CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 9
The Betrayal Of Blood
Alessandro Moretti had always believed betrayal came from ambition.
Money.
Power.
Jealousy.
People betrayed because they wanted something.
A larger empire.
A bigger name.
A seat at the table.
But he had never considered another reason.
Fear.
Three days after Isabella's arrival, Villa Moretti became quieter.
Not peaceful.
Quiet.
The kind of quiet that existed before a storm.
Everyone was watching everyone else.
The guards watched the staff.
The staff watched the guards.
The families watched Alessandro.
And Alessandro watched the person he trusted most.
Luca noticed.
"You don't trust anyone anymore."
Alessandro stood in his office, looking through security reports.
"I trust you."
"One person."
A pause.
"Maybe two."
Luca looked toward the hallway.
"Emma?"
Alessandro didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Since Isabella arrived, the questions had multiplied.
Why had Daniel hidden Emma?
Who wanted her dead?
Why did Alessandro's father protect her?
And the most dangerous question:
Who betrayed them fifteen years ago?
The answer was hidden somewhere.
And everyone knew it.
That afternoon, Marco Bellini sat across from Alessandro.
The former security chief.
The man who had betrayed him.
The man who had also revealed the truth.
A complicated enemy.
A complicated ally.
"You still want to kill me."
Marco didn't deny it.
"I deserve that."
Alessandro leaned back.
"Why did you help Isabella?"
Marco looked down.
"Because she showed me Daniel's final moments."
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
Marco took a breath.
"She showed me a recording."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"Who recorded it?"
"I don't know."
Alessandro hated answers like that.
But Marco continued.
"Daniel wasn't killed immediately."
Silence.
"He was captured."
Clara, who had entered quietly, froze.
"What?"
Marco looked at her.
"I'm sorry."
"No."
Her voice shook.
"No, Daniel died that night."
Marco looked away.
"That is what they wanted you to believe."
The room became unbearable.
"What happened?"
Alessandro's voice was controlled.
Too controlled.
Marco answered:
"Daniel was trying to send Emma away."
"Someone found him."
"Who?"
Marco hesitated.
Then:
"A Moretti."
Clara covered her mouth.
Alessandro didn't move.
"Who?"
Marco looked at him.
"Your uncle."
The name landed heavily.
Antonio Moretti.
His father's younger brother.
A man who had disappeared after Lorenzo's death.
A man everyone thought had left the business.
"No."
Luca shook his head.
"Antonio hated Daniel."
"Why?"
Marco answered:
"Because Daniel knew something."
Alessandro turned.
"What?"
Marco looked at the family crest on the wall.
"The Moretti empire was not built the way Lorenzo told you."
A cold silence followed.
"Your father made a deal with the Romano family years ago."
"What kind of deal?"
"A protection agreement."
"The Thorn Circle."
Marco nodded.
"But Antonio saw it differently."
"He believed the Romano bloodline should belong to whoever had the power to control it."
Alessandro's expression darkened.
"And Emma."
"Was the last piece."
The truth was becoming clear.
Too clear.
Antonio Moretti had not wanted Emma dead.
He wanted control.
Control of the Romano legacy.
Control of the symbol.
Control of the old power.
"Where is he now?"
Nobody answered.
Then every phone in the room rang.
At the same time.
Everyone looked down.
The same message appeared.
One sentence.
ASK YOUR FATHER WHY HE CHOSE A ROMANO CHILD OVER HIS OWN BROTHER.
Alessandro stared.
Then another message arrived.
A photograph.
It showed Lorenzo Moretti.
Daniel Romano.
And Antonio.
Together.
Years ago.
But there was something else.
A baby.
A baby wrapped in a blue blanket.
Clara whispered:
"Emma."
Alessandro's hands tightened.
Because the photograph proved something.
His father knew.
His uncle knew.
Everyone knew.
Except him.
That night, Alessandro went to the old family vault.
He needed answers.
Not rumors.
Not accusations.
Proof.
Behind a hidden panel, he found another box.
Inside:
Letters.
Documents.
And one final photograph.
His father.
Holding baby Emma.
The world stopped.
On the back of the photograph:
The child who will end our war.
Alessandro sat there for a long time.
A man who had faced guns.
Enemies.
Betrayal.
But nothing prepared him for seeing his father hold the child he now protected.
A sound came behind him.
Footsteps.
He turned.
Antonio Moretti stood there.
Older.
But still carrying the same arrogance.
"Hello, Alessandro."
The son stared at the uncle who had destroyed his family.
"You're alive."
Antonio smiled.
"Disappointed?"
"You killed Daniel."
Antonio didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
"Why?"
Antonio walked closer.
"Because your father was weak."
"He chose love over power."
"He chose a child over the family."
Alessandro's voice became dangerous.
"And you?"
Antonio smiled.
"I chose the family."
"No."
Alessandro stepped forward.
"You chose yourself."
Antonio laughed.
"You sound like Lorenzo."
The mention of his father made Alessandro's anger rise.
"You don't get to say his name."
Antonio looked toward the photograph.
"Your father ruined everything because of that girl."
"She was never supposed to survive."
Alessandro froze.
"You tried to kill Emma?"
Antonio smiled.
"I tried to protect the future."
"No."
Alessandro's voice dropped.
"You tried to own it."
Antonio looked at him.
And for the first time...
He looked afraid.
Because Alessandro was no longer just angry.
He was certain.
"You became weak."
Antonio whispered.
"Because of a child."
Alessandro looked toward the photo of baby Emma.
Then toward the door.
Toward the home where she slept.
"No."
A pause.
"She reminded me I was human."
Antonio stepped back.
"You would destroy everything for her?"
Alessandro answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
The answer shocked him.
Because power could be controlled.
Fear could be manipulated.
But a man who had found something worth dying for...
Was impossible to control.
Suddenly, alarms exploded.
Luca's voice came through the radio.
"Alessandro!"
"What happened?"
A pause.
Then panic.
"Emma is gone."
The words erased everything.
The argument.
The anger.
The past.
Alessandro ran.
For the first time in his life...
He didn't run toward power.
He ran toward someone he loved.
When he reached Emma's room...
The bed was empty.
The window was open.
Mr. Bunny was gone.
And on the pillow...
A note.
Three words.
COME ALONE, FATHER.
Alessandro stared.
Because whoever took Emma knew exactly what would hurt him most.
They did not call him boss.
They did not call him Moretti.
They called him something much more dangerous.
May you like
Father.
End of Chapter 9
