Chapter 9 - The Child Who Connected Two Families|
I stared at the photograph until my eyes hurt.
The little boy standing between the woman and Matteo looked almost identical to Oliver.
Same dark hair.
Same wide brown eyes.
Same crooked smile.
My heart raced.
"Luca, is that Oliver?"
He shook his head.
"I don't know."
"But they look alike."
"Yes."
I studied the image.
The boy appeared to be around nine years old.
The same age as Vanessa's son.
Luca looked toward Antonio.
"Find out where this photograph came from."
Antonio nodded.
"Already working on it."
I looked at Luca.
"What if Oliver isn't Daniel's son?"
The question hung between us.
Luca's expression changed.
"We need evidence."
I nodded.
Of course.
After everything we'd learned, none of us could afford to believe another story without proof.
The following morning, Margaret received a call from Daniel Reynolds.
He wanted to speak with her.
She refused.
Then he called again.
And again.
Finally, she agreed to a meeting with attorneys present.
Luca asked whether I wanted to accompany her.
I did.
Margaret had become important to me.
Not because she was Vanessa's mother.
But because she reminded me of my own.
A woman who had spent years doing everything she could for the people she loved.
We met Daniel at a small law office.
He looked exhausted.
His expensive suit was wrinkled.
His eyes were red.
When Margaret entered, he stood immediately.
"Mrs. Ellis."
She nodded.
"Daniel."
He looked at me.
"Natalie."
I said nothing.
He sat down.
Then he took a breath.
"I need to correct something I said at the engagement dinner."
Margaret's expression tightened.
"What?"
Daniel looked down.
"I told Luca I was Oliver's father."
I frowned.
"Yes."
He swallowed.
"I believed it."
Margaret stared.
"Believed?"
Daniel nodded.
"Vanessa told me the child was mine."
My stomach tightened.
"When?"
"Six years ago."
Margaret looked shocked.
"But you said you knew about him because you found his birth certificate."
Daniel nodded.
"I did. Vanessa told me the father listed wasn't the biological father."
I stared.
"Who was listed?"
Daniel hesitated.
Then answered:
"Matteo Moretti."
Silence.
Margaret covered her mouth.
I felt cold.
Matteo.
Luca's missing brother.
Daniel continued.
"Vanessa said she'd been involved with Matteo briefly before he disappeared. But she insisted the baby was mine."
Margaret began shaking her head.
"She never told me that."
Daniel looked ashamed.
"I know."
I leaned forward.
"Did you ever get a paternity test?"
He shook his head.
"No."
"Then you don't know."
His eyes filled.
"No."
For years, Daniel had paid Oliver's tuition.
Believed he was the father.
Helped Vanessa keep the truth hidden.
But now even that secret was unraveling.
Margaret looked at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Daniel's voice broke.
"Because Vanessa begged me not to."
Margaret closed her eyes.
"Everyone keeps making decisions for that child."
The words struck me.
She was right.
Vanessa.
Daniel.
Matteo.
Perhaps even Luca's family.
All of them had hidden something.
And Oliver had spent nine years asking why his mother wouldn't visit.
I looked at Daniel.
"What do you want now?"
He wiped his eyes.
"The truth."
Margaret nodded slowly.
"Then we'll find it."
That afternoon, Luca arranged a meeting with an independent family-law attorney.
The attorney explained that any questions about Oliver's parentage needed to be handled carefully, with appropriate consent and attention to the boy's well-being.
Margaret agreed.
She wasn't interested in another public scandal.
She wanted Oliver protected.
Meanwhile, investigators continued reviewing the financial records.
Richard Bellini had retained counsel.
Vanessa was cooperating with some inquiries but refusing to answer others.
Matteo remained missing.
And my father was still somewhere in Chicago.
That evening, I sat beside the library fireplace reviewing my mother's letters.
Luca entered quietly.
"Natalie."
I looked up.
"Hi."
He smiled faintly.
"May I sit?"
"Of course."
He lowered himself into the chair opposite me.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then he asked:
"How are you holding up?"
I laughed softly.
"Honestly?"
"Please."
"I'm exhausted."
He nodded.
"So am I."
I looked at him.
There was something strangely comforting about his honesty.
Luca continued.
"I spent years believing power meant I could protect everyone I cared about."
I watched him.
"And?"
He looked toward the fire.
"I'm beginning to think the most important thing I can do is listen."
My chest warmed.
For months, I'd been afraid of speaking honestly in that house.
Now the man who owned it was asking me questions and actually waiting for the answers.
I looked down.
"Luca?"
"Yes?"
"Do you ever wish you could start over?"
He smiled sadly.
"Every day lately."
I laughed.
He looked at me.
Then his expression softened.
"But I wouldn't want to lose everything I've learned."
For a moment, our eyes held.
Something unfamiliar moved between us.
Not a promise.
Not a declaration.
Just the beginning of something neither of us was ready to name.
Then his phone rang.
Antonio.
Luca answered.
His expression changed.
"What?"
A pause.
"Where?"
He stood.
I immediately rose.
"What happened?"
Luca looked at me.
His face had gone pale.
"Antonio found Matteo."
My heart stopped.
"Where?"
"At the old shipping warehouse."
I stared.
The warehouse where my father supposedly died.
Luca swallowed.
"And Natalie..."
I gripped the chair.
"What?"
May you like
He looked directly into my eyes.
"Your father is with him."
