Chapter 4 - SOMEONE WANTED THE TRUTH BURIED
Gabriel Price's death was ruled a heart attack within hours.
I didn't believe in coincidences anymore.
Neither did Luca.
“Don't go home.”
Those were the first words he said when he called.
I stood outside Ava and Noah's school.
“What?”
“I need you to take the children somewhere else tonight.”
My pulse accelerated.
“You don't give me orders.”
“This isn't an order.”
“It sounds exactly like one.”
“Nia, Gabriel died six hours after I questioned him about forged documents.”
I lowered my voice.
“Police say it was natural.”
“I know what police say.”
“Do you know something they don't?”
Silence.
“Luca.”
“I don't know.”
Not knowing frightened him.
That frightened me.
“What are you suggesting?”
“Go to your mother's.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if there is somehow an actual threat, you're suggesting I lead it directly to my mother.”
He exhaled sharply.
“Fine.”
“Don't say fine like I'm one of your executives.”
“I'm trying very hard not to lose my mind right now.”
“So am I.”
That stopped us both.
After a moment, Luca said, “Come to my house.”
I almost laughed.
“No.”
“My security is better.”
“Your mother had access to your security.”
“Not anymore.”
“And your wife lives there.”
Silence.
“Evelyn moved out this morning.”
I hadn't expected that.
“Because of the twins?”
“Because she hid your letter.”
I leaned against my car.
“Where did she go?”
“Her father's house.”
“How is she?”
A bitter laugh.
“You're asking me how my wife is?”
“I'm not a monster, Luca.”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“You never were.”
I looked away.
That was the first time he'd acknowledged it.
“I'll stay somewhere else,” I said.
“I can arrange—”
“No.”
“Nia.”
“I survived six years without Moretti security.”
“You shouldn't have had to.”
Again, no defense.
No excuse.
That was beginning to unsettle me more than anger would have.
“Give me the name of someone you trust,” he said.
I almost replied that trust was the problem.
Then I thought of Raymond.
“I have someone.”
“Who?”
“I'll tell you later.”
“No, tell me—”
I hung up.
Small victories mattered.
That evening, Raymond helped us check into a quiet hotel under my mother's last name.
Mom came with us.
She complained about the pillows but understood why we were there.
The twins thought it was an adventure.
At seven-thirty, Luca appeared downstairs.
I hadn't told him where we were.
That made me furious.
“How did you find me?”
“Your car.”
I stared.
“You tracked my car?”
“I asked my security team to locate it.”
“That is insane.”
“I was worried.”
“That doesn't give you permission.”
His face tightened.
“You're right.”
I blinked.
I had expected a fight.
“I'll have the tracking removed.”
“Thank you.”
He looked toward the elevators.
“Can I see them?”
“No.”
Pain crossed his face.
Not anger.
Pain.
“Five minutes.”
“No.”
“Nia.”
“They found out yesterday that you are their biological father.”
“What did you tell them?”
“That the man from the restaurant is their dad.”
He swallowed.
“What did they say?”
“Ava asked why you didn't know us.”
His eyes closed.
“And Noah?”
“He asked whether you were a bad person.”
Luca looked as if he'd been punched.
“What did you say?”
“That I didn't know.”
He nodded slowly.
“Fair.”
“I'm not trying to punish you.”
“I know.”
“I am trying to protect them.”
“From me?”
“From disappointment.”
That one cut deeper.
Luca leaned against the wall.
“I deserve that.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because every time I think I've understood the damage, I discover more.”
I studied him.
He looked exhausted.
Human.
I didn't like it.
Anger was easier when the person you were angry with behaved like a villain.
“What did you find?” I asked.
Luca looked down the hallway.
“Can we sit?”
We found an empty lounge.
He pulled out his phone.
“I recovered old company email archives.”
“And?”
“The medical report my mother showed me didn't come from Dr. Keller.”
“Then where?”
“It was created on a Moretti Global computer.”
My stomach dropped.
“Whose?”
“Gabriel's administrative assistant.”
“Did she know?”
“She died four years ago.”
Another dead person.
“Cancer,” Luca added quickly. “Nothing suspicious.”
I breathed again.
“The document metadata shows Gabriel edited it.”
“So he forged my diagnosis.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“We found another email.”
He handed me the phone.
The message was from Isabella.
Six years old.
G — Luca cannot enter the Shaw negotiations while distracted by Nia's situation. Handle the Keller paperwork before he returns from London. He needs clarity.
I read it twice.
“Shaw negotiations.”
Luca nodded.
My eyes lifted.
“Evelyn's family.”
“Yes.”
Everything shifted.
“You married her because of business?”
“No.”
“Don't lie.”
“Not entirely.”
“That's not the same answer.”
He rubbed his jaw.
“Moretti Global was in a vulnerable position then. Shaw Capital controlled financing we needed for an acquisition. My mother wanted a permanent alliance.”
“A marriage.”
“She never said that explicitly.”
“She didn't have to.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Your mother destroyed our marriage for a corporate deal.”
“I don't know that yet.”
“You have the email.”
“I know she interfered. I don't yet know how far it went.”
I stood.
“I know how far.”
“Nia.”
“She forged medical information. Blocked my calls. Stole a pregnancy letter. Sent me a fake legal document saying you wanted nothing to do with your children.”
Luca stood too.
“Yes.”
“So stop protecting the language.”
His eyes met mine.
“I'm not protecting her.”
“Then say it.”
His jaw tightened.
“My mother destroyed our marriage.”
The words filled the room.
“And she stole six years from my children.”
His voice broke on the last word.
I looked away.
I wasn't ready to comfort him.
He didn't ask me to.
Instead he said, “There is more.”
I turned back.
“What?”
“Gabriel received payments.”
“From Isabella?”
“No.”
“Who?”
Luca stared at me.
“Shaw Capital.”
My skin went cold.
“Evelyn's father.”
“Yes.”
“Does Evelyn know?”
“I don't know.”
“You're married to her.”
“I apparently didn't know anyone.”
That sentence was almost unbearable.
At nine, I finally allowed Luca to see the twins.
Ten minutes.
My mother stayed in the room.
So did I.
Luca stood near the hotel window when they entered.
Ava walked in first.
Noah hid partially behind her.
For a man who had addressed thousands of employees, Luca suddenly seemed unable to speak.
Ava rescued him.
“Mom says you're our biological dad.”
Luca nodded.
“Yes.”
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“Why?”
His eyes flicked toward me.
I said nothing.
“Some adults made very bad decisions,” Luca said carefully. “And I made mistakes too.”
“Did you not want us?”
His face collapsed.
“No.”
Ava watched him.
Luca crouched so they were eye level.
“If I'd known you existed, nothing in this world could have kept me away.”
Noah looked skeptical.
“You're rich.”
Luca blinked.
“Yes.”
“How rich?”
“Noah,” I warned.
Luca almost smiled.
“More than I need to be.”
“Do you own a Lamborghini?”
“Two.”
Noah's suspicion vanished slightly.
Ava rolled her eyes.
“Boys.”
For ten minutes, they talked.
Favorite foods.
School.
Books.
Soccer.
Ava loved animals.
Noah loved anything with an engine.
Then Ava asked, “Do we have grandparents?”
My stomach tightened.
Luca's expression changed.
“Yes.”
“Can we meet them?”
“Not yet,” I said immediately.
Ava frowned.
“Why?”
Luca answered before I could.
“Because my mother did something very hurtful to your mom.”
Ava looked at me.
“What?”
“Adult problem.”
That phrase usually ended questions.
Usually.
Ava looked back at Luca.
“Are you mad at her?”
“Yes.”
“I'm mad at Noah sometimes.”
Noah protested.
“You took my waffle!”
“You took my marker!”
Luca laughed.
A real laugh.
The sound stabbed through me.
Because I'd imagined that exact sound years ago.
Luca laughing with our children.
Ten minutes ended too quickly.
When he stood to leave, Noah held out his drawing.
It was a car.
Technically, a rectangle with wheels.
“For you.”
Luca took it like someone had handed him a priceless artifact.
“Thank you.”
Then Noah added, “You can come back.”
Luca looked at me.
I nodded once.
“Yes.”
Later, after everyone slept, I sat alone with Raymond's flash drive.
I connected it to my laptop.
Security logs appeared.
Videos.
Time stamps.
Six years ago.
I found myself entering Moretti Tower.
Pregnant.
Terrified.
Then Isabella appeared.
Gabriel beside her.
They stopped me before the elevators.
There was no audio.
But I remembered the conversation.
“You need to leave him alone.”
“He has moved on.”
“Luca knows about the pregnancy.”
“He doesn't want involvement.”
I watched my younger self cry.
Then the elevator doors opened.
A third person stepped out.
I leaned closer.
My heart stopped.
It wasn't someone I expected.
Evelyn Shaw.
Six years younger.
Unmarried.
Standing beside Isabella.
I replayed it.
Once.
Twice.
Then watched Evelyn hand Isabella a folder.
The fake legal document.
Evelyn hadn't found out about my pregnancy three years later.
May you like
She had been there from the beginning.
And she had lied directly to my face.
