Chapter 8 - THE TRUTH MICHAEL DIED PROTECTING
Sophia couldn't breathe.
She stared at the photograph.
Michael.
A newborn.
And Lorenzo's name.
“No,” she whispered.
Daniel handed the photograph to her.
“I found it in the locker.”
Sophia looked at Lorenzo.
His face had gone completely still.
“Is that my father?”
“No,” Daniel said.
“Then who?”
Daniel pointed to the baby.
“You.”
Lorenzo's eyes widened.
Sophia shook her head.
“That isn't possible.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Your father had another relationship.”
“With Elena?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Daniel took a breath.
“Your mother.”
Lorenzo stared.
“My mother?”
“She gave birth to another child.”
Lorenzo's voice broke.
“Me?”
Daniel nodded.
“You were not Antonio's only child.”
Lorenzo looked at the photograph.
“Then who is the baby?”
Daniel answered.
“Your twin.”
Silence.
The word seemed impossible.
Lorenzo sat down.
His entire life had been built around being Antonio's only surviving son.
Now he was learning that he had a brother.
A brother whose existence had been erased.
“What happened to him?”
Daniel looked down.
“He was born sick.”
“How sick?”
“He needed constant treatment.”
“Where is he?”
Daniel hesitated.
Sophia looked at him.
“Tell him.”
Daniel swallowed.
“He died.”
Lorenzo closed his eyes.
“When?”
“Three months old.”
The room fell silent.
Sophia felt tears rise.
“So why did Michael have his photograph?”
Daniel answered.
“Because Michael believed the baby had been deliberately allowed to die.”
Lorenzo looked up.
“By whom?”
“Antonio.”
Lorenzo shook his head.
“My father wouldn't.”
“He did.”
Daniel's voice remained calm.
“He wanted one heir.”
Lorenzo stared at him.
“That isn't enough.”
“No.”
Daniel reached into his bag.
He pulled out a small cassette tape.
Michael's handwriting was on the label.
For Lorenzo — only if the truth becomes necessary.
Lorenzo looked at it.
“Where did you get this?”
“Inside the pocket watch.”
They found an old player in the storage unit.
The tape crackled.
Then Michael's voice filled the room.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakable.
“Lorenzo, if you're hearing this, then the secrets are already out.”
Lorenzo closed his eyes.
Michael continued.
“Your father had a twin son. His name was Luca. Luca died as an infant, but your father used his death to erase every trace of another heir.”
Sophia covered her mouth.
“Your mother knew,” Michael continued.
“She believed keeping you ignorant would keep you alive.”
A pause.
Then Michael said:
“But there was another child your father never knew about.”
Lorenzo opened his eyes.
Sophia looked at Daniel.
Michael's voice continued.
“Elena's son survived.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“That was you.”
The tape clicked.
Then Michael spoke again.
“And if you're listening because of Vivien, understand this. The baby she carries is not yours. But the child may still be connected to your family.”
Lorenzo looked at Sophia.
“How?”
The tape answered.
“Because Victor Romano obtained genetic material from Elena's family.”
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Then Sophia noticed something.
The photograph.
The newborn.
The blanket.
She recognized the blanket.
It had been in Michael's apartment.
She had donated it after his death.
Or thought she had.
She looked at Daniel.
“Where did this photograph come from?”
“The locker.”
Sophia turned it over.
There was another note.
Protect the child.
She read it.
Then looked at Daniel.
“Michael knew about you.”
“Yes.”
“And he knew about Vivien.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't he tell me?”
Daniel's eyes filled.
“Because he believed the people watching him would come after you.”
Sophia sat down.
For years, she had thought Michael's secrecy was emotional distance.
Now she understood it had been protection.
Then the study door opened.
Brenda entered.
She looked exhausted.
“I heard everything.”
Lorenzo stared at her.
“How long have you known?”
She shook her head.
“I didn't know about the baby.”
“What did you know?”
Brenda looked at Sophia.
“Michael came to me once.”
“When?”
“Two months before he died.”
Sophia's heart stopped.
“What did he say?”
“He told me to protect Emma.”
Sophia stood.
“From whom?”
Brenda began crying.
“From Vivien.”
Everyone went still.
“Why?”
“Because Vivien knew Emma had something.”
“What?”
Brenda reached into her handbag.
She removed a small silver necklace.
Sophia recognized it immediately.
Emma had worn it when she was a baby.
The pendant was a tiny rabbit.
Brenda handed it to Sophia.
“Michael gave this to me.”
Sophia opened the pendant.
Inside was a tiny photograph.
Michael.
Sophia.
And baby Emma.
Behind the photograph was a handwritten note.
Emma is not connected to the Duca bloodline.
Sophia stared.
Relief came first.
Then confusion.
“Then why was Vivien interested in her?”
Brenda looked at Lorenzo.
“Because Emma saw something.”
“What?”
“She saw Vivien give Marco the original clinic file.”
Sophia's heart stopped.
“When?”
“Months ago.”
“Where?”
Brenda pointed toward the east wing.
“In the nursery.”
Then Lorenzo stood.
“Where is the file now?”
Brenda shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Sophia looked at Emma's rabbit.
The old gray rabbit Michael had made from his coat.
Suddenly she remembered something.
Emma had always refused to let anyone wash it.
She called it Daddy's rabbit.
Sophia reached into her bag.
She picked it up.
The rabbit's left ear was loose.
She opened the seam.
Something hard was hidden inside.
A tiny memory card.
Lorenzo stared.
“Michael.”
Sophia nodded.
She held the card in her palm.
May you like
For three years, the truth had been hidden inside a child's stuffed rabbit.
And now it was finally in their hands.
