CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 7
The Fatherâs Last Message
The old Moretti family office had not changed in fifteen years.
That was the first thing Alessandro noticed.
The same dark wooden shelves.
The same leather chair behind the desk.
The same portrait of his father hanging above the fireplace, watching over the room like a judge who had never forgiven anyone for disappointing him.
Alessandro had spent years avoiding this room.
Not because of memories.
Because of respect.
His father, Lorenzo Moretti, had built the foundation of everything Alessandro owned.
The man had taught him discipline.
Patience.
Power.
He had taught him that emotions were weaknesses enemies could exploit.
And now...
Alessandro was standing in that same room wondering if his father had been the greatest enemy he had ever known.
The accusation repeated itself in his mind.
Your father ordered Daniel Romano's death.
Vivian's words.
Cold.
Precise.
Designed to destroy.
But Alessandro knew something about lies.
A good lie always carried pieces of truth.
That was what made it dangerous.
Luca entered quietly.
He had known Alessandro long enough to understand when silence was needed.
"Still nothing from Vivian?"
"No."
"She disappeared after making the accusation."
Alessandro looked toward the window.
"Of course she did."
"She wanted you to question everything."
"Yes."
A pause.
"Unfortunately, it worked."
Luca studied him.
"You believe her?"
Alessandro didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
"I believe my father was capable of many things."
The words were difficult.
"But killing Daniel?"
He looked down.
"No."
Because Alessandro remembered Daniel.
Not the stories.
Not the rumors.
The person.
The man who had stood beside him when nobody else did.
The man who had taken a beating meant for him.
The man who had looked at him and said:
"One day, Alessandro, someone will need you the way you needed me."
Alessandro had never understood those words.
Until Emma.
A knock interrupted them.
One of the guards entered.
"Sir."
"What?"
"We found something."
They followed him to the basement.
A place Alessandro had not visited since his father's death.
The old security archive.
Thousands of files.
Thousands of secrets.
The guard pointed toward a locked drawer.
"We found this behind the wall."
Alessandro examined it.
Hidden.
Protected.
Not something someone forgot.
Something someone wanted preserved.
The drawer contained one item.
A small recording device.
Old.
Simple.
With a handwritten label.
Three words.
For Alessandro.
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone understood.
This was not an accident.
His father had left it for him.
Alessandro pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then...
A voice.
Older.
Familiar.
His father's voice.
"Alessandro."
The sound alone changed him.
For a moment, he was not the head of the Moretti family.
He was a son.
A boy listening to his father.
"If you are hearing this, something has happened that I spent years trying to prevent."
A pause.
"I failed."
Alessandro's expression tightened.
Lorenzo Moretti never admitted failure.
Not once.
"I know you will be angry."
"You should be."
"I made choices without explaining them."
"Because I believed protecting someone sometimes required becoming someone they hated."
Alessandro looked down.
The words felt too familiar.
Because they were exactly the excuse he had used with Clara.
With Emma.
The recording continued.
"Fifteen years ago, Daniel Romano came to me."
"He was afraid."
"He had discovered something about his family."
A click.
A breath.
Then:
"Emma was never supposed to be born into that world."
Alessandro closed his eyes.
"Daniel wanted to leave."
"He wanted Clara and his child to have a normal life."
"But the Romano family had rules."
"Blood rules."
"Legacy rules."
Lorenzo's voice became quieter.
"Daniel asked me for help."
Alessandro looked at Luca.
Neither spoke.
"I agreed."
"Not because of business."
"Not because of power."
"But because Daniel once saved my son's life."
A long silence followed.
Then the sentence that changed everything:
"I did not kill Daniel Romano."
Alessandro opened his eyes.
"I tried to save him."
"The night he disappeared, I arranged an escape."
"But someone inside my organization betrayed us."
The recording crackled.
"I never found who."
Alessandro felt his chest tighten.
Because for years...
He had believed Daniel's death was connected to his father.
But the truth was different.
"Alessandro..."
His father's voice became heavy.
"If you find Emma..."
"Protect her."
"Not because she is Romano."
"Not because of a debt."
"But because she is innocent."
A pause.
Then:
"There is something you must know."
Everyone leaned closer.
"The Thorn Circle was never a symbol of power."
"It was a symbol of protection."
Alessandro frowned.
"The first Romano family members created it to protect children caught between criminal families."
"They swore that no child would inherit the sins of their parents."
The recording continued.
"But over time, people corrupted the symbol."
"They turned protection into control."
Another pause.
"The woman called Isabella Romano believes Emma belongs to the old order."
"She believes blood matters more than choice."
Alessandro's face hardened.
"She is wrong."
The final part of the message was quieter.
Almost like Lorenzo was speaking to his son, not the future head of the Moretti family.
"Alessandro."
"If you are hearing this..."
"I am sorry."
A silence.
"I taught you to survive."
"But I forgot to teach you how to live."
The words hit harder than any accusation.
"The world will tell you that love makes you weak."
"That caring gives people power over you."
"But that is a lie."
A faint breath.
"The people you love are not your weakness."
"They are the reason you fight."
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then Alessandro turned away.
Luca noticed something.
Something nobody else had ever seen.
A tear.
One.
Quickly wiped away.
But real.
"He knew."
Luca looked at him.
"Who?"
"That I would become like him."
Alessandro stared at the empty recorder.
"He knew I would hide behind power."
Then another sound came.
Footsteps.
Small footsteps.
Emma appeared at the basement entrance.
Holding Mr. Bunny.
Everyone froze.
"Emma."
Clara rushed behind her.
"I'm sorry. She followed me."
But Emma wasn't looking at Clara.
She was looking at Alessandro.
"Are you sad because of Grandpa?"
The question shocked him.
"How do you know?"
She touched the rabbit.
"Mr. Bunny knows."
Alessandro looked at the toy.
"The rabbit knows?"
Emma nodded.
"Daddy said Mr. Bunny remembers important things."
She walked closer.
Then held out the rabbit.
"Maybe you should listen."
Alessandro almost smiled.
"A rabbit?"
Emma nodded seriously.
"He's very old."
A pause.
"And he keeps secrets."
For the first time in days...
Alessandro felt something close to peace.
A tiny moment.
A breath.
Then his phone rang.
Luca answered.
His expression changed.
"Alessandro."
"What?"
"We found Isabella."
Everyone became still.
"Where?"
Luca looked at Emma.
Then at the rabbit.
"She's not hiding."
A pause.
"She's coming here."
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
"When?"
Luca swallowed.
"Tonight."
The mansion fell silent.
Because everyone understood what that meant.
The woman who had been watching them.
The woman who knew Daniel's secrets.
The woman who wanted Emma.
Was coming directly to Villa Moretti.
But Alessandro was no longer the same man who had first discovered the truth.
Before, he protected Emma because of a promise.
Now...
He protected her because she was his family.
And when Isabella Romano walked through those doors...
She would discover something very dangerous.
The last heir of the Romano bloodline was not alone anymore.
May you like
She had Alessandro Moretti.
End of Chapter 7
