
He had assumed it was his father.
Now he wasn't sure.
Mariana continued.
“Daniel killed Aurelio.”
“Then Gabriel?”
“Gabriel took Aurelio's identity.”
“Why?”
“To keep control.”
Luca suddenly understood.
“That wasn't Gabriel.”
Mariana looked at him.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Mariana's eyes filled with tears.
“Aurelio had another child.”
Alessandro stared.
“Another?”
“A son.”
Luca whispered:
“Impossible.”
“He was raised outside the family.”
“Name?”
Mariana looked at Alessandro.
“Victor.”
Silence.
Alessandro's blood turned cold.
“Victor Hale.”
Mariana nodded.
“Your father's half-brother.”
Luca stepped backward.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Victor isn't Aurelio's son.”
“He is.”
“Then why did he hate the family?”
“Because Aurelio abandoned him.”
Alessandro suddenly understood the pattern.
Victor hadn't wanted to destroy the Moretti family because he was an outsider.
He wanted what he believed was his birthright.
The empire.
The ledger.
The children.
Everything.
Mariana reached into her coat again.
This time she removed an old photograph.
It showed Aurelio.
Mariana.
And a little boy.
Victor.
Written beneath it were three words.
MY FIRSTBORN SON.
Alessandro stared.
Then he noticed something else.
A second name was written beneath Victor's.
MATEO.
“Who's Mateo?”
Mariana froze.
Luca turned toward her.
“Mother?”
Mariana closed her eyes.
“He was Victor's twin.”
Alessandro stared.
“Another twin?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
Mariana's voice dropped.
“He disappeared.”
“When?”
“The night you were born.”
Luca's face changed.
“No.”
Mariana nodded.
“Your father believed Mateo was dead.”
“And you?”
“I knew he wasn't.”
Alessandro felt a chill.
“Where is he?”
Mariana looked at him.
“He's the man who called you.”
Silence filled the room.
The distorted voice.
The warning.
The photograph.
The man who knew about the archive.
Alessandro whispered:
“Mateo.”
Mariana nodded.
“He has been watching all of you for thirty years.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“Why?”
“Because he believes your family stole his life.”
Alessandro looked toward the window.
“Then why help us?”
Mariana shook her head.
“He isn't helping you.”
“What does he want?”
She looked at him.
“The same thing everyone else wants.”
“The ledger?”
“No.”
Mariana's eyes moved toward the hallway where the children were sleeping.
“The children.”
A scream suddenly came from upstairs.
Everyone jumped.
Alessandro ran.
The nursery door was open.
Emma was standing in the middle of the room.
Eliza was beside her.
Nicholas was crying.
And the window was shattered.
A man had entered.
He was gone.
But something had been left behind.
A photograph.
Alessandro picked it up.
It showed him as a child.
Standing beside his mother.
Beside his father.
And behind them stood a young man.
The face was identical to Victor.
But the name on the back was different.
MATEO MORETTI.
Alessandro turned the photograph over.
A message had been written beneath the name.
You have one night to decide which child lives in this family.
Emma began crying.
Eliza grabbed her hand.
Nicholas looked toward Alessandro.
“Why does he hate us?”
Alessandro didn't answer.
Because another message appeared on the back.
This one written in fresh ink.
Tomorrow, I take back what Aurelio stole from me.
Mariana looked at the photograph.
Her face became terrified.
“No.”
Alessandro turned.
“What?”
She whispered:
“He's coming for the ledger.”
Luca shook his head.
“No.”
Mariana looked at the three children.
“Not the ledger.”
She pointed at them.
“He wants an heir.”
A loud crash echoed from downstairs.
Then the mansion lights went out.
A man's voice came through the intercom.
Calm.
Almost gentle.
“Good evening, family.”
Alessandro grabbed Emma.
Mariana stepped in front of Eliza.
Luca pulled Nicholas close.
The voice continued.
“You've spent thirty years pretending the Moretti bloodline belongs to you.”
A pause.
“It doesn't.”
The front doors exploded inward.
Guards shouted.
Gunfire erupted.
And in the darkness outside the nursery, a man's silhouette appeared.
He looked exactly like Victor Hale.
But when he stepped into the emergency light, Alessandro saw the difference.
An old scar beneath his left eye.
The same scar visible in the photograph.
Mateo smiled.
“Hello, little brother.”
Alessandro stared.
“You're not my brother.”
Mateo's smile disappeared.
“Oh?”
He lifted a photograph.
“Then ask your mother why she buried my name.”
Mariana stepped forward.
“Mateo.”
His eyes moved to her.
For the first time, his expression softened.
“Mother.”
Everyone froze.
Mariana whispered:
“I thought you were dead.”
Mateo smiled bitterly.
“You all did.”
Then he looked at Alessandro.
“And that's exactly how I survived.”
He raised his gun.
“Now give me the children.”
Alessandro stepped in front of them.
“No.”
Mateo's eyes hardened.
“Then tonight, we find out which of us really belongs to this family.”
And behind him, another figure stepped through the shattered doorway.
Victor.
Alive.
Smiling.
Alessandro looked from one man to the other.
Two brothers.
One empire.
Three children.
And a secret that had survived three generations.
But what Alessandro didn't know was that Mateo had not come alone.
Someone else was standing behind him.
A woman.
Older.
Pale.
Her face hidden beneath a black veil.
Mariana saw her.
And screamed.
“No…”
Alessandro turned.
“Who is that?”
Mariana could barely speak.
“She is the one person I prayed would never come back.”
The veiled woman slowly lifted her face.
And Alessandro recognized her immediately.
It was the woman whose photograph had been placed inside the first archive.
The woman everyone believed had died before Alessandro was born.
His grandmother.
The true matriarch of the Moretti family.
She smiled.
May you like
And said:
“It's time to tell you what really happened the night you were born.”
