Chapter 3 - My Father’s Last Secret
Luka Moretti didn't live in the dark mansion I expected.
He lived in a renovated brownstone in Brooklyn.
There were security cameras.
Heavy doors.
Men outside.
But inside?
Books.
Coffee.
A ridiculously ordinary kitchen.
I sat at the table holding my daughter.
“What do you want from me?”
Luka placed a small metal box on the table.
“Nothing.”
“Men like you always want something.”
“Your father said the same thing.”
I looked at the box.
“What is that?”
“His.”
The lock opened with a four-digit code.
“Your birthday.”
Inside were photographs.
Research notes.
A flash drive.
And a letter.
My name was written across it.
Emma.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Luka turned away.
“You've read this?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“It wasn't addressed to me.”
That answer made me trust him slightly more.
I read.
Emma,
If Luka gives you this letter, then I failed to keep M-17 buried.
Trust him before you trust anyone connected to Northstar Biomedical.
Including your husband.
I stopped.
“No.”
Luka remained silent.
I continued.
Daniel approached me two years ago asking questions about your childhood medical history. I told him nothing. Months later, I discovered he had accepted money from Northstar.
My eyes filled.
Dad had known.
He had tried to warn me.
But he died before he could.
The letter continued.
M-17 was created to treat a fatal inherited blood condition. The science worked, but the company concealed unauthorized trials and falsified patient records.
You were never an experiment, Emma.
You were a child I protected.
But your blood carries evidence of what happened.
If you ever have a child, that evidence may become impossible to deny.
I lowered the letter.
“My father wasn't my biological father?”
Luka sat opposite me.
“He was your father in every way that mattered.”
“But biologically?”
“No.”
“Who was?”
“I don't know.”
I studied him.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“You knew him nineteen years.”
“And Thomas never told me everything.”
“Then why you?”
Luka looked at his tattooed hands.
“Because your father saved my life.”
I waited.
“I was thirteen,” he said. “My mother worked nights cleaning the M-17 research building. I had the same blood disorder they were studying.”
“You were sick?”
“Dying.”
I stared at the powerful man across from me.
“Your father found out. Northstar refused to enroll me because I didn't meet their financial criteria.”
“So Dad treated you?”
“Off the books.”
“That could've destroyed his career.”
“It did.”
I suddenly understood.
The missing promotions.
The constant moving.
The paranoia after unknown numbers called our house.
Luka continued.
“He told me if anything happened to him, I had one responsibility.”
“What?”
“Protect you.”
I looked at my sleeping daughter.
“And her?”
“She changed everything.”
My phone rang.
Daniel.
I rejected it.
Immediately, a message appeared.
EMMA, DON'T LET MORETTI TEST THE BABY.
I showed Luka.
His expression hardened.
Another message arrived.
YOU DON'T KNOW WHO HE REALLY IS.
I looked at Luka.
“Do I?”
“No.”
That surprised me.
He leaned forward.
“My family has done things your father hated.”
“Illegal things?”
“Yes.”
“Have you?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
I appreciated that he didn't insult me with a lie.
“Then why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn't. Not blindly.”
He slid his phone across the table.
“That's why I arranged an independent laboratory. You choose the doctor. You watch the samples being sealed. You receive the results directly.”
“For what test?”
“Three.”
He counted.
“Your genetic marker. Your daughter's marker.”
Then he stopped.
“And paternity.”
My throat tightened.
“Daniel is her father.”
“Then the test will prove it.”
The doorbell rang.
One of Luka's men entered.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We've got company.”
Daniel stood outside.
And beside him was Vanessa.
My husband's mistress.
She was crying.
Luka looked at me.
“Want them removed?”
“No.”
I stood.
“Let them in.”
Vanessa entered first.
She looked terrified.
Daniel followed.
“Emma, we're going home.”
I stared at him.
“You changed the locks.”
“I'll change them back.”
“How generous.”
Vanessa suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Emma.”
Daniel snapped, “Vanessa, don't.”
She ignored him.
“There’s something you need to know.”
“What?”
She looked at Daniel.
Then at me.
“He didn't leave you because of me.”
Daniel shouted, “Shut up.”
Vanessa flinched.
I stared at her.
“Then why?”
May you like
Her next words changed everything.
“Because Northstar told him your baby wasn't supposed to be born.”
