Chapter 14: The Truth We Paid For
The police arrived twenty minutes later.
But even after Thomas Hayes was taken away, nobody felt safe.
Because the truth had finally come out.
And sometimes the truth didn’t feel like freedom.
Sometimes it felt like another wound.
I sat in the garden outside the mansion.
The sunrise was slowly appearing over Brooklyn.
For the first time in years, I watched morning arrive without feeling alone.
Elena sat beside me.
Quietly.
Carefully.
Like she was afraid I would disappear.
“I don’t know how to forgive you.””
The words were honest.
She nodded.
“I know.””
“I want to.””
She looked at me.
“But I don’t know if I can.””
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“I don’t expect you to.””
That surprised me.
I looked at her.
“You don’t?””
“No.””
She looked toward the house.
“I lost twelve years with you.””
Her voice cracked.
“I don’t get to demand anything.””
For some reason, that made it harder.
Because I wanted to be angry.
But she wasn’t defending herself.
She was accepting the damage.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
She took a breath.
“Because Thomas wasn’t the only threat.””
I looked at her.
“Victor Moretti?””
She nodded.
“And others.””
“Why?””
“Because the evidence I found wasn’t just about criminals.””
Her eyes moved toward the city.
“It was about powerful people.””
I remembered the files.
The names.
The dates.
The warnings.
“And Rico?””
She smiled sadly.
“Your father was never perfect.””
I looked back.
“But?””
“But he was never the monster they wanted you to believe.””
A silence.
“He made mistakes.””
I nodded.
“I know.””
She looked at me.
“But he spent twelve years trying to fix them.””
I looked toward the mansion.
Toward the man inside.
The man who had lost a wife.
A daughter.
A normal life.
And somehow still tried to protect everyone.
“He loves you.””
I looked at her.
“He barely knows me.””
Elena smiled.
“Ricardo loved you before he knew you.””
That hurt.
Because I believed her.
Inside the house, I found Rico standing alone in the library.
The same room where my life had fallen apart.
He looked up.
“Your mother told you.””
I nodded.
“She did.””
A silence.
Then:
“I’m sorry.””
The words were unexpected.
From him.
Especially him.
“For what?””
“For every year you thought you weren’t wanted.””
My throat tightened.
“Were you?””
His eyes lifted.
“Every day.””
The honesty hurt more than any lie.
“I wanted to find you.””
“Then why didn’t you?””
His face changed.
“Because Elena made me promise.””
I froze.
“What?””
“She knew Adrian would look for you.””
He looked down.
“She knew if Adrian found me searching, he would follow.””
I understood.
“But you knew where I was.””
“Yes.””
“You watched me.””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t you come?””
His voice broke slightly.
“Because your mother asked me to give you a chance at a normal life.””
A bitter smile.
“I thought staying away was the hardest thing I would ever do.””
He looked toward the hallway.
“Then I met Leo.””
I smiled faintly.
“He changed you.””
“Yes.””
A quiet moment.
Then:
“He reminded me of you.””
I looked at him.
“Me?””
“You were scared too.””
The words hit.
“You were abandoned too.””
He stepped closer.
“And somehow, you still chose kindness.””
I looked away.
Because I didn’t know how to respond.
A knock interrupted us.
Dante entered.
“Boss.””
Rico turned.
“What happened?””
Dante looked serious.
“We found something in Thomas’s files.””
My stomach tightened.
“What?””
Dante placed a folder down.
Inside was a document.
A birth record.
But not mine.
Leo’s.
Rico frowned.
“What is this?””
Dante looked at him.
“We need to talk.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What does it say?””
Nobody answered.
I grabbed the paper.
And read.
My hands went numb.
Because the document wasn’t about Leo’s birth.
It was about his mother.
Isabella Moretti.
The woman everyone believed died in an accident.
The woman whose death destroyed Rico.
At the bottom of the page was a signature.
Thomas Hayes.
And one sentence written beneath it.
*The first daughter was easier to remove.*
I looked up.
“What does this mean?””
Rico’s face had gone pale.
Elena covered her mouth.
Adrian whispered:
“No.””
I stared at them.
“What?””
Rico looked at me.
And for the first time since I met him…
He looked completely broken.
“Leo’s mother…”
He stopped.
Then forced the words out.
“Was killed.””
My heart sank.
“By Thomas?””
“No.””
Rico looked at the document.
“She was killed because she discovered the same thing your mother did.””
“What?””
May you like
He looked at me.
“That Leo was the next target.””
