Chapter 13 — The Betrayal at DeLuca House
Chapter 13 — The Betrayal at DeLuca House
Lorenzo pointed the gun at Isabella.
Nobody moved.
Not Gabriel.
Not Elena.
Not even the children.
For three seconds, the only sound inside the ruined Bellini estate was Hope crying in the distance.
Isabella stared at the weapon.
Then at Lorenzo.
Her face held no surprise.
Only exhaustion.
“So,” she whispered.
“You finally found my name.”
Lorenzo's finger tightened against the trigger.
“What does it mean?”
Isabella looked at Gabriel.
“You told him.”
Gabriel swallowed.
“I had to.”
“No.”
Isabella's voice was almost gentle.
“You wanted to.”
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
“Enough.”
He stepped closer.
“Why is your name on the authorization?”
Isabella didn't answer.
“Why?”
“Because I signed it.”
The words struck harder than any bullet.
Lorenzo stared at her.
“You authorized the crash.”
“Yes.”
“You tried to kill me.”
“No.”
“You ordered the attack.”
“No.”
“You signed the document.”
“Yes.”
Lorenzo's voice broke.
“Then explain the difference.”
Isabella looked at him.
“I signed it because your father told me it was the only way to save you.”
Silence.
Gabriel lowered his gun.
Lorenzo didn't.
“What exactly did you sign?”
“A transportation order.”
“For what?”
“Anna.”
His expression changed.
“You were moving her.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“To the safe house.”
“Why?”
“Because your father had found her.”
Lorenzo shook his head.
“That doesn't explain the crash.”
“No.”
Isabella looked toward the shattered window.
“Because I didn't know what he had planned.”
Lorenzo lowered the weapon slightly.
“Start talking.”
Isabella took a breath.
“Three years ago, when Anna was born, your father discovered she existed.”
Lorenzo listened.
“He knew she was important because of the Voss bloodline.”
“He wanted her dead.”
“He wanted her controlled.”
“Same thing.”
“Not exactly.”
Isabella looked toward Elena.
“Your mother had already hidden Anna.”
“Where?”
“Under the old DeLuca estate.”
Lorenzo frowned.
“I never knew.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
“Then how did my father find her?”
“Someone told him.”
“Who?”
Isabella hesitated.
“Your father had a spy inside the household.”
“Who?”
“I never learned his name.”
Lorenzo looked at Gabriel.
Gabriel shook his head.
“I didn't know.”
“Then what happened?”
“Your father gave me an order.”
“What order?”
“To move Anna.”
“Where?”
“To the coast.”
Lorenzo's expression changed.
“The same road where the crash happened.”
“Yes.”
“So you delivered her to the place where they attacked us.”
“I thought I was taking her away from danger.”
“But you weren't.”
“No.”
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
“I was taking her into it.”
Lorenzo looked down at the authorization.
His name appeared beneath Isabella's.
Lorenzo Matteo DeLuca.
“What about my signature?”
“Forged.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“Who forged it?”
“Your father.”
Lorenzo looked at Gabriel.
“Can you verify it?”
Gabriel nodded.
“I can.”
“Do it.”
Gabriel took the document.
He studied the ink.
“The signature is wrong.”
Lorenzo looked at him.
“How?”
“The real Lorenzo signs with a slight upward stroke at the end.”
He pointed.
“This one goes down.”
Lorenzo stared.
“That's enough for you?”
“No.”
Gabriel pulled out his phone.
“I have samples from your old contracts.”
He compared them.
“The signature is forged.”
Lorenzo looked at Isabella.
“So you didn't order the crash.”
“No.”
“You were used.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because after the crash, your father threatened Hope.”
Lorenzo's eyes hardened.
“He threatened our daughter?”
“He told me that if I ever revealed what happened, she would disappear.”
Lorenzo's breathing slowed.
“And you believed him.”
“I watched him make people disappear.”
She looked at him.
“Wouldn't you have believed him?”
Lorenzo couldn't answer.
Then Gabriel spoke.
“There is another problem.”
Lorenzo turned.
“What?”
“The authorization isn't the real document.”
Isabella frowned.
“What?”
Gabriel turned it over.
“There are two layers.”
He held the paper beneath a lamp.
A faint image appeared.
A second signature.
Lorenzo stepped closer.
“Whose?”
Gabriel's face went pale.
“Victor's.”
Isabella froze.
“Victor Bellini?”
“Yes.”
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
“So Victor approved the operation too.”
Isabella shook her head.
“No.”
“What?”
“Victor wouldn't.”
“You said he was your protector.”
“He was.”
“Then why is his signature there?”
Isabella looked at the document.
“I don't know.”
Gabriel pointed at the bottom.
“There is a date.”
Lorenzo read it.
The date was three days after Victor's supposed death.
Lorenzo stared.
“Then Victor was alive.”
“Yes,” Isabella whispered.
“During the crash.”
“Yes.”
“Where was he?”
She didn't answer.
Lorenzo looked at her.
“Isabella.”
She closed her eyes.
“At the DeLuca house.”
The room became silent.
Lorenzo lowered his gun.
“Why?”
“Because he came to negotiate.”
“With your father?”
“Yes.”
“About Anna?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“They fought.”
“Who won?”
Isabella looked at him.
“No one.”
Then she added:
“Victor left the house alive.”
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
“But everyone believed he died.”
“Yes.”
“Who spread the story?”
“Your father.”
“Why?”
“To make everyone believe the Bellini family had no leadership.”
Lorenzo understood.
“And then he took control.”
“Yes.”
“That's how he started the war.”
“Yes.”
“And Victor disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew who was really behind everything.”
“Who?”
Isabella looked directly at him.
“Your father.”
Lorenzo's phone vibrated.
A message.
Unknown number.
A photograph of Anna.
She was sitting in the same dark room.
But now there was someone beside her.
A man.
His face was partially visible.
Lorenzo zoomed in.
His blood froze.
Victor.
Alive.
He looked at Isabella.
“You knew.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Don't lie to me.”
“I didn't know he had Anna.”
“Then why is he with her?”
“I don't know.”
Another message arrived.
MIDNIGHT IS COMING.
Then:
BRING ISABELLA TO THE DE LUCA HOUSE.
Lorenzo looked at the clock.
11:11.
Forty-nine minutes.
Gabriel read the message.
“This is a trap.”
“Yes,” Lorenzo said.
“But we have no choice.”
Isabella stepped forward.
“I'll go.”
“No.”
“They want me.”
“Exactly.”
“Then use me.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
“I won't sacrifice you.”
“You don't understand.”
She took his hand.
“If I don't go, Anna dies.”
Lorenzo stared at her.
“You're willing to die?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I promised her.”
“Promised who?”
“Your daughter.”
They returned to the DeLuca house.
The gates were open.
No guards.
No cameras.
No security.
The mansion looked abandoned.
Lorenzo stepped out of the car.
“This is wrong.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Too quiet.”
Isabella opened the rear door.
“I'll go alone.”
Lorenzo grabbed her arm.
“No.”
She looked at him.
“If something happens—”
“It will.”
He stared into her eyes.
“I'm coming with you.”
Isabella smiled sadly.
“I knew you would.”
They entered the mansion.
The front hall was dark.
A single light burned above the staircase.
Then a voice spoke.
“Lorenzo.”
He stopped.
His father stepped from the shadows.
Alive.
Calm.
Smiling.
Lorenzo's hand went to his gun.
“You.”
His father laughed.
“You always were predictable.”
“You took Anna.”
“No.”
“Then where is she?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“You'll see.”
Isabella stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
His father looked at her.
“You.”
Lorenzo raised his weapon.
“Don't.”
His father smiled.
“Still protecting her.”
“You're not touching her.”
“Then your daughter dies.”
Lorenzo froze.
His father walked toward the dining room.
“Come.”
Inside, Anna was sitting at the table.
Alive.
Unharmed.
Victor stood behind her.
Lorenzo stopped.
“Victor.”
Victor looked at him.
“You've grown.”
Lorenzo stared.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
Victor looked toward Anna.
“Because your father would have killed her.”
Lorenzo's father laughed.
“Always the hero.”
Victor ignored him.
“Lorenzo, listen to me.”
“No.”
Lorenzo stepped forward.
“You've all lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You let me bury Isabella.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe Anna was dead.”
“Yes.”
“You manipulated my family.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Victor looked at Isabella.
“Because she asked me to.”
Lorenzo turned.
“What?”
Isabella's face crumpled.
“No.”
Victor continued.
“She came to me three years ago.”
Lorenzo stared at Isabella.
“She asked me to create the crash.”
“No,” Isabella whispered.
“She wanted to disappear.”
Lorenzo's voice became quiet.
“Is that true?”
Isabella closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
The room fell silent.
“I wanted to disappear,” she said.
“Why?”
“Because I knew your father would kill Hope.”
“But the crash…”
“I thought it would be fake.”
Lorenzo stared.
“You knew?”
“I knew there would be an explosion.”
“You knew?”
“I thought everyone would survive.”
“But someone died.”
“I didn't know.”
“Clara died.”
Isabella began crying.
“I know.”
“You knew there was a risk.”
“Yes.”
Lorenzo's face hardened.
“And you still did it.”
“I was trying to save Hope.”
“You gambled with my life.”
“Yes.”
“You gambled with your own.”
“Yes.”
“And Clara's.”
Isabella couldn't answer.
Lorenzo lowered his gun.
For the first time, he wasn't angry.
He was hurt.
“Why didn't you trust me?”
Isabella whispered:
“Because I loved you.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“It is when you know what your father had done to you.”
Lorenzo stared.
“What did he do?”
She looked at his father.
“He told me you had ordered my death.”
Lorenzo turned.
His father's expression remained calm.
“He forged your signature.”
“He showed me photographs.”
“Manipulated.”
“He showed me recordings.”
“Edited.”
“He convinced me you wanted me gone.”
Lorenzo looked at his father.
“You destroyed us.”
His father smiled.
“I saved the family.”
“No.”
Lorenzo raised his weapon.
“You destroyed the family.”
His father laughed.
“Go ahead.”
Lorenzo froze.
His father stepped closer.
“You won't shoot me.”
“Why?”
“Because you are still my son.”
Lorenzo's eyes hardened.
“No.”
He lowered the gun.
“I was.”
Suddenly, the lights came on.
Dozens of armed men surrounded the room.
Gabriel raised his weapon.
“Lorenzo!”
Too late.
His father smiled.
“Put the gun down.”
Lorenzo looked around.
Then at Anna.
Then at Isabella.
He slowly placed his weapon on the table.
His father nodded.
“Good.”
Then a voice came from the doorway.
“Not good enough.”
Everyone turned.
Maria DeLuca stood there.
Lorenzo's mother.
She was holding a gun.
But it wasn't pointed at Lorenzo.
It was pointed at her husband.
His father's smile vanished.
“Maria.”
She stepped forward.
“It's over.”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand everything.”
She looked at Lorenzo.
“I should have told you years ago.”
“Mom?”
She looked at Isabella.
“I'm sorry.”
Isabella began to cry.
Maria raised her gun.
“Your father ordered the crash.”
Lorenzo stared.
“He did.”
“He ordered the attack.”
“Yes.”
“He killed Clara.”
“Yes.”
“He erased records.”
“Yes.”
“He forged signatures.”
“Yes.”
“He manipulated you.”
“Yes.”
Maria's voice broke.
“And I helped him.”
Lorenzo froze.
“What?”
“I helped him.”
She looked at her husband.
“Because I was afraid.”
Her husband smiled.
“You see?”
He looked at Lorenzo.
“Everyone betrays everyone.”
Maria's hands trembled.
“But not anymore.”
She fired.
The bullet struck Lorenzo's father in the chest.
He stumbled backward.
The room erupted.
Gunfire.
Screaming.
People running.
Lorenzo grabbed Isabella.
“Down!”
Victor grabbed Anna.
Gabriel fired toward the guards.
Maria fired again.
Then the lights went out.
When they came back on, Lorenzo's father was gone.
Blood covered the floor.
But there was no body.
Lorenzo stared.
“He escaped.”
Gabriel nodded.
“We have to go.”
“No.”
Lorenzo looked toward the hallway.
“We find him.”
Isabella grabbed his arm.
“Lorenzo.”
“He destroyed our lives.”
“And he knows where Hope is.”
Lorenzo stopped.
Hope.
He turned.
The room was empty.
His heart stopped.
“Where is Hope?”
Everyone froze.
Elena shouted from the hallway.
“She was with me!”
Lorenzo ran.
The nursery door stood open.
The crib was empty.
The blanket was on the floor.
A small white card rested on the mattress.
Lorenzo picked it up.
One sentence was written on it.
ONE DAUGHTER FOR ONE EMPIRE.
Beneath it was a second line.
COME TO THE HARBOR ALONE.
Lorenzo's hands shook.
His father had Hope.
And this time, there was no negotiation.
No archive.
No family alliance.
No protection.
Only a father hunting the man who had stolen his child.
Isabella stood beside him.
“I'll come.”
Lorenzo shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“You stay with Anna.”
“I won't let you go alone.”
He looked at her.
“I have to.”
She stepped closer.
“You said you wouldn't sacrifice me.”
“I won't.”
“Then don't sacrifice yourself.”
Lorenzo looked toward the dark window.
At the harbor lights glowing in the distance.
Then he whispered:
“If I don't go, Hope dies.”
Isabella took his hand.
“Then we're going together.”
He looked at her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Lorenzo nodded.
Behind them, Anna quietly watched.
She reached into her pocket.
And pulled out a tiny piece of paper.
A note she had taken from Victor.
She unfolded it.
There were only three words.
TRUST NO ONE.
Anna looked toward the doorway.
Victor was gone.
And for the first time, the little girl understood something the adults hadn't.
The war wasn't over.
It had only changed hands.
Because while everyone was preparing to save Hope—
May you like
someone else was preparing to take Anna.
And that someone had been inside the DeLuca family all along.
