Chapter 7 – The Photograph And The Liar

“Why does Helen Carter have a photograph of you and Jason?”

Luca’s voice was dangerously calm, but the absolute stillness in the library made the question echo like a gunshot.

I stared at the silver picture frame on the mahogany desk. My vision blurred, and the edges of the room seemed to tilt. Jason. The man who had walked out on me when Sophie was two years old. The man who claimed he “wasn’t ready for a family” and had vanished into thin air, leaving me drowning in debt and heartbreak.

“I… I don’t know,” I stammered, my hands trembling as I reached out to touch the glass. “I haven’t seen Jason in six years. I’ve never shown this picture to anyone at the estate.”

Luca looked at Daniel. “Where exactly did you find this?”

“Behind a false panel in her closet, Boss,” Daniel replied grimly. “Along with a stack of cash and a burner phone. But that’s not all.”

Daniel reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, folded piece of paper. He handed it to Luca.

Luca unfolded it. His dark eyes scanned the page, and the muscles in his jaw ticked furiously. He handed the paper to me.

It was a birth certificate.

Mother: Helen Carter.Father: William Carter.Child: Jason Carter.

The breath completely left my lungs. The paper slipped from my fingers, fluttering onto the desk beside the photograph.

“Mrs. Carter is Jason’s mother,” I whispered, the horrifying realization crashing down on me. “She’s Sophie’s grandmother.”

“She lied on her background check,” Daniel said, his voice hard. “She used her maiden name when she applied for the housekeeper position three years ago. We didn’t catch the connection to your ex-boyfriend, Rachel.”

“Why would she do that?” I cried, tears of pure betrayal springing to my eyes. “Why would she work in the same house as me for two years and never say a word? Why would she pretend not to know her own granddaughter?”

Luca didn’t answer immediately. He picked up the photograph and studied Jason’s face. Then, the pieces began to click together in his mind, painting a terrifying picture.

“Rachel,” Luca said quietly, turning to me. “When Jason left you six years ago, did he say where he was going?”

“No,” I shook my head, frantically trying to remember the worst day of my life. “He just packed his bags one night. He said he was in trouble. That he owed money to the wrong people and that staying with us would put Sophie in danger.”

Luca closed his eyes, exhaling a slow, heavy breath.

“Jason didn’t owe money to the wrong people,” Luca said, his voice tight with suppressed rage. “He owed money to me.”

I froze. “What?”

“Six years ago, before I took over the family, my father ran a bookmaking operation on the South Side,” Luca explained, pacing toward the fireplace. “A kid named Jason ran up a fifty-thousand-dollar gambling debt. He couldn’t pay it. My father sent enforcers to collect. Jason vanished the next day.”

The room spun. The father of my child had been running from the mafia. Running from Luca’s family.

“Helen didn’t come to work here by accident,” Luca continued, turning back to face me. “She infiltrated my house to spy on me. To find out if we were still actively hunting her son.”

“And she found me,” I realized, feeling sick to my stomach. “She saw me working here. She knew I was Jason’s ex. She knew Sophie was her granddaughter.”

“But she didn’t reveal herself,” Daniel pointed out, arms crossed. “Because if she did, she’d blow her cover as the housekeeper.”

“Worse,” Luca corrected darkly. “She realized Rachel was a better bargaining chip. Helen sold my financial records to the Bellini family, yes. But why would the Bellinis want to frame Rachel for theft tonight? Why did Vanessa go out of her way to ruin a maid’s reputation?”

I looked at him, terrified of the answer.

“Because Helen asked her to,” Luca stated, the sheer malice of the plot settling over the room. “Helen made a deal with Vanessa. Helen would give Vanessa the account numbers to freeze my money. In exchange, Vanessa would frame you for a felony, Rachel. If you were arrested and sent to prison, Helen could swoop in as the only living relative and claim custody of Sophie. She wanted her granddaughter, and she wanted you out of the picture permanently.”

A choked sob tore from my throat. I stumbled backward, pressing my hand against my mouth. The cake. The kindness. The motherly advice Mrs. Carter had given me for two years. It was all a grotesque performance. She had been studying me, waiting for the perfect moment to steal my child.

“Where is she?” I demanded, a sudden, fierce maternal rage burning through the shock. “Where is she, Luca? I want to see her.”

“She’s in the basement holding cell,” Daniel said, looking at Luca for permission.

“Bring her up,” Luca ordered instantly. “Bring her to the library.”

Daniel nodded and left the room.

I paced the floor, trembling with fury. Luca watched me, his expression a mix of awe and profound regret.

“I brought you into this, Rachel,” Luca said softly, stepping into my path. “If I hadn’t hired Helen, she never would have found you.”

“She would have found a way,” I said fiercely, looking up at him. “She’s a monster. But she’s not going to touch my daughter. Not ever.”

The heavy doors opened. Daniel marched Mrs. Carter into the room.

She wasn’t wearing her pristine housekeeper uniform or her bathrobe. She was in plain clothes, her hair disheveled. When she saw the silver photograph frame sitting on the desk next to her son’s birth certificate, her facade completely dropped. The sweet, grandmotherly woman vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating stranger.

“You found it,” Helen sneered, her eyes locking onto me. “I suppose the jig is up.”

“You are a psychopath,” I spat, stepping toward her. Daniel tensed, ready to intervene, but Luca held up a hand, letting me confront her. “You sat in my kitchen. You brought a cake for the granddaughter you were actively trying to steal from me. How could you?”

“Because my son is a coward!” Helen shouted back, her voice echoing in the library. “Jason ran away because of these animals!” She pointed a shaking finger at Luca. “He left his own child behind to save his skin! For six years, I’ve had to watch you raise my flesh and blood in poverty, scrubbing floors to get by. She belongs with her family!”

“I am her family!” I screamed. “You traded me to the Bellinis! You sold Luca out just to frame me for a crime I didn’t commit!”

“And it would have worked if he hadn’t broken the engagement,” Helen laughed bitterly, glaring at Luca. “But it doesn’t matter now. You’re done, Moretti. The Bellinis have your money. Carlo is going to slaughter you and take over the city. And when you’re dead, I’ll tell the police you kidnapped me and Rachel, and I’ll take Sophie anyway.”

Luca didn’t yell. He didn’t raise his voice. He simply walked over to the mahogany desk, picked up the burner phone Daniel had found under Helen’s mattress, and held it up.

“You think Carlo Bellini is going to protect you, Helen?” Luca asked softly.

Helen scoffed. “I gave him your offshore accounts. He owes me.”

“Carlo Bellini doesn’t leave loose ends,” Luca said coldly. “He sent a hitman to Rachel’s apartment tonight. A professional. If he was willing to kill the maid, what do you think he’s going to do to the spy who knows he committed federal wire fraud to freeze my accounts?”

Helen’s face went pale. The arrogant sneer faltered.

“You’re lying,” she whispered.

“Am I?” Luca tossed the burner phone onto the desk. “Turn it on, Helen. Check the last received message.”

Helen hesitated. She slowly reached out with trembling hands, picked up the phone, and powered the screen on.

She read the text message. Her eyes widened in absolute terror. The phone slipped from her fingers, clattering onto the hardwood floor.

I looked down at the glowing screen.

The message was from a blocked number.

It read: The Moretti accounts are frozen. Your son’s gambling debt is officially transferred to us. Tell us where Jason is hiding by midnight, or we send his head to your house in a box.