Chapter 6 - NO MORE LIES
I looked at Gabriel.
Alessandro noticed.
His expression hardened.
“You knew.”
Gabriel did not answer.
“You knew her name was not Emma.”
“Yes.”
Alessandro turned slowly toward him.
“How long?”
“Long enough.”
“That is not an answer.”
“It is the answer I am giving until she decides what you should know.”
Alessandro looked ready to tear the room apart.
Instead, he faced me.
“Everyone leave.”
Liam immediately said no.
Alessandro’s eyes moved to him.
“You must be Liam Carter.”
“And you must be exactly as controlling as I expected.”
“Liam.”
I was exhausted.
“Please.”
He stared at me.
Then at Alessandro.
“If she tells you to leave, you leave.”
Alessandro almost smiled.
“Understood.”
The others walked out.
For the first time since the Obsidian, Alessandro and I were alone.
But this time, there was no champagne.
No skyline.
No pretending.
He stood several feet away.
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“About your name.”
“Yes.”
“About why you were at the gala.”
I hesitated.
His eyes narrowed.
“Yes.”
He laughed once without humor.
“What were you doing there?”
“Looking for your uncle.”
That answer hit him.
“Matteo?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I believe he helped murder my parents.”
Alessandro said nothing.
I told him everything.
My father.
Vittorio.
The shell companies.
Patrick Carter.
The brake line.
The break-in.
The years living as Emma Reed.
The key.
Union Station.
The flash drive.
I expected disbelief.
Instead, I watched recognition slowly replace anger.
“My father knew Thomas Shaw.”
“You knew?”
“No.”
“But you’ve heard the name.”
“Yes.”
He walked toward the window.
“When I was twenty-six, my father told me there was an accountant helping him investigate internal theft.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“He never told me who.”
“Why?”
“Because he did not trust anyone.”
“Including you?”
“Including me.”
That answer sounded painful.
Alessandro turned around.
“Three weeks later, he died.”
“Stroke?”
“That was the official explanation.”
“You don’t believe it.”
“I haven’t for years.”
The room suddenly felt smaller.
“So you’ve suspected Matteo.”
“I’ve suspected several people.”
“Why keep him close?”
“Because suspicion is not proof.”
“We have a flash drive.”
His eyes sharpened.
“Where?”
“Liam has it.”
“Then nobody touches it until my cyber team can create copies.”
“My evidence is not becoming Vitali property.”
His expression shifted.
“You think I want to bury it.”
“I don’t know what you want.”
“I want the truth.”
“You also want control.”
“Yes.”
At least he admitted it.
He stepped closer.
“I control situations because uncontrolled situations kill people.”
“My parents were careful.”
“So was my father.”
We stood in silence.
Then his gaze dropped toward my stomach.
His voice changed.
“Were you ever going to tell me?”
“I don’t know.”
“That is not good enough.”
“It is the truth.”
“I had a right to know.”
“I found out this morning.”
He stopped.
Some of his anger faded.
“This morning?”
“Yes.”
He looked toward the ultrasound monitor.
Then back at me.
“Did you think I would hurt you?”
I could have lied.
I did not.
“Yes.”
Something in his face broke.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
“I would never harm you.”
“You barely know me.”
“I know that.”
“You know a woman named Emma who lied to you.”
“I know the woman who stayed up until dawn telling me she wanted to work in emergency medicine because strangers deserve someone calm beside them on the worst day of their lives.”
I looked away.
He remembered.
Every word.
Alessandro stepped closer but did not touch me.
“My uncle may be dangerous.”
“My family may be dangerous.”
“My world is absolutely dangerous.”
“But you and that child are not my enemies.”
I swallowed.
“Then prove it.”
His eyes held mine.
“How?”
“Help me expose Matteo.”
He was silent for a long time.
Then he nodded.
“All right.”
The door opened suddenly.
Gabriel entered without knocking.
His face told us something had happened.
“What?”
Alessandro asked.
Gabriel held up his phone.
“There’s a problem.”
He turned the screen toward us.
A photograph had already appeared online.
It showed Alessandro entering the private clinic.
The headline underneath made my knees weak.
ALESSANDRO VITALI’S SECRET WOMAN PREGNANT?
Below it was another photograph.
My diner employee badge.
The name EMMA REED was clearly visible.
May you like
And beneath that photograph was a single anonymous comment.
ASK HER WHY ELIZABETH SHAW NEVER REALLY DIED.
