Chapter 4 - The Grandfather Who Wanted Them Hidden|
I ended the call with Megan and immediately went looking for Adrien.
He was standing near the windows, speaking quietly to Marco.
When he saw my face, he stopped.
"Clare?"
"Your father knows where we live."
His expression changed.
"What?"
"He went to my house yesterday."
Adrien went completely still.
"Are you sure?"
"My sister recognized him."
Marco immediately stepped forward.
"Boss, I'll verify it."
Adrien nodded.
"Do that."
Then he looked at me.
"Did he speak to the boys?"
I shook my head.
"Megan said they were inside."
He closed his eyes.
For a moment, relief moved across his face.
Then anger.
Cold.
Controlled.
The kind of anger I'd seen only a few times during our marriage.
"Clare, my father has been telling me for years that you wanted nothing to do with the family."
I stared.
"And?"
"He knew where you lived."
I felt sick.
All those years.
All those birthdays.
All those Christmas mornings when I struggled to afford gifts.
Vittorio had known.
And he'd never told Adrien.
"Why?" I whispered.
Adrien shook his head.
"I don't know."
But his expression told me he had suspicions.
An hour later, Marco returned with security footage from a nearby camera.
It showed a black sedan stopping outside my house.
Vittorio stepped out.
Walked toward the porch.
Then stopped when Megan opened the door.
They spoke briefly.
He handed her an envelope.
My stomach dropped.
"Megan didn't mention an envelope."
I immediately called her.
She answered.
"Clare?"
"The man who came yesterday. Did he give you something?"
A pause.
"Yes."
My heart raced.
"What?"
"A letter."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
She sounded confused.
"Because he said it was about Leo's hospital bill. I thought you already knew."
I closed my eyes.
"Megan, please open it."
I heard paper rustling.
Then silence.
"Megan?"
Her voice changed.
"Oh, God."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
She swallowed.
"Clare, it's a document."
"What kind?"
"A custody agreement."
I stopped breathing.
"What?"
"It says the boys should be placed under the supervision of the Moretti family."
My knees weakened.
Adrien caught my arm.
I barely noticed.
"Megan, don't sign anything."
"Of course not!"
I looked at Adrien.
His face had gone completely pale.
I told him what Megan had found.
For several seconds, he didn't speak.
Then he took out his phone.
Called Vittorio.
His father answered on the second ring.
"Adrien."
"Where are you?"
A pause.
"Why?"
"Answer."
Vittorio sighed.
"At home."
Adrien's voice became dangerously quiet.
"Stay there."
He ended the call.
I stared.
"What are you going to do?"
"Talk to him."
"Adrien—"
He turned toward me.
"I won't let anyone take our sons."
Our sons.
The words hit me harder than I expected.
For five years, I'd said my boys.
My children.
My triplets.
Now someone else was claiming them.
And I wasn't sure whether to feel comforted or afraid.
"Adrien, I need you to understand something."
He nodded.
"Tell me."
"You don't get to make decisions about them without me."
His expression softened.
"I know."
"And I don't want your father's money."
"I know."
"I want my children safe."
He took a breath.
"So do I."
For a moment, we looked at each other.
Then he said quietly:
"Clare, I know you don't trust me."
I swallowed.
"Not yet."
He nodded.
"Then let me earn it."
That evening, Adrien went to the Moretti family estate.
I remained at the hospital with Leo.
But Marco later told me what happened.
Vittorio was sitting in his private library when Adrien entered.
He looked up from his book.
"Son."
Adrien didn't sit.
"Why did you go to Clare's house?"
Vittorio's expression changed.
"So you found out."
Adrien stared.
"You knew about my sons."
His father sighed.
"Adrien—"
"How long?"
Silence.
Then Vittorio said:
"Since they were born."
Adrien felt the world tilt.
Five years.
His father had known for five years.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Vittorio looked away.
"Because the timing was wrong."
Adrien stared.
"Timing?"
"The family was vulnerable. Your business was expanding. You couldn't afford distractions."
Adrien laughed bitterly.
"Three children are distractions?"
His father sighed.
"Don't be emotional."
Adrien stepped forward.
"You stole five years of their lives from me."
Vittorio's expression hardened.
"I protected the family."
"No."
Adrien shook his head.
"You protected your control over me."
For the first time, Vittorio looked uncertain.
Then he said something that made Adrien stop breathing.
"The children were never supposed to remain with Clare."
Silence.
Adrien stared.
"What?"
Vittorio looked toward the window.
"The original agreement was different."
Adrien felt cold.
"What agreement?"
His father hesitated.
Then whispered:
"The one your mother signed before she died."
Adrien went completely still.
May you like
His mother, Isabella Moretti, had been dead for eight years.
And now Vittorio was claiming she'd been involved in an arrangement concerning three boys who hadn't even been born when she died.
