Chapter 8: The Daughter of Two Worlds
Rose stared at the pendant in her hand.
The tiny photograph inside seemed impossible.
A man she had never met.
A father she had spent her entire life believing was nothing more than a name.
Alessandro Moretti.
Holding her.
Loving her.
Protecting her.
The words beneath the image burned into her mind.
*My daughter. My blood. My revenge.*
She looked up slowly.
“What does this mean?””
Nobody answered.
Not immediately.
Because everyone in the room understood the danger of those words.
Everyone except her.
“Stop doing that,” Rose said.
Her voice shook.
“Stop looking at me like I’m too fragile to know the truth.””
Eleanor’s eyes filled with tears.
“Rose…”
“No.””
She closed the pendant.
“I’m done being protected.””
She looked at Gabriel.
“I’m done being lied to.””
Then she looked at her mother.
“I want everything.””
The room remained silent.
“Everything you know.””
Eleanor slowly nodded.
“You deserve that.””
Rose almost laughed.
“Twenty-two years too late.””
The words hurt Eleanor.
Rose saw it.
But she couldn’t take them back.
Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
Eleanor walked toward the fireplace and touched an old photograph sitting on the mantle.
It showed a younger Gabriel.
A younger Alessandro.
And a woman Rose had never seen before.
Her mother.
Happy.
Before everything fell apart.
“Your father was not born into cruelty,” Eleanor said.
Rose listened.
“He was born into a family that believed power was the only way to survive.””
She glanced at Gabriel.
“Alessandro was different.””
Gabriel looked down.
“He wanted out.””
Rose looked at him.
“You loved him.””
Gabriel nodded.
“He was my brother.””
“Your real brother.””
“Yes.””
“What happened?””
Gabriel took a slow breath.
“He discovered our family’s business was built on corruption.””
Rose watched him carefully.
“And he wanted to expose it.””
“Yes.””
“Even though it would destroy his own family.””
“Yes.””
Eleanor continued.
“He believed the truth mattered more than power.””
A sad smile crossed her face.
“That was why I loved him.””
Rose looked at the photograph.
“And Richard?””
Eleanor’s expression hardened.
“Richard knew about the evidence Alessandro had collected.””
“The list.””
“Yes.””
“He wanted it.””
Rose understood.
“So he killed him.””
Gabriel’s voice was quiet.
“Yes.””
She looked at Gabriel.
“And you helped him hide it.””
The pain on his face returned.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
The question was simple.
The answer wasn’t.
Gabriel walked toward the window.
“Because I was too late.””
Nobody spoke.
“I found Alessandro after the attack.””
His voice lowered.
“He was alive.””
Rose froze.
“You said he died.””
“I thought he would.””
Gabriel closed his eyes.
“He was badly injured. But he was still conscious.””
Rose whispered:
“What did he say?””
Gabriel’s face changed.
Like he was back in that moment.
“He asked me one thing.””
“What?””
“Where were you?””
Rose’s eyes filled.
Gabriel continued.
“He wasn’t worried about himself.””
A pause.
“He wanted to know if you were safe.””
The room became quiet.
“He knew Richard was coming for you.””
Rose touched the pendant.
“He knew about me.””
“Yes.””
“What happened?””
Gabriel swallowed.
“I moved you before Richard could find you.””
“You took me?””
“No.””
His voice became firm.
“I saved you.””
Rose looked away.
“That sounds like the same thing when nobody asks me.””
Gabriel accepted that.
“You’re right.””
The honesty surprised her.
He continued.
“But Richard found out Alessandro was alive.””
Rose felt cold.
“What did he do?””
Gabriel didn’t answer.
Eleanor did.
“He finished what he started.””
Rose closed her eyes.
Alessandro Moretti.
A father who had spent his final moments searching for a daughter he never got to hold.
And she never knew.
Not once.
A sound interrupted them.
The library door opened.
A guard stepped inside.
“Boss.””
Gabriel turned.
“What?””
“We found the person who leaked our location.””
Everyone became alert.
“Who?””
The guard hesitated.
Then looked at Rose.
Her stomach dropped.
“Say it.””
The guard lowered his head.
“It was someone inside the estate.””
Gabriel’s expression darkened.
“Name.””
The guard swallowed.
“Thomas.””
Rose frowned.
“Who is Thomas?””
Margaret answered quietly.
“The head of your security team.””
The room changed.
The man who was supposed to protect them.
The man who controlled cameras.
The man who knew every movement inside the estate.
Gabriel’s eyes became cold.
“Bring him.””
The guards left.
Rose watched Gabriel.
“You trust nobody.””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because trusting the wrong person gets people killed.””
The words were simple.
But she heard the pain behind them.
A few minutes later, Thomas was brought into the room.
He looked calm.
Too calm.
He was older.
Gray hair.
A man who had worked for Gabriel for years.
Gabriel stood across from him.
“Why?””
Thomas didn’t answer.
Rose watched.
She expected fear.
Instead, Thomas looked tired.
“I had no choice.””
Gabriel’s face hardened.
“Everyone says that.””
Thomas looked at Rose.
“She deserves to know.””
Rose stepped forward.
“Know what?””
Thomas looked at Gabriel.
“You never told her the worst part.””
Gabriel’s expression changed.
Rose noticed.
“What worst part?””
Thomas smiled sadly.
“Your father’s death wasn’t the beginning.””
The room went silent.
“It was the second attempt.””
Rose frowned.
“What?””
Thomas looked at her.
“Someone tried to kill you before Alessandro died.””
Her blood went cold.
“When?””
“When you were a baby.””
Eleanor covered her mouth.
“No.””
Thomas nodded.
“Yes.””
Rose looked at her mother.
“You knew?””
Eleanor looked devastated.
“I knew someone tried.””
“Who?””
Thomas answered.
“Richard Whitmore.””
Rose felt anger rise.
“Again.””
She laughed bitterly.
“Everything leads back to him.””
Thomas shook his head.
“No.””
That stopped her.
“What?””
Thomas looked at Gabriel.
“The person who ordered it wasn’t Richard.””
Everyone froze.
“Then who?””
Thomas slowly said:
“The order came from inside the Moretti family.””
Gabriel’s face changed.
Impossible.
“No.””
Thomas nodded.
“Yes.””
Rose looked around.
“What does that mean?””
Nobody spoke.
Then Gabriel whispered:
“My father.””
Rose stared.
“Your father?””
Gabriel nodded.
“My father ordered Alessandro’s death.””
The revelation was worse than anything before.
A family destroying itself.
A father killing a son.
A war that began before Rose was even born.
Thomas continued.
“And he didn’t stop there.””
Gabriel looked at him.
“What are you saying?””
Thomas looked at Rose.
“Your grandfather knew Alessandro had a child.””
Rose’s heart raced.
“He knew about me?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t he find me?””
Thomas hesitated.
Because the answer mattered.
Because the answer changed everything.
“Because someone convinced him you were dead.””
Rose slowly turned toward Gabriel.
Her heart sank.
“Who?””
Thomas looked at him.
Gabriel said nothing.
Rose’s voice became quiet.
“Gabriel.””
He looked at her.
“Who told your father I was dead?””
The silence was the answer.
Her eyes widened.
“No.””
Gabriel looked away.
“I had no choice.””
Rose stepped back.
“You.””
Her voice broke.
“You were the one who erased me.””
“Rose—”
“You told them I didn’t exist.””
“I saved you.””
“You destroyed my life.””
The words hit harder than any weapon.
Gabriel didn’t defend himself.
Because part of him knew she was right.
Then Thomas spoke again.
“There’s more.””
Nobody wanted to hear it.
But they did.
“The reason Richard could take Rose wasn’t because Gabriel failed.””
Thomas looked at Rose.
“It was because someone gave Richard the information.””
Rose whispered:
“Who?””
Thomas reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a small piece of paper.
A name written on it.
He handed it to her.
Rose read it.
And her entire body went cold.
Because the name wasn’t Richard Whitmore.
It wasn’t Gabriel.
It wasn’t Victor.
It wasn’t Adrian.
It was a name she knew.
A name she had trusted.
A name that had been beside her since childhood.
She looked up slowly.
“No.””
Gabriel took the paper.
His expression changed.
Because he recognized the handwriting.
Rose’s voice trembled.
“My entire life…”
She looked at the name again.
“The person who gave me away…”
May you like
A tear fell.
“Was my own sister.””
