Chapter 6 - The Secret Tessa’s Mother Took to Her Grave
Matteo remained conscious for exactly four minutes.
Long enough to order everyone else to stop panicking.
Long enough to insist Tessa ride in the other vehicle.
Long enough to become furious when she refused.
Then he collapsed.
The bullet had entered beneath his ribs.
It missed his heart.
Missed the major artery.
Missed his spine.
Barely.
At the hospital, a surgeon told Tessa the difference between survival and death had been less than two centimeters.
She sat in a waiting room beside Gabriel until sunrise.
Neither spoke for almost an hour.
Finally Tessa asked, “Is Elena really your daughter?”
Gabriel stared at his hands.
“Yes.”
“Does Matteo know?”
“He does now.”
“Did Sofia know?”
“Of course.”
“How?”
Gabriel almost smiled.
“Generally both parents are aware when a child exists.”
“You know what I mean.”
He sighed.
“Sofia and I were young. My father hated the idea of us together.”
“Why?”
“Her family was politically connected. Father wanted Matteo to marry her.”
Tessa blinked.
“What?”
“Matteo refused. Sofia refused. Father never cared much about consent.”
“So Sofia and you…”
“Yes.”
“And Elena?”
“When Sofia became pregnant, Father believed the child belonged to Matteo.”
“Why didn’t you correct him?”
Gabriel looked ashamed.
“Because Sofia begged me not to.”
“Why?”
“She overheard Luca telling Father that if the baby was mine, he would make the problem disappear.”
Tessa felt sick.
“So Matteo raised Elena?”
“No. Sofia did. Matteo became her godfather. After Sofia died in an accident eleven years ago, Matteo became her guardian.”
“Accident?”
Gabriel’s face darkened.
“We no longer believe it was an accident.”
Tessa thought about her mother.
Margaret had known.
She had protected the truth.
“Why didn’t you tell Elena?”
“I planned to.”
“When?”
“Every birthday for six years.”
Tessa stared.
“That’s cowardly.”
“Yes.”
He did not defend himself.
Somehow that made her less angry.
“Why did Elena tell Matteo not to trust you?”
“I don’t know.”
A doctor entered.
“Mr. Moretti is stable.”
Tessa’s shoulders dropped.
She had not realized how tightly she had been holding herself together.
“Can we see him?”
“One person.”
Gabriel stood.
Then looked at Tessa.
“You go.”
“Why?”
“Because if Matteo wakes up and sees me first, his blood pressure will probably kill him.”
Tessa almost laughed.
Matteo looked smaller in the hospital bed.
She hated that.
Power had always seemed built into him.
But beneath the machines and bandages, he was just a man.
A wounded one.
His eyes opened when she sat down.
“You stayed.”
Tessa folded her arms.
“You owe me four thousand dollars.”
His mouth moved.
“That’s why?”
“Obviously.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“So are you.”
He closed his eyes.
“Elena?”
“Still missing.”
“Gabriel?”
“Still alive.”
Matteo opened one eye.
“Unfortunate.”
“You got shot protecting me.”
“You were standing where the bullet was going.”
“That is generally what protecting someone means.”
He was quiet.
“Tessa.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For getting shot?”
“For bringing you into this.”
She looked at him.
“You didn’t force me.”
“I offered you money I knew you needed.”
“That’s not force.”
“It can be.”
The statement surprised her.
Matteo Moretti, a man who seemed to believe money solved nearly anything, had apparently discovered its limits.
“You didn’t create my financial situation.”
“No.”
“You didn’t send the threat.”
“No.”
“You didn’t kidnap Elena.”
“No.”
“You did insult me in Italian.”
He sighed.
“I knew we would return to that.”
“Eventually.”
“I apologized.”
“You gave me five thousand dollars.”
“That was also an apology.”
“No. That was a transaction.”
He looked at her.
“What would have been an acceptable apology?”
“Words.”
Matteo stared.
Then, quietly:
“I was arrogant. I looked at your uniform and decided it told me everything about your life. I spoke cruelly because I believed you had no power to respond. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
Tessa said nothing.
Matteo frowned.
“Well?”
“That was better.”
“Better?”
“You’re improving.”
He closed his eyes again.
“I survived a gunshot for this.”
“No. You survived because the surgeon went to medical school.”
A laugh escaped him.
Then pain made him wince.
Tessa immediately leaned forward.
“You okay?”
His eyes opened.
For a second, neither moved.
There was something in the silence.
Something neither of them had permission to acknowledge yet.
A knock interrupted it.
Gabriel entered carrying the flash drive from the cemetery.
“We opened Margaret’s files.”
Matteo tried to sit.
The monitor protested.
Tessa pushed him down.
“Stay.”
He glared.
“Do not make me use the nurse call button.”
Matteo remained still.
Gabriel almost smiled.
“Nobody has ever ordered him around this successfully.”
“Focus,” Matteo muttered.
Gabriel plugged the drive into a laptop.
Margaret’s evidence contained transaction records, emails, account numbers, and names.
Hundreds of them.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Luca Bernetti.
But he was not the highest authority.
Every major transaction required approval from another person.
Someone identified only by initials.
A.M.
Matteo stared.
“Antonio Moretti.”
Tessa looked between them.
“Who is Antonio?”
Gabriel went pale.
“Our uncle.”
Matteo’s father’s younger brother.
Publicly respectable.
A philanthropist.
Chairman of the Moretti Family Foundation.
And the man who had delivered the eulogy at Sofia’s funeral.
Gabriel scrolled through the files.
“There’s a video.”
He opened it.
Margaret appeared on screen.
Much younger.
Terrified.
Tessa stopped breathing.
Her mother spoke directly to the camera.
“If you are watching this, then Antonio Moretti has returned to the shipping network.”
She explained everything.
Antonio had been the one using Vittorio’s charity operation as cover for stolen medicine.
He had arranged threats against Margaret.
He had convinced Vittorio she was the true danger.
And when Sofia discovered the scheme years later, Antonio arranged her fatal car crash.
Gabriel covered his mouth.
Matteo stared at the screen.
Margaret continued.
“Antonio believes Elena carries information Sofia hid before she died. He is wrong. Sofia gave it to me.”
The video ended with one sentence.
“The proof is hidden where Matteo first tried to save me.”
Matteo whispered, “The lake house.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“What lake house?”
Matteo was already pulling out his IV.
Tessa slapped his hand.
“You are not leaving.”
“Elena may be there.”
“You were shot six hours ago.”
“She’s my family.”
“And you are currently leaking.”
Gabriel stood.
“I’ll go.”
Matteo looked at him.
For the first time since learning the truth, the brothers’ eyes met without anger.
“You bring her home.”
Gabriel nodded.
“I will.”
Tessa stood.
“I’m going with him.”
“No,” Matteo said immediately.
She looked at him.
“Margaret was my mother.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“So was serving you steak.”
“Tessa.”
“You don’t get to decide this.”
He looked furious.
Then afraid.
That stopped her.
Matteo Moretti was afraid for her.
Not because she was useful.
Not because she could translate.
Because she mattered to him.
Tessa softened.
“I’ll come back.”
His voice was quiet.
“You cannot promise that.”
“No.”
She touched his hand.
“But I can promise I’ll try.”
Two hours later, Tessa and Gabriel reached the abandoned lake house.
The front door was open.
Inside, the furniture was covered with dust.
In the basement, they found a wall safe.
Margaret’s old code opened it.
Inside were documents proving Antonio’s crimes.
And a live video feed.
Elena appeared on screen.
Alive.
Tied to a chair.
Behind her stood Antonio Moretti.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Tessa Hart,” he said.
“I’ve been waiting twenty-seven years for your mother to finally lead you to me.”
Then he smiled.
May you like
“Bring me the files, or Elena dies.”
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