Chapter 6 - THE BOY MICHAEL PROTECTED
“Daniel.”
Sophia whispered the name.
Lorenzo looked at her.
“What about him?”
“The photograph.”
She handed it over.
Lorenzo studied the teenage boy.
Marco's expression changed.
“That can't be.”
“Why?”
“Daniel has worked here for six months.”
Sophia looked at him.
“You know him?”
“I've seen him.”
“Does he know who he is?”
Marco didn't answer.
Lorenzo's face hardened.
“Bring him to me.”
Twenty minutes later, Daniel entered the study.
He was twenty-four.
Quiet.
Thin.
Always respectful.
He had never drawn attention to himself.
Until now.
Lorenzo placed the photograph on the desk.
Daniel saw it.
His face went white.
“You know that boy.”
Daniel stared at the photograph.
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Me.”
Sophia closed her eyes.
Lorenzo stood.
“Your name is David.”
Daniel looked at him.
“That was my father's name for me.”
“Your father?”
“Michael Bennett.”
The room went silent.
Sophia stepped closer.
“You knew my husband.”
Daniel looked at her.
“I knew him.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because he told me never to.”
Sophia's eyes filled with tears.
“Why?”
Daniel looked at Lorenzo.
“Because if anyone knew who I was, they could use me against you.”
Lorenzo understood.
Victor Romano had spent years searching for the missing heir.
Daniel was the missing heir.
Not because he wanted the Duca empire.
Because everyone else wanted control of it.
Daniel sat down.
“My mother was Elena.”
Lorenzo nodded.
“She died seven years ago.”
Daniel looked down.
“She told me my father saved me.”
Sophia sat opposite him.
“Michael loved you.”
Daniel's eyes filled.
“He visited every year.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't he come home?”
“He couldn't.”
Sophia cried silently.
Michael had died believing he had protected everyone.
Now she understood the price he had paid.
Daniel reached into his jacket.
He pulled out an old pocket watch.
Sophia recognized it.
Michael had owned it.
He had worn it every day.
Daniel placed it on the table.
“He gave this to me.”
Lorenzo picked it up.
Inside the lid was an engraving.
For David. When the time is safe.
Sophia touched the watch.
“He never told me.”
“He wanted to.”
Daniel's voice broke.
“But he was afraid.”
Lorenzo sat down.
“Who else knows you're alive?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Vivien.”
The room froze.
“How?”
“She found me.”
“When?”
“Four months ago.”
Marco stood abruptly.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Because I didn't trust you.”
Marco flinched.
Sophia understood why.
Vivien had found Daniel before the engagement.
She had been searching for the missing heir.
Not because she loved Lorenzo.
Because she wanted access to the bloodline.
Lorenzo looked at Daniel.
“What did Vivien offer you?”
“Nothing.”
“Threaten you?”
“No.”
“Then why did she find you?”
Daniel hesitated.
“She wanted me to disappear.”
Sophia felt a chill.
“Why?”
Daniel looked at Lorenzo.
“Because she wanted the baby to be the heir.”
“But if the baby isn't mine…”
Daniel nodded.
“She needed everyone to believe it was.”
The room went silent.
Lorenzo finally understood.
The pregnancy announcement wasn't simply a lie about paternity.
It was a succession strategy.
Vivien needed Lorenzo married.
She needed a child accepted as his.
She needed Daniel hidden.
And she needed Victor Romano's family to control the Duca succession from the inside.
Marco sat down slowly.
“I was wrong.”
Lorenzo looked at him.
“About what?”
“About Vivien.”
“What did you think?”
“I thought she loved me.”
The pain in his voice was genuine.
“I thought she wanted a life with me.”
Lorenzo didn't mock him.
He simply said:
“She wanted access.”
Marco nodded.
Then Daniel spoke.
“There is one thing you still don't know.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Vivien isn't carrying my father's child.”
Lorenzo stared.
“What?”
Daniel shook his head.
“The baby isn't Marco's either.”
Marco's face changed.
“What are you saying?”
Daniel looked at Sophia.
“The pregnancy isn't what you think.”
He reached into his pocket.
A small envelope.
Inside was a medical photograph.
Not an ultrasound.
A laboratory report.
Sophia looked at it.
The date was from before Vivien announced her pregnancy.
The report identified an embryo transfer.
But the genetic material belonged to someone else.
Lorenzo stared at the document.
“Whose?”
Daniel's voice was quiet.
“Someone from the Duca bloodline.”
Lorenzo's heart stopped.
“Who?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Your father's first child.”
Lorenzo went pale.
“That's impossible.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed at the report.
“The embryo was created from preserved genetic material taken before Elena died.”
Sophia looked at the document.
“So Vivien's baby…”
Daniel nodded.
“Is biologically descended from Antonio Duca.”
The room went silent.
Then Daniel added:
“But not through you.”
Lorenzo stared at him.
“Then who is the father?”
Daniel looked toward the closed door.
May you like
And whispered:
“Your father's son.”
