The Blood That Bound Us

PART 3 — THE WOMAN WHO KNEW THE TRUTH

By morning, Elena had been transferred to a private medical facility owned by my company.

The best surgeons in Chicago were treating her, and six armed men guarded every entrance.

I hadn’t slept.

I sat beside her bed, holding the little silver bracelet Sofia had left behind.

At 9:15 a.m., Elena finally opened her eyes.

“Where am I?”

“Somewhere safe.”

She turned her head toward me.

“You’re the man from the hospital.”

“Yes.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Why are you here?”

I struggled to find the right words.

“Because your mother knew me.”

Elena looked away.

“My mother told me never to trust men like you.”

The words hurt more than I expected.

“She was right to be careful,” I admitted.

“Did you know her?”

I nodded.

“I loved her.”

Elena’s eyes filled with tears.

“Then why weren’t you there?”

I had no answer that could make seventeen years disappear.

“I didn’t know you existed. If I had known, I would have come for you.”

She stared at me for a long moment.

Then she whispered, “Mom used to show me a photograph of a man. She said he was my father, but he couldn’t come home because dangerous people wanted to hurt him.”

I lowered my head.

“I’m sorry, Elena.”

She wiped her tears.

“Did he know I was born?”

“No.”

“Then why should I believe you?”

I reached into my jacket and placed Sofia’s photograph on the bedside table.

Elena stared at it.

It showed Sofia standing beside me beneath the lights of a Christmas market. She was laughing, her arms wrapped around my waist.

Elena touched the photograph with trembling fingers.

“That’s my mom.”

“Yes.”

She looked at me again.

For the first time, I saw something other than fear in her eyes.

Before either of us could speak, Marco entered.

“Boss. We found Victoria.”

“Where?”

“She’s at the Blackwood Hotel. And there’s something else.”

He placed a photograph on the table.

It showed Victoria standing beside a man outside a private restaurant.

My older brother, Alessandro.

I went completely still.

Alessandro had supposedly died seventeen years ago.

“That’s impossible,” I whispered.

Marco shook his head.

“Apparently, your brother never died.”

Elena looked between us.

“Who is that man?”

I couldn’t answer immediately.

Then my phone rang.

A woman’s voice came through.

“Hello, Luca. It’s been a long time.”

Victoria.

“What do you want?”

She laughed softly.

“Your daughter, of course. But before you come looking for me, there’s something you should know.”

I tightened my grip on the phone.

“Talk.”

“Alessandro didn’t disappear because of a business dispute. He disappeared because Sofia discovered what he had done.”

“What did he do?”

Her voice dropped.

“He was the one who ordered her death.”

My entire body went cold.

Then Victoria delivered the final revelation.

“And Luca, there’s another reason Sofia never came back to you.”

I stared at Elena.

Victoria whispered:

“Your brother told Sofia that if she ever revealed the truth about your daughter, he would make sure you believed Elena wasn’t yours.”

The call ended.

I slowly lowered the phone.

Seventeen years ago, someone had stolen my family.

And now, I was going to find out why.

But as I looked at Elena, I realized something even more frightening.

My daughter hadn’t just inherited my blood.

She had inherited my enemies.