Chapter 5 - LUCA'S WIFE KNEW
I called Evelyn at 6:12 the next morning.
She answered on the fourth ring.
“Nia?”
“You lied to me.”
Silence.
“I don't know what—”
“I have the video.”
That ended the performance.
For almost ten seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she said, “Where are you?”
“Why?”
“Because I can explain.”
“Everyone keeps explaining after they get caught.”
“Nia.”
“You were there.”
Her breathing became uneven.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“Did you know I was pregnant?”
“Yes.”
The answer burned.
“Did Luca?”
“No.”
“You knew Isabella was lying to me.”
“I knew she didn't want Luca to know.”
“And you helped her.”
Silence.
“Evelyn.”
“Yes.”
I almost dropped the phone.
At least Isabella had hated me.
Evelyn barely knew me.
“Why?”
“Because I was in love with him.”
I laughed.
It sounded ugly.
“You weren't even dating.”
“No.”
“So you helped erase his children because you wanted a chance with him?”
“It wasn't like that.”
“Then make it sound better.”
“I was twenty-nine and stupid.”
“You were twenty-nine, not twelve.”
“I know.”
“You handed his mother the paper she used to convince me he rejected his unborn children.”
“I didn't know what was inside the folder.”
“But you knew why I was there.”
“Yes.”
“You knew I was pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Luca didn't.”
“Yes.”
Each answer made me colder.
“Then you had six years to tell him.”
“I know.”
“And you married him.”
Her voice cracked.
“Yes.”
“Do you love him?”
“Yes.”
That answer sounded real.
“Then how could you do that to him?”
Evelyn started crying.
“I've asked myself that every day.”
“No. People who ask themselves that every day eventually tell the truth.”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Three years ago, when I found your letter.”
“You hid it again.”
“I panicked.”
“You made the same choice twice.”
“Yes.”
There was no defense left.
I hung up.
Then I called Luca.
“Come alone.”
He arrived forty minutes later.
I didn't offer coffee.
I opened the video.
He watched.
I watched him.
When Evelyn appeared on screen, something in Luca's expression died.
“No.”
I said nothing.
He replayed it.
Then again.
“Call her.”
“Nia.”
“Call your wife.”
His hand tightened around his phone.
Instead of calling, he stood.
“Where are you going?”
“To see her.”
“No.”
He turned.
“You don't get to disappear with this and come back with whatever version they tell you.”
His face hardened.
“They?”
“Your mother. Evelyn. Shaw. Whoever else is involved.”
“You think I'll believe them?”
“I think six years ago you believed everyone except me.”
That stopped him.
He slowly sat back down.
“Call her.”
He did.
Evelyn answered immediately.
“Luca?”
“I've seen the video.”
Silence.
Then a broken breath.
“Where are you?”
“With Nia.”
Another silence.
“Does she know everything?”
Luca's face changed.
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn began crying.
“Luca—”
“What does that mean?”
“There's more.”
I felt sick.
Luca put the phone on speaker.
“Talk.”
Evelyn inhaled shakily.
“My father knew Isabella wanted you separated from Nia before the Shaw financing deal.”
Luca's eyes went cold.
“He encouraged it?”
“Yes.”
“Did you?”
“Not at first.”
“Not at first?”
“I liked you. Everyone knew I liked you.”
“You helped my mother forge evidence about my wife because you liked me?”
“No. I didn't know about the medical report.”
“What did you know?”
“That Isabella believed Nia was wrong for the family.”
Luca laughed once.
No humor.
“Continue.”
“My father said your marriage was affecting your judgment. He said Moretti Global needed stability before the acquisition.”
“And pregnant twins were unstable?”
“I didn't know about the twins. Only that she was pregnant.”
I leaned toward the phone.
“You looked me in the face while Isabella told me Luca didn't want the baby.”
Evelyn whispered, “I know.”
“You let me leave.”
“Yes.”
“You could've walked upstairs and told him.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you?”
Her crying grew louder.
“Because I wanted your life.”
There it was.
The ugliest truth rarely required many words.
Luca went completely still.
Evelyn continued.
“And I got it.”
Her voice cracked.
“The apartment. The charity galas. The photographs. The Moretti name. Him.”
She started sobbing.
“But I never got the one thing you had.”
“What?” I asked.
“His heart.”
Luca closed his eyes.
I looked away.
This wasn't victory.
Nothing about it felt good.
Evelyn whispered, “He was kind to me. Loyal. Generous. He tried. But there was always a room inside him I couldn't enter.”
“Stop,” Luca said.
“I knew whose room it was.”
“Evelyn.”
“That was why I kept the letter when I found it. Because I realized if you knew she had tried to tell you she was pregnant, you'd go looking for her.”
Luca stood.
“You're right.”
Silence.
“I would have.”
Evelyn made a broken sound.
“I know.”
“And you let me spend years believing my marriage failed because Nia deceived me.”
“I know.”
“You watched me sit in fertility clinics wondering what was wrong with my life.”
“I know.”
“You watched me talk about wanting children.”
“I know.”
“And you knew I already had two.”
“I didn't know they'd been born.”
“You knew there had been a pregnancy.”
“Yes.”
Luca disconnected.
Then he set the phone down.
For a long time, he said nothing.
I expected rage.
He looked empty.
“I'm sorry,” I said quietly.
He laughed bitterly.
“You're apologizing to me?”
“Pain is pain.”
He stared at me.
“That is exactly why I never stopped loving you.”
My breath caught.
Luca looked away immediately.
“I shouldn't have said that.”
“No.”
“I know.”
“We can't do this.”
“I know.”
“You're married.”
“I know.”
“And I'm still angry.”
“You should be.”
I folded my arms.
“You saying the right thing now doesn't erase what you did then.”
“No.”
“You still chose not to talk to me.”
“Yes.”
“You still let suspicion replace trust.”
“Yes.”
“You still left.”
His eyes met mine.
“Yes.”
There was nothing to fight.
I hated him for that too.
My phone buzzed.
Mom.
I answered.
“What?”
Her voice was panicked.
“Nia, don't freak out.”
Whenever someone said that, disaster followed.
“What happened?”
“Someone is outside the school.”
I stood.
“What?”
“Reporters.”
My blood froze.
“How many?”
“Enough.”
Luca was already standing.
“How did they know?”
“I don't know.”
My mother continued.
“They're asking whether Ava and Noah are Luca Moretti's secret children.”
I looked at Luca.
His expression turned lethal.
“No.”
I grabbed my keys.
“No pictures.”
We ran.
By the time we reached the school, there were cameras on the sidewalk.
My children were still inside.
The principal had locked the front entrance.
Luca's security arrived seconds later.
“Stay in the car,” he told me.
“Don't tell me what—”
“Nia, they want me.”
He opened the door.
I grabbed his sleeve.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving them something else to photograph.”
Then Luca stepped directly into the crowd.
Cameras exploded.
“Mr. Moretti!”
“Are the children yours?”
“Did you father twins with your ex-wife?”
“Did your current wife know?”
“Are you seeking custody?”
Luca stopped.
Turned.
And faced every camera.
“My former wife and two minor children are being harassed.”
The reporters went silent.
He continued.
“The children did not ask for public attention, and their mother has done nothing wrong.”
My throat tightened.
“Any photograph of those children taken without consent will result in immediate legal action.”
Someone shouted, “Are they yours?”
Luca looked directly toward the camera.
“I will say only this.”
His voice became colder.
“If there are questions about why I was not present in their lives, direct those questions to me.”
He glanced toward the school.
“Not their mother.”
That clip reached millions of people within an hour.
But it wasn't the clip that frightened me.
It was the message I received while Luca was still outside.
Unknown number.
One photograph.
Ava and Noah walking into school that morning.
Taken from across the street.
Underneath it:
Some secrets should have stayed buried.
I looked through the windshield at Luca.
May you like
This wasn't gossip anymore.
Someone was watching my children.
