Chapter 7: The Secret Luca Buried From Everyone
The words stayed in the air.
*He was investigating me.*
For a moment, I couldn't understand them.
Not because they were complicated.
Because they were impossible.
I looked at Luca.
The man who had spent years building an empire.
The man who everyone described as untouchable.
The man I once believed I knew better than anyone.
And suddenly, I wondered how much of him had always been hidden.
"What does that mean?""
My voice sounded smaller than I wanted.
Luca didn't answer immediately.
That scared me more than anything.
Because Luca Moretti always had answers.
Even when he lied.
Even when he avoided the truth.
He always had something to say.
But now?
Nothing.
"Tell me.""
He looked away.
"Isabella...""
"No.""
I stepped back.
"Not again.""
His eyes returned to mine.
"Not another secret. Not another thing you decide I can't handle.""
The pain on his face was immediate.
Good.
I needed him to understand.
"I spent seven months thinking I wasn't enough for you.""
My voice shook.
"I thought Vanessa was better. I thought you looked at her and saw something I didn't have.""
"That's not true.""
"Then why did you let me believe it?""
He had no answer.
Because there wasn't one.
Not a good one.
Luca lowered his head.
"When Marco disappeared, I started looking into everything.""
"Everything?""
"The company. The family. My own history.""
I frowned.
"Your history?""
He nodded.
"Marco found something connected to my father.""
I stared at him.
"Your father?""
"My father wasn't the man everyone thought he was.""
The apartment became quiet.
Outside, the rain had slowed.
But inside, everything felt like a storm.
"What did Marco find?""
Luca walked toward the window.
His reflection stared back at him.
A powerful man who suddenly looked exhausted.
"When my father built Moretti Holdings, he made deals with people who weren't exactly legal.""
I swallowed.
"Criminals?""
He didn't answer.
That was enough.
"But what does that have to do with you?""
His hands tightened.
"Because some of those deals continued after I took over.""
My heart dropped.
"You were involved?""
"No.""
The answer came instantly.
"I never knew.""
"But Marco thought you did.""
Luca nodded.
"Yes.""
I looked at the photograph.
At Marco smiling beside Vanessa.
At the note.
*She wasn't trying to steal Luca from you. She was trying to get close to what Luca was hiding.*
"So Marco thought you were hiding something.""
"Yes.""
"And were you?""
The question hurt both of us.
Luca looked at me.
"I was hiding that I was investigating my own family.""
I almost laughed.
"That isn't what I mean.""
He understood.
The silence stretched.
Then he said:
"There was one thing I didn't tell you.""
My chest tightened.
Of course.
Another thing.
"Of course there was.""
He closed his eyes briefly.
"I found evidence that someone inside the company had been using my name.""
"Using your name for what?""
"Illegal transfers.""
The words made my stomach twist.
"So someone was framing you.""
"Yes.""
"And Marco knew?""
"Yes.""
"Then why investigate you?""
Luca looked at me.
"Because the evidence pointed to my accounts.""
The answer was quiet.
Terrifying.
"I don't understand.""
"Marco believed I was involved.""
My breath caught.
"You weren't.""
"No.""
"How do you know?""
His expression changed.
Because that question hurt.
"Because I know who I am.""
The confidence in his voice was almost gone.
Almost.
"But Marco didn't.""
I looked away.
A part of me wanted to defend him.
Another part remembered everything.
The lies.
The distance.
The silence.
"Did Vanessa know?""
"I don't know.""
"She was with Marco.""
"Yes.""
"And then she came after you.""
His jaw tightened.
"Yes.""
"Why?""
"I thought she was trying to get information.""
"About you?""
"Yes.""
I stared at him.
"And you still let her be around you?""
"I was trying to find out what she knew.""
I shook my head.
"Do you hear yourself?""
He went silent.
"You kept secrets. You met with another woman. You let the world think you betrayed me.""
"I know.""
"Stop.""
He stopped.
I took a breath.
"How many times did you choose a plan over me?""
His face changed.
Because he knew the answer.
Too many.
"I thought if I told you the truth, you would become a target.""
"And instead?""
His eyes lowered.
"Instead, I made you feel abandoned.""
The honesty hurt more than another excuse.
Because I couldn't fight honesty.
I looked down at my belly.
The baby moved.
A tiny reminder of the life we had created while everything around us fell apart.
Luca noticed.
His expression softened.
"Can I...""
He stopped.
I knew what he wanted.
To touch.
To feel.
To be part of something he missed.
For a second, I almost said yes.
Then I remembered the empty nights.
The appointments.
The fear.
"No.""
His face fell.
But he nodded.
"I understand.""
The fact that he accepted it hurt more.
Because anger would have been easier.
An hour later, we sat at my kitchen table.
Not as husband and wife.
Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
Just two people trying to understand a disaster that had already destroyed too much.
Luca placed a folder in front of me.
"What is that?""
"Everything I found.""
I opened it.
Documents.
Bank records.
Photos.
Names.
Dates.
A whole world Luca had been fighting alone.
"You should have shown me.""
"I know.""
I looked up.
He didn't correct himself this time.
Good.
"I was wrong.""
The words surprised me.
Because Luca Moretti rarely admitted mistakes.
"I thought protecting you meant keeping you away from the danger.""
He looked at me.
"But I forgot you were my partner.""
The word hit me.
Partner.
Not wife.
Not possession.
Partner.
Something we used to be.
Before everything broke.
"There's one more thing.""
I sighed.
"What now?""
His expression became serious.
"The night you left...""
I waited.
"I didn't ask for the divorce because I wanted to leave you.""
"Then why?""
He looked at the folder.
"Because I found out someone had been watching you.""
A chill moved through me.
"Watching me?""
He nodded.
"I found photos.""
"What kind of photos?""
"Photos of you.""
"Where?""
"Everywhere.""
My hands went cold.
"At the grocery store. At your doctor's office. Outside our home.""
My heart started racing.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because the last photo I found...""
He stopped.
"What?""
His eyes met mine.
"It was taken the day before you left.""
I waited.
"What was in it?""
Luca's voice dropped.
"It showed you walking into our house.""
"And?""
He swallowed.
"Someone was standing behind you.""
My stomach tightened.
"Who?""
Luca pushed another photograph toward me.
I picked it up.
The picture was blurry.
But clear enough.
A figure in the background.
A person standing near the entrance of our home.
Watching me.
Waiting.
I looked closer.
Then I froze.
Because I recognized the person.
Not from the photo.
From my memory.
The night I left.
The person who had stood outside our house.
The person who had said they came to deliver a message.
The person I never thought mattered.
My fingers began shaking.
"Luca...""
He looked at me.
"Who is it?""
I couldn't speak.
Because the person in the photograph was someone I had trusted.
Someone who had hugged me.
Someone who had told me they were worried about me.
Someone who had cried when I left.
I finally whispered the name.
"Your mother.""
Luca went completely still.
And then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
"What?""
I watched his face lose all color.
"Who is it?""
He didn't answer.
He just handed me the phone.
The call was from an unknown number.
But the voicemail had already been left.
I pressed play.
A woman's voice filled the room.
A voice I recognized instantly.
"Isabella...""
My blood froze.
Because it was Luca's mother.
And she was crying.
"Please don't trust my son.""
The message continued.
"Because he still doesn't know the truth about what happened the night you left.""
The recording ended.
Then one final notification appeared.
A new message.
A photograph.
Of Luca's mother.
Tied to a chair.
May you like
And beneath it, one sentence:
*Now ask Luca why his family is willing to destroy itself to protect one secret.*
