Chapter 2: The Name Buried With My Mother
I didn’t move.
Not because I wasn’t curious.
Because curiosity was exactly how people got themselves into trouble.
Especially around men like Luca Moretti.
Especially around secrets involving dead parents.
“I don’t have a father,” I said.
The words came out sharper than I expected.
Greg looked uncomfortable.
“Avery—”
“No.””
I handed Leo back fully to Luca.
The baby immediately reached toward me again.
That hurt more than it should have.
Because for five minutes, a child who knew nothing about my life had made me feel wanted.
Then reality returned.
“I’m sorry,” I told Luca.
“I need to handle this.””
His eyes narrowed.
“Don’t go alone.””
I almost laughed.
“You barely know me.””
“I know enough.””
“That’s impossible.””
“Not for me.””
There it was again.
That certainty.
Like the world worked differently for Luca Moretti.
Maybe it did.
I turned toward the entrance.
Greg followed.
“You know him?””
“No.””
“But he knows your father?””
“My father is dead.””
Greg lowered his voice.
“Then why did he say that?””
I didn’t answer.
Because I didn’t know.
The man waiting near the front doors was around sixty.
Gray hair.
Expensive coat.
Hands clasped tightly together.
He looked nervous.
Not dangerous.
Nervous.
When he saw me, his face changed.
Shock.
Then sadness.
Like seeing me confirmed something he had spent years avoiding.
“Avery Marino?””
I stopped.
Almost nobody used my last name.
Not unless they were looking at old records.
“Yes?””
He stepped closer.
“I’m Daniel Voss.””
The name meant nothing.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?””
“No.””
His eyes moved toward my necklace.
My hand instinctively covered it.
“I knew your mother.””
Everything inside me went still.
People didn’t say that.
Not casually.
Not anymore.
“My mother didn’t have many friends.””
“She had fewer than you think.””
I studied him.
“Why are you here?””
He looked over my shoulder.
At Luca.
Then back at me.
“Because he found you.””
My heartbeat changed.
“Who?””
Daniel’s expression darkened.
“Luca Moretti.””
I almost laughed.
“You came into my workplace to warn me about him?””
“No.””
His voice dropped.
“I came because I know why his son reached for you.””
I stared.
“That makes no sense.””
“It will.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What does my necklace have to do with this?””
Daniel looked around.
Then leaned closer.
“Your mother never told you?””
“Told me what?””
“That Elena Marino wasn’t just a woman who worked two jobs and raised a daughter alone.””
My throat tightened.
“She was.””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“She was someone Luca Moretti’s father trusted.””
I frowned.
“His father?””
“Before Luca took control.””
The pieces refused to connect.
My mother.
Luca Moretti.
A necklace.
A baby.
It sounded insane.
“I think you have the wrong person.””
Daniel looked genuinely sad.
“I hoped I did.””
Before I could ask more, a voice came behind me.
“Daniel.””
Luca.
I turned.
He was standing there with Leo in his arms.
The baby was asleep now.
The contrast was almost cruel.
A dangerous man holding a sleeping child.
Daniel stepped back.
“Luca.””
“You shouldn’t be here.””
“You knew she existed.””
Luca didn’t answer.
That answer was enough.
My stomach dropped.
“You knew?””
Luca looked at me.
“Avery—”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You don’t get to say my name like that.””
The restaurant had gone quiet again.
Everyone was pretending not to listen.
Everyone was listening.
“You knew who I was when you walked in.””
Luca’s silence confirmed it.
“Why?””
His jaw tightened.
“Because your mother saved my life.””
I blinked.
“What?””
“She protected my family.””
“My mother?””
“Yes.””
I looked between him and Daniel.
“This is some kind of joke.””
“It isn’t.””
“Then explain it.””
Luca looked at Leo.
Then at me.
“My father had enemies.””
“That’s vague.””
“It’s the truth.””
“Try harder.””
For a second, I saw the man everyone feared.
Cold.
Controlled.
Untouchable.
Then he looked at his son.
And something softened.
“Your mother was the only person who treated me like a person when everyone else saw a weapon.””
I didn’t know what to say.
Because that didn’t match the woman I remembered.
My mother had been tired.
She worked nights.
She cried quietly when bills arrived.
She burned pancakes every Sunday because she was always distracted.
But a hero?
A protector?
No.
That wasn’t the mother I knew.
“What happened to her?”” Luca asked.
I stared.
“You don’t know?””
His face changed.
“No.””
“She died.””
“When?””
“Eight years ago.””
“How?””
I looked away.
“Car accident.””
A strange expression crossed his face.
Pain.
Real pain.
Not the fake kind people showed at funerals.
Something deeper.
“She was alone?””
I swallowed.
“Yes.””
Luca looked down.
Leo slept peacefully.
Then Luca said something that made my blood run cold.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“Your mother was never alone.””
The restaurant disappeared.
The sounds.
The people.
The music.
Everything.
“What are you saying?””
Luca reached into his coat pocket.
The guards immediately became alert.
He pulled out a small envelope.
Old.
Worn.
My name was written across the front.
Avery.
My hands went cold.
“I’ve had this for eight years.””
I couldn’t breathe.
“Why?””
“Because I was told to give it to you only if I ever found you.””
“By who?””
Luca looked at me.
“Your mother.””
I stared at the envelope.
The handwriting.
Even from a distance, I recognized it.
My mother’s handwriting.
A sound escaped my throat.
“No.””
Luca held it out.
“I’m sorry.””
I didn’t take it.
Because if I opened it, something would change.
Some things were easier when they stayed buried.
But then Leo woke up.
The baby opened his eyes.
Saw me.
And reached for me again.
And that was when I understood something terrifying.
May you like
Whatever my mother had left behind…
It had led me directly to Luca Moretti.
