CHAPTER 13 — THE ENEMY BESIDE THE THRONE
THE BILLIONAIRE’S HEIR THEY TRIED TO FAKE
CHAPTER 13 — THE ENEMY BESIDE THE THRONE
Power did not make people dangerous.
It revealed them.
For years, Alessandro Moretti had believed the greatest threats came from outside his walls.
Rival companies.
Political enemies.
Men who wanted his fortune.
People who smiled in public while secretly planning his downfall.
But he had been wrong.
The most dangerous enemy was not the person trying to enter the kingdom.
It was the person who had been standing beside the throne all along.
Lorenzo Moretti had spent thirty years earning Alessandro's trust.
He was not just his uncle.
He was his advisor.
His mentor.
The man who helped him take control of the Moretti empire after his father's death.
When Alessandro was twenty-four and suddenly became the head of a billion-dollar corporation, Lorenzo had been the one person he believed he could depend on.
"You don't survive by trusting everyone."
Lorenzo used to tell him.
"You survive by knowing who deserves your loyalty."
The irony was almost cruel.
Because the man who taught Alessandro those words was the man who betrayed him.
The news broke at 6:00 a.m.
By 6:15, every major business channel was reporting the same story.
"MORETTI HEIR SCANDAL: HOUSEKEEPER CLAIMS SECRET CHILD CONNECTION."
The photographs appeared everywhere.
Clara entering the mansion.
Emma beside Alessandro.
Old pictures of Clara working in the house.
The headline was designed carefully.
Not:
"Hidden Moretti Daughter Revealed."
Instead:
"Employee Attempts To Manipulate Billionaire Family."
The world did not need proof.
It only needed a villain.
And Lorenzo had already chosen one.
Alessandro watched the reports in silence.
Marco stood nearby, furious.
"They moved faster than expected."
Alessandro looked at the screen.
"They had everything prepared."
Marco nodded.
"Someone inside the company released confidential information."
"Find out who."
Marco hesitated.
"There is another problem."
Alessandro looked at him.
"The board is calling an emergency meeting."
Of course they were.
The Moretti board had never cared about truth.
They cared about stability.
And scandals were dangerous to money.
At noon, Alessandro entered the boardroom.
Twenty people waited.
Executives.
Investors.
Family representatives.
And sitting at the center...
Lorenzo.
The man who started the fire pretending to help put it out.
"Alessandro."
Lorenzo stood.
His expression was full of concern.
A perfect performance.
"I know this is difficult."
Alessandro looked at him.
"Do you?"
The room became uncomfortable.
Lorenzo ignored the tone.
"The company cannot survive another scandal."
A board member nodded.
"We need to protect shareholders."
Another added:
"We need clarity regarding the child and Ms. Bennett."
Alessandro placed a folder on the table.
The room became silent.
"What is that?"
Lorenzo asked.
"Evidence."
A pause.
"Something this family has spent years destroying."
Lorenzo's expression barely changed.
But Alessandro saw it.
The smallest reaction.
Fear.
"The woman you are trying to destroy is my sister."
The room erupted.
Whispers.
Questions.
Shock.
Lorenzo remained calm.
"Alessandro, you are emotional."
"No."
Alessandro looked directly at him.
"For the first time, I'm not."
He opened the folder.
DNA results.
Financial records.
Hidden documents.
Everything.
"The Moretti family erased Clara Bennett because they believed she threatened their image."
He looked around the room.
"They changed records."
"They buried evidence."
"They destroyed lives."
A silence fell.
Then Lorenzo spoke.
"Be careful."
Everyone looked at him.
Because the warning was not emotional.
It was calculated.
"You are accusing people who are no longer here to defend themselves."
Alessandro smiled slightly.
"Interesting."
"What?"
"You didn't deny it."
For the first time, Lorenzo lost control.
Only for a second.
But Alessandro saw it.
After the meeting, Lorenzo followed Alessandro into the hallway.
"You think you understand what you found."
Alessandro turned.
"I understand enough."
"No."
Lorenzo stepped closer.
"You understand the beginning."
A pause.
"Not the end."
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
Lorenzo looked toward the mansion.
"Your mother wasn't killed because she discovered my crimes."
Silence.
"She was killed because she discovered yours."
The words struck like a weapon.
Alessandro froze.
"My crimes?"
Lorenzo smiled sadly.
"Your father protected you from something."
"Something you did."
Alessandro stared.
"You are lying."
"Am I?"
Lorenzo walked away.
Leaving Alessandro with the one thing he hated most.
Doubt.
That evening, Alessandro found Clara in the old library.
She was holding one of Elena's journals.
"You knew."
Clara looked up.
"Knew what?"
"Lorenzo said my mother discovered something about me."
Clara went silent.
Too silent.
Alessandro's heart sank.
"Clara."
She closed the journal.
"There is something you need to know."
The sentence he feared.
"Tell me."
Clara looked at him with sadness.
"When you were eighteen..."
A pause.
"You weren't supposed to inherit the company."
Alessandro frowned.
"What?"
"Your father had chosen someone else."
"Who?"
Clara looked down.
"Your younger brother."
Silence.
Alessandro almost laughed.
"I don't have a brother."
Clara's eyes filled.
"You did."
The room became cold.
"What happened?"
Clara whispered:
"He died."
"How?"
She hesitated.
"That is the secret Lorenzo has been protecting."
Before Alessandro could ask more, the library door opened.
Marco stood there.
His face was pale.
"Sir."
Alessandro turned.
"What happened?"
Marco held a tablet.
"We found the person who leaked the DNA report."
"Who?"
Marco looked at Clara.
Then at Alessandro.
"The leak came from inside your private security system."
A pause.
"The access code belongs to someone who has protected you for years."
Alessandro's expression changed.
"Who?"
Marco answered quietly.
"Your father."
Impossible.
But the evidence was there.
A dead man's access.
A dead man's secrets.
A dead man's final move.
Alessandro looked at the family portrait again.
Because now he understood something terrifying.
His father had not left behind a legacy.
He had left behind a battlefield.
And every person around Alessandro was fighting over the same thing.
The throne.
But the greatest enemy was not the person who wanted to sit on it.
It was the person who had been sitting beside it all along.
Watching.
Waiting.
May you like
Preparing.
End of Chapter 13
