Chapter 9 – THE BLOOD TIE

The paper trembled in my hands.

Father: Giuseppe Moretti.Mother: Helen Bennett.

The room started spinning. I dropped the paper as if it burned my skin.

I wasn’t just a maid who had stumbled into a family drama. I wasn’t just the daughter of the nurse who had kept Maria hidden.

I was Luca’s half-sister.

“Rachel?”

I jumped. Luca was standing in the doorway, holding a cup of coffee. He saw my pale face and immediately frowned, stepping into the room.

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I couldn’t speak. I just pointed to the birth certificate on the floor.

Luca set his mug down and picked up the paper. His eyes scanned the document. I watched his jaw tighten, his dark eyes widening as he read the names.

He looked up at me.

“My father…” Luca whispered, stunned. “My father and your mother?”

“I didn’t know,” I choked out, tears instantly pooling in my eyes. “Luca, I swear to God, I didn’t know. I thought Thomas Bennett was my father. He died when I was ten.”

Luca stared at the paper. Then, a dark realization washed over his face.

“That’s why he hired you,” Luca realized. “Two years ago, when you applied for the job. You had zero experience in high-end estates. But my father insisted on hiring you. He brought you into this house on purpose.”

“Why?” I asked, my voice cracking. “To watch me scrub his floors?”

Luca shook his head slowly. “To keep you close. To control you.”

Luca looked at the child’s drawing. “Rachel, if you are Giuseppe’s daughter… you are entitled to half of the Moretti estate. He didn’t want you to know. He wanted you as a servant so you could never claim what was yours.”

I felt sick. “I don’t want his money, Luca. I just want my mother.”

“We need to talk to her,” Luca said firmly.

We walked down the grand staircase together. My heart hammered against my ribs. How could my mother lie to me my entire life?

We found her in the conservatory, watering the orchids.

“Mom,” I said, my voice trembling.

She turned around, smiling. But when she saw the piece of paper in Luca’s hand, the watering can slipped from her fingers, clattering loudly against the stone floor.

“You found it,” she whispered, her face draining of color.

“Is it true?” I cried. “Is he my father?”

My mother covered her face with her hands, sobbing. “I’m so sorry, Rachel. I was young. I was his private nurse before he married Maria. When I got pregnant, he threatened to ruin my life if I ever told anyone. Thomas stepped in. He married me to protect us.”

Maria stepped into the conservatory, drawn by the noise. She looked at my mother, then at Luca.

“What is happening?” Maria asked.

Luca handed his mother the birth certificate.

Maria read it. She looked at my mother, who was bracing for anger, for hatred.

Instead, Maria walked across the room and gently took my mother’s hands.

“Giuseppe hurt us both, Helen,” Maria said softly. “But he gave us wonderful children.”

I broke down, falling into my mother’s arms. The secret was out. The last lie had been broken.

But as we stood there, Daniel burst through the conservatory doors. He was breathless, his hand resting on his holstered weapon.

“Boss,” Daniel gasped, looking at Luca.

“What is it?”

“Giuseppe’s transport to the federal penitentiary,” Daniel said, swallowing hard. “It was ambushed ten minutes ago.”

“He’s gone, boss. He escaped.”

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