Chapter 5 – [THE BOY WHO BELONGED TO NO ONE]

“Who is he?” Luca’s voice cracked like a whip.

Vanessa slumped against Matteo’s arm. All the fight had finally drained out of her.

“He’s an orphan,” she whispered.

I felt Leo grab my apron again. His small hands were shaking.

“An orphan,” Luca repeated, staring at the little boy who possessed the exact same gray eyes as him. “You’re telling me this child has no Moretti blood?”

Vanessa shook her head weakly. “No. He doesn’t.”

“Then how does he look exactly like my father?”

Vanessa looked up, her mascara running in thick black rivers down her cheeks.

“He doesn’t look like your father, Luca. He looks like you.”

The room spun.

Answer one. Open two.

Leo wasn’t the father’s son.

“I hired a private investigator four years ago,” Vanessa confessed, her voice raspy. “I needed a backup plan. If I couldn’t trick your father into signing the will, I needed a trump card to force my way into the family. I had them search adoption agencies across the state for a child that shared your distinct features.”

“You bought a child,” Maria said, clutching her chest. “Like a piece of furniture.”

“I gave him a home!” Vanessa cried. “I took him out of the system!”

“You locked him in a dark wing and told him I was a monster!” Luca roared.

It was the first time he had raised his voice all night. The sound was deafening.

Leo flinched, hiding his face against my leg.

Luca saw it. He instantly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced his rage back into a tight, controlled box.

He knelt down again, ignoring Vanessa completely.

“Leo,” Luca said softly.

The boy peeked out.

“I’m sorry I yelled,” Luca said. “I’m not angry at you. I promise.”

Leo sniffled. “Am I going to have to go back to the gray building?”

My heart shattered. The orphanage.

Luca reached out and gently placed a hand on Leo’s shoulder.

“No. You are never going back to a gray building. This is your home now.”

Leo looked confused. “But she said I’m not your brother.”

“Family isn’t just about blood,” Luca said, his voice thick with emotion. “Family is who you protect. And from this second forward, you are under my protection.”

I felt a tear slip down my cheek.

But the touching moment was shattered by a harsh reality.

“What about your real baby?” Maria demanded, turning back to Vanessa. “The one in the photograph Marco found. The one with the birthmark.”

Vanessa looked away. “He died. Two days after he was born. A heart defect.”

It was the one true, tragic thing she had said all night.

Her real plan to trap the father had died with her infant son. So she had bought Leo to play the part, waiting for the perfect moment to execute her grand deception.

“Matteo,” Luca said, standing up.

“Boss.”

“Take Vanessa out to the cars. Drive her to the city limits.”

Vanessa gasped. “You’re letting me go?”

“I am exiling you,” Luca corrected coldly. “If you ever set foot in Chicago again, if you ever contact this family, or if you ever breathe Leo’s name to a single living soul… Marco will handle it.”

Vanessa knew exactly what that meant.

She didn’t argue. She didn’t beg. She simply turned and let Matteo march her out the back door into the cold Chicago night.

The kitchen felt incredibly empty once she was gone.

Just Luca, Maria, me, and Leo.

“Marco,” Luca said into his phone, which was still connected.

“Yeah, Boss.”

“Dr. Vance. He killed my mother.”

Silence on the other end. Then, “Understood. We’ll take him to the warehouse. He won’t see tomorrow.”

“No,” Luca said.

I looked at him in surprise.

“Don’t kill him,” Luca ordered. “Pack all his files. Take him to the 14th District Police Precinct. Drop him on the steps with the evidence of his medical malpractice and blackmail. Let him rot in a cell for the rest of his miserable life.”

“You got it, Boss.”

Luca hung up.

He rubbed his face with both hands, looking utterly exhausted. The mafia boss armor was stripped away, leaving only a grieving son and a betrayed man.

“Emma,” Luca said.

“Yes.”

“Can you take Leo upstairs? To the main guest room. Not the south wing. Get him settled. I need to speak with Maria.”

“Of course.”

I took Leo’s hand. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go find you a real bedroom.”

We walked upstairs. I found the largest guest suite, turned on all the lights, and pulled back the heavy down comforter.

Leo climbed into the massive bed. He looked incredibly small in it.

“Emma?” he asked as I tucked him in.

“Yes, Leo.”

“Aunt V made me take something from her room before we came downstairs.”

I stopped. “What did she make you take?”

Leo reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet pouch.

He handed it to me.

“She said if things went bad, I had to hide this so she could sell it later.”

I opened the pouch.

Inside was a heavy, ornate silver key. It was antique, heavily tarnished, and etched with the Moretti family crest.

I had never seen it before.

I flipped the key over.

Engraved on the back were three words: The Chicago Trust.

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