Chapter 3 - The Three Names
Sofia grabbed my wrist.
“Bathroom.”
“What?”
“Now.”
We ran.
She pushed open the bathroom window.
I stared down at the alley.
“We're on the seventh floor.”
“I know.”
“I'm not climbing out that.”
“You don't have to.”
She pointed toward the neighboring maintenance balcony.
A narrow metal walkway connected the hotel to an adjacent building.
My heart pounded.
“You've done this before.”
“No.”
“Then why do you know where it is?”
“Because Dante showed me.”
The pounding at the door became louder.
A man's voice shouted.
“Security! Open up!”
Sofia looked at me.
“That's not security.”
She climbed through the window.
I followed.
Cold rain struck my face.
Halfway across the metal walkway, a gunshot cracked through the night.
I screamed.
Sofia pulled me down.
“Stay low!”
Another shot.
The hotel window shattered.
We crawled until we reached the next building.
A service door opened.
A man stood there.
“Move.”
Sofia froze.
I recognized him.
Dante's head of security.
Marco.
He looked at me.
“Mr. Moretti has been trying to reach you.”
I stared at him.
“Is he safe?”
“Yes.”
“Did he send you?”
“Yes.”
Sofia shook her head.
“No, he didn't.”
Marco's face changed.
He looked toward her.
“How do you know?”
“Because Dante would never send you without three men.”
Marco reached for his gun.
Sofia stepped between us.
“Marco, wait.”
A second man emerged behind him.
Then a third.
My heart dropped.
Sofia whispered:
“Those aren't Dante's men.”
Marco pulled his gun.
Everything happened at once.
The corridor erupted with gunfire.
I ducked.
Someone grabbed my arm.
I screamed.
Then Dante appeared.
He moved through the chaos like a man who had been expecting war.
His eyes found mine.
“Lena!”
I ran toward him.
He caught me.
For one second, I forgot everything.
Then I pushed him away.
“You lied to me.”
“I know.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You knew someone was using my medical records.”
“Yes.”
“You knew I was pregnant?”
His face went completely still.
“No.”
“You didn't?”
“I knew they were trying to create an heir. I didn't know you were carrying our children.”
That distinction didn't comfort me.
“How many people knew?”
“Three.”
“Who?”
“Myself. Sofia. And Dr. Warren.”
I looked at Sofia.
“Then someone else knows.”
Dante nodded.
“Victor.”
The name hung between us.
“What does he want?”
“Control.”
“Of the trust?”
“Of everything.”
Dante led us into a secure room beneath the building.
Only then did he tell me the truth.
His father hadn't simply left behind a fortune.
He had built a private network of legitimate businesses that funded hospitals and research.
The Moretti Foundation owned a controlling interest in several companies.
But the legal structure contained an unusual clause.
If Dante died without a biological heir, voting control would eventually pass to Victor.
If Dante had children, the trust would remain protected.
Someone had therefore tried to create children using stolen biological material.
My children.
I touched my stomach.
“Why would they need three?”
Dante looked at me.
“Because one child could be disputed.”
His voice was quiet.
“Three children are harder to erase.”
I stared at him.
“What are you saying?”
“The records were being prepared to show that you underwent fertility treatment voluntarily.”
My blood froze.
“They wanted to make it look like you agreed.”
Sofia nodded.
“And once the children were born, they could claim the embryos belonged to someone else.”
“Who?”
Dante looked toward her.
“Sofia's brother.”
I turned.
“Her brother?”
Sofia's eyes filled.
“Evan was a genetic researcher.”
She explained that Evan discovered the scheme and tried to expose it.
Victor had taken him.
Dante had spent months pretending to distrust Sofia so Victor would believe she had joined his side.
The kiss had been part of the performance.
But there was one detail Dante had never told me.
“Why didn't you tell me any of this?”
He stared at me.
“Because every time I tried, someone moved first.”
“You could have trusted me.”
“I was afraid trusting you would get you killed.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You didn't protect me, Dante.”
“I know.”
“You made me believe I was crazy.”
His eyes dropped.
“That was my biggest mistake.”
Silence.
Then Marco entered.
“We found the source of the messages.”
Dante looked up.
“Who?”
Marco handed him a tablet.
Dante stared at the screen.
His face hardened.
“It came from inside the Moretti penthouse.”
I stopped breathing.
Someone had been living beside us.
Someone had been watching me.
Someone had known about my pregnancy before I did.
Then Marco added:
“There's one more problem.”
“What?”
“The person who accessed Lena's medical records used Dante's personal biometric authorization.”
I looked at my husband.
Dante slowly raised his eyes.
“Only one person has my biometric code besides me.”
“Who?”
He whispered:
“My mother.”
I frowned.
“Your mother died eight years ago.”
Dante said nothing.
Then Sofia stepped backward.
“That's impossible.”
Dante opened the file.
A photograph appeared.
An older woman.
Alive.
Standing outside the fertility clinic.
May you like
And beneath the photograph was a name:
Lucia Moretti.
