Chapter 6: The Housekeeper's Impossible Secret
Lucas read the birth certificate three times.
The first time, he thought it was a mistake.
The second time, he thought Victor had forged it.
The third time, he realized that the handwriting at the bottom belonged to a doctor who had signed Daniel's original birth certificate.
The name was unmistakable.
Charlotte Isabella Moretti.
Mother: Isabella Moretti.
Father: Lucas Moretti.
The child had been born three years earlier.
And someone had erased her existence.
Lucas slowly lowered the paper.
Across the room, Lily slept with one hand resting against Daniel's.
Her pink pajamas were still the same ones she had worn when she saved his life.
He remembered her tiny voice.
Mister, are you sick like me, too?
He remembered her offering him her inhaler.
He remembered promising to buy her another one.
And now he knew why Isabella had trusted Grace with her daughter.
Because Grace had been raising his child.
“Elias.””
“Yes, boss?””
“Where is Grace?””
“We're searching.””
“Search harder.””
Elias hesitated.
“Lucas, there's something else.””
Lucas looked up.
“Go on.””
“The adoption records show that Grace never legally adopted Charlotte. The paperwork was created by a private agency that closed two years ago.””
“Meaning?””
“Meaning somebody wanted the child to disappear without leaving a trace.””
Lucas looked toward Lily.
“Who signed the papers?””
Elias opened the folder.
A signature appeared at the bottom.
Lucas stared.
His father's name.
Anthony Moretti.
The man had been dead for twenty-six years.
But the signature was genuine.
Lucas sat down.
“Get me every document connected to that agency.””
“Already working on it.””
“And find my mother.””
Elias hesitated.
“Your mother?””
“The woman Victor said was alive.””
Elias looked uncomfortable.
“Boss, your stepmother hasn't been seen in public for years.””
Lucas stood.
“Then perhaps it's time somebody saw her.””
Across the city, Grace sat inside a small apartment with the curtains drawn.
A single lamp illuminated the kitchen.
On the table lay a photograph of Isabella holding a newborn baby.
Grace stared at it.
The doctor stood near the window.
His name was Samuel Price, and he had once been the most trusted physician in the Moretti household.
Now he looked like a man who had spent three years running from his own conscience.
“You should have told Lucas,” he said.
Grace shook her head.
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain it to me.””
Grace looked at him.
“Isabella told me Lucas would never hurt his children. But she also told me there were people around him who would use them to control him.””
Samuel sighed.
“And you believed her?””
“I watched what happened to Daniel.””
The doctor looked down.
“You know what I did.””
Grace's voice hardened.
“You took a newborn baby from her mother.””
“I was ordered to.””
“You signed a false death certificate.””
“I know.””
“You told Isabella her daughter was dead.””
Samuel closed his eyes.
“I know.””
Grace stood.
“Then don't stand there and ask me why I didn't trust you.””
Samuel had no answer.
For several seconds, the only sound was the refrigerator humming in the kitchen.
Then he placed a small envelope on the table.
“This belongs to Isabella.””
Grace looked at it.
“What is it?””
“A letter.””
“To whom?””
“Lucas.””
Grace didn't touch it.
Samuel continued.
“She wrote it before the baby was taken. She asked me to deliver it if anything happened.””
Grace opened the envelope.
The letter was short.
*Lucas,*
*If you're reading this, it means I failed to keep our daughter safe. I need you to understand that I never wanted to hide her from you. I wanted to give you time to become the man you promised me you would be.*
*Your father knew about the pregnancy. Victor knew. They both wanted our children to belong to the family, not to us.*
*I couldn't let that happen.*
*If Charlotte survives, tell her that her mother loved her before she ever saw her face.*
*And if you ever find her, don't let her grow up believing that being a Moretti means she must be afraid of the world.*
*I love you.*
*Isabella.*
Grace's eyes filled.
She folded the letter.
Then she looked at Samuel.
“Where is Isabella?””
He hesitated.
“She's at St. Agnes Medical Center.””
Grace froze.
“Why?””
“She was admitted last night.””
“What happened?””
Samuel looked toward the door.
“She was attacked.””
Lucas arrived at St. Agnes twenty minutes later.
He had left Daniel and Lily under Elias's protection.
The hospital corridor was quiet, except for the distant sound of a nurse calling a patient's name.
Lucas approached the reception desk.
“I'm looking for Isabella Moretti.””
The nurse checked the computer.
“Are you family?””
Lucas stared at her.
“I'm her husband.””
The nurse looked up.
“I'm sorry, sir. The patient is registered under another name.””
“What name?””
“Isabella Bennett.””
Lucas's heart stopped.
Bennett.
The surname Isabella had used before they married.
“Room?””
The nurse hesitated.
“Room 412.””
Lucas walked down the corridor.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
He reached the door.
His hand rested on the handle.
For three years, he had dreamed of this moment.
In some dreams, Isabella was waiting for him with a smile.
In others, she was angry.
Sometimes she didn't recognize him.
He opened the door.
A woman sat beside the hospital window.
Her brown curls were shorter.
Her face was thinner.
There were faint bruises near her cheekbone.
But when she turned toward him, Lucas recognized her immediately.
“Bella.””
The woman stared.
The glass in her hand slipped.
It shattered against the floor.
“Lucas?””
He stepped inside.
“I'm here.””
She stood too quickly, gripping the edge of the bed.
“No.””
Lucas stopped.
“Isabella—”
“No!””
Her voice broke.
She backed away.
“You're dead.””
Lucas swallowed.
“I know what you were told.””
“I buried you.””
“You buried an empty coffin.””
Isabella stared at him.
Then she covered her mouth.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Lucas moved closer.
“I'm sorry.””
She shook her head.
“Don't.””
“Bella—”
“Don't you dare apologize as if three years can be repaired with two words.””
Lucas lowered his eyes.
She was right.
He had missed birthdays.
First days of school.
Daniel's lost teeth.
The birth of their daughter.
He had missed everything.
“I looked for you,” he whispered.
Isabella laughed through her tears.
“Did you?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“After I found out Daniel was alive.””
She stared at him.
Then her face changed.
“Daniel?””
“He's with me.””
Isabella made a sound that was half a sob and half a gasp.
“Where is he?””
“Safe.””
She rushed toward him.
“Is he really alive?””
Lucas nodded.
“He's at the mansion.””
She began crying.
“My baby.””
Lucas reached for her.
This time, she didn't pull away.
She collapsed against his chest.
He held her as if the world might take her away again.
“I thought I lost you,” he whispered.
Isabella clutched his sweater.
“I thought you were dead.””
They remained that way for several seconds.
Then Isabella pulled back.
“Where is Charlotte?””
Lucas went still.
“Who?””
“Our daughter.””
He looked at her.
“She's safe.””
Isabella searched his face.
“Where?””
Lucas took her hand.
“At the mansion.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Bella—”
“Is she with Grace?””
Lucas nodded.
Isabella closed her eyes.
“Thank God.””
Then she looked at him.
“Did you know?””
“Not until tonight.””
“Did you see the papers?””
“Yes.””
Isabella sat on the bed.
Lucas pulled a chair closer.
“Tell me what happened.””
She looked toward the window.
“Three years ago, when you left for the warehouse, Victor came to the house.””
Lucas listened without interrupting.
“He told me there had been an explosion. He said you were dead. Then he told me Daniel had been taken somewhere safe.””
“Victor took him?””
Isabella nodded.
“He said your father had left instructions. He said the family would take Daniel and raise him as the next Moretti heir.””
Lucas's jaw tightened.
“I would never have allowed that.””
“I know.””
She looked at him.
“But Victor showed me a document with your signature. It said you had agreed to transfer custody of Daniel to the family.””
Lucas stared.
“Forgery.””
“I know that now.””
She continued.
“I was pregnant. I couldn't fight them alone. Samuel helped me leave the mansion. He arranged a hospital room under another name.””
Lucas leaned forward.
“Why did he take Charlotte?””
Isabella's eyes filled.
“Because Victor told him the baby would be safer if she disappeared.””
“And you believed him?””
“I believed he had no choice.””
Lucas looked at her.
“Bella, he signed a false death certificate.””
She nodded.
“I know.””
Silence.
Then Isabella reached beneath her pillow and removed a small photograph.
It showed Lily as a baby.
Her tiny hand was wrapped around Isabella's finger.
Lucas stared.
“Grace kept this?””
“I gave it to her.””
“Why?””
“Because Grace was the only person I trusted completely.””
Lucas looked at her.
“Why didn't you come to me?””
Isabella's voice softened.
“Because Victor told me something the night you disappeared.””
“What?””
She looked directly into his eyes.
“He told me that if I ever tried to contact you, he would kill Daniel.””
Lucas felt his stomach turn.
“And you believed him.””
“I watched him take our son.””
She wiped her cheeks.
“What else was I supposed to do?””
Lucas lowered his head.
For a long moment, he had no answer.
Then he asked the question that had been haunting him.
“Who attacked you last night?””
Isabella looked away.
“I don't know.””
“Bella.””
“I was leaving the apartment when two men grabbed me. One of them told me to stop looking for the little girl.””
Lucas stood.
“Did you recognize them?””
She shook her head.
But then she whispered:
“One of them called the other man by a name.””
Lucas waited.
“Anthony.””
His expression changed.
“Anthony Moretti?””
Isabella nodded.
Lucas slowly sat down.
His father's name.
The man who had been dead for twenty-six years.
But that wasn't possible.
Unless the man Victor had been talking about wasn't his father.
Unless someone else had been using the Moretti name.
Lucas took out his phone.
“Elias.””
“Yes, boss?””
“I need you to check something.””
“What?””
“Find every living member of my father's immediate family. I want addresses, financial records, and medical histories.””
“Understood.””
“And Elias?””
“Yes?””
“Find out whether my father had another son.””
There was a pause.
“Another son?””
“Yes.””
Lucas looked at Isabella.
“Because somebody named Anthony Moretti just tried to kill my wife.””
At 6:15 a.m., Lucas returned to the mansion.
Daniel was awake.
He was sitting at the breakfast table with Lily, who was carefully cutting a pancake into tiny squares.
When Lucas entered, both children looked up.
“Daddy!””
Daniel jumped down from his chair and ran toward him.
Lucas caught him.
“Good morning, buddy.””
“Did you find Mommy?””
Lucas smiled.
“Yes.””
Daniel's eyes widened.
“Can I see her?””
“Soon.””
Lily looked up.
“Did you find my mommy too?””
Lucas's smile disappeared slightly.
He crouched beside her.
“Not yet, sweetheart. But we're looking.””
Lily nodded.
Then she looked at his face.
“Are you sad?””
Lucas brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek.
“No.””
She studied him.
“You look sad.””
He smiled faintly.
“Maybe I'm just tired.””
Lily considered this.
Then she reached into her pajama pocket and pulled out a small plastic object.
It was her inhaler.
“You can keep this one until you get yours.””
Lucas looked at it.
“Lily, I can't take your medicine.””
“Then you can hold it.””
He accepted it.
“Thank you.””
She smiled.
“You're welcome, Daddy.””
The word slipped out naturally.
Lucas froze.
Daniel looked at her.
Then at his father.
“Lily, he's my daddy.””
She frowned.
“But he's my daddy too?””
Lucas looked at both children.
For the first time in years, something warm moved through his chest.
“Maybe,” he said softly, “we'll have to figure that out together.””
A guard entered the dining room.
“Boss. There's someone at the front gate.””
Lucas turned.
“Who?””
The guard swallowed.
“She says she's your mother.””
Lucas stood.
“Bring her in.””
The guard hesitated.
“She refused to enter.””
“Why?””
“She said she wants to speak to you privately.””
Lucas walked toward the entrance.
Outside, an elegant older woman stood beneath the stone archway.
She wore a cream coat and black gloves.
Her silver hair was perfectly arranged.
Her face was familiar.
Very familiar.
Evelyn Moretti.
The woman who had raised Lucas after his biological mother died.
The woman who had attended his wedding.
The woman who had cried at Daniel's funeral.
And the woman Lucas had not seen in six years.
She looked at him.
“Hello, Lucas.””
He stared.
“Victor told me you were dead.””
Evelyn smiled faintly.
“Victor tells many lies.””
“Where have you been?””
“Protecting this family.””
Lucas's eyes narrowed.
“From whom?””
She glanced toward the house.
Then she lowered her voice.
“From the child you brought home.””
Lucas stepped closer.
“What did you say?””
Evelyn looked directly into his eyes.
“Lily isn't the only child Isabella gave birth to.””
Lucas felt the ground shift beneath him.
“What?””
Evelyn opened her handbag and removed an old photograph.
It showed three babies lying side by side in hospital bassinets.
Three.
Not two.
She placed the photograph in Lucas's hand.
On the back, in faded ink, were four words.
*THE MORETTI TRIPLETS.*
Lucas stared at the picture.
Then he looked up.
“Where is the third child?””
Evelyn's expression changed.
For the first time, the woman who had raised him looked genuinely afraid.
“That's why I'm here,” she whispered.
May you like
“Because the third child has been living in your house.””
And from somewhere inside the mansion, a little girl's scream echoed through the hallway.
