Chapter 9 - THE MAN WHO BETRAYED HIS OWN BLOOD

I found Marcus in the old guest house.

The same place where Michael used to stay.

The irony wasn’t lost on me.

The brother who betrayed me was hiding in the room of the brother he betrayed.

I opened the door.

Marcus stood near the window.

And Lily was sitting on the couch.

Safe.

But terrified.

The moment she saw me, she ran.

“Mr. Moretti!”

I caught her.

She grabbed my jacket.

“I’m sorry.”

My heart broke.

Again.

Even now.

Even after everything.

She thought she was the problem.

I looked at Marcus.

“What did you do?”

He looked exhausted.

Not powerful.

Not confident.

Just tired.

“I was trying to protect her.”

I stared at him.

“By taking her?”

“I needed time.”

“You kidnapped a four-year-old.”

“I didn’t hurt her.”

“No.”

I stepped closer.

“You just scared her.”

His face changed.

Because he knew it was true.

Lily held onto my jacket.

I lowered my voice.

“Why?”

Marcus looked at her.

Then away.

“Because Evelyn was going to do something worse.”

That caught my attention.

“What?”

He swallowed.

“She was planning to challenge the trust.”

“What?”

“She found a loophole.”

I stared.

“She wanted custody.”

Silence.

“She wanted to prove Anna was unfit.”

My hands tightened.

“Why?”

“Because if Anna lost custody…”

He stopped.

I finished the sentence.

“The inheritance would be controlled by someone else.”

Marcus nodded.

Evelyn.

Of course.

The money.

Everything came back to money.

“She used me,” Marcus whispered.

I looked at him.

“You let her.”

His eyes dropped.

“I thought I was fixing the family.”

“No.”

I looked at Lily.

“You were protecting a lie.”

Marcus closed his eyes.

“I was scared.”

“Of what?”

He looked at me.

“Of becoming like Dad.”

That answer surprised me.

Because for the first time, he sounded honest.

“Our father cared about the family name more than people.”

He looked at Lily.

“And I watched him destroy Michael.”

I froze.

“What?”

Marcus looked away.

“There’s more you don’t know.”

Before I could ask, my phone rang.

Daniel.

I answered.

“Tell me.”

His voice was urgent.

“We found Arthur Vale.”

“Where?”

“Leaving the country.”

“Stop him.”

“There’s a problem.”

“What?”

A pause.

Then:

“He has documents proving your father was involved.”

I looked at Marcus.

“What documents?”

Daniel’s voice lowered.

“Documents showing your father knew Lily existed.”

My chest tightened.

Impossible.

“My father knew?”

“Yes.”

“And he hid it?”

“No.”

Daniel paused.

“He did something worse.”

I felt the room become colder.

“What?”

“He signed papers removing Lily from the family line.”

I looked at the little girl holding my hand.

A child who had been taught to apologize.

A child who had been hidden.

A child who had been erased.

And then Daniel said the words that changed everything:

“Adrian…”

May you like

THE MAID’S DAUGHTER

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE,” HIS FIANCÉE TOLD THE MAID—THEN THE MAFIA BOSS LOOKED AT HER LITTLE GIRL“Get out of my house. And take that...

**MY HUSBAND CALLED ME A “BARREN LEECH”—HE DIDN’T KNOW MY MONEY WAS KEEP...

My husband threw his wedding ring at my feet and told security to remove the “barren leech” from the ballroom.He had no idea he wa...

MY DAUGHTER’S NOTE STOPPED MY WEDDING—AND EXPOSED MY BRIDE

MY DAUGHTER SLIPPED ME A NOTE BEFORE “I DO”—AND EXPOSED MY BRIDE’S PLANPART 1 — TEN MINUTES BEFORE THE VOWS“Daddy, if you marry he...

“Your father wasn’t trying to hide Lily from the family.”

“He was trying to make sure she never became part of it.”