Chapter 2 - The Name Sofia Never Wanted Him to Hear
Adrian had survived shootings with less difficulty than the next thirty seconds.
Pierce stood near the door.
Sofia sat frozen on the bed.
And that one sentence seemed to remain suspended in the air.
Your mother’s eyes.
Adrian’s mother, Isabella, had died nineteen years earlier.
Her eyes had been gray-green.
Exactly like Emily’s.
But thousands of people had gray-green eyes.
That meant nothing.
It had to mean nothing.
Adrian looked at Sofia.
“Explain.”
Pierce smiled.
Sofia did not.
Her fingers tightened around the blanket.
“Mr. Moretti.”
“Adrian.”
She blinked.
He rarely allowed staff to use his first name.
But this conversation had already moved far beyond employment.
“What does he know?”
Pierce opened his mouth.
Adrian turned.
“If you speak again before I ask you to, security will remove you through the service entrance.”
Pierce’s smile disappeared.
Adrian looked back at Sofia.
“Well?”
Sofia took a slow breath.
“Emily’s father is dead.”
Adrian felt something loosen in his chest.
Then tighten again.
“Who was he?”
Sofia looked down.
“Daniel Bennett.”
“Your husband?”
“Yes.”
“When did he die?”
“Before Emily was born.”
Pierce laughed under his breath.
Adrian ignored him.
“What does that have to do with my mother?”
Sofia did not answer.
Adrian watched her face.
The silence told him more than any words could.
“There’s something else.”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
“I can’t.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“Can’t?”
Sofia looked up.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then help me.”
Her lips trembled.
“I came here because I needed work.”
“That part I understand.”
“I did not come here because of you.”
“That is a very specific denial.”
Sofia looked toward the window.
Adrian’s patience narrowed.
“Who was Daniel Bennett?”
She whispered something.
He could not hear it.
“What?”
“Daniel Bennett wasn’t his real name.”
A slow chill moved through Adrian.
“Then what was it?”
Sofia looked at him.
“Daniel Moretti.”
The room became silent.
Adrian did not breathe.
The name belonged to a ghost.
Daniel Moretti.
His younger brother.
His only brother.
A man Adrian had buried twelve years ago.
Or believed he had.
Pierce whispered.
“Now you understand.”
Adrian turned so quickly Pierce stepped backward.
“You knew?”
Pierce said nothing.
“How long?”
Sofia answered.
“He found some documents about two months ago.”
Adrian’s voice became low.
“What documents?”
Pierce spoke carefully.
“Employment records.”
“What employment records contain my brother’s name?”
Sofia closed her eyes.
“Mine.”
Adrian stared at her.
She continued.
“When I applied here, I used Bennett because it was legally my last name.”
“Then why would Daniel appear anywhere?”
Sofia hesitated.
“Because I listed my late husband under emergency family history.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“My brother died twelve years ago.”
Sofia nodded.
“I know.”
“You said Emily’s father died before she was born.”
“Yes.”
“That was three years ago.”
“Yes.”
Adrian took one step toward her.
“Then either you are lying, or the man I buried was not my brother.”
Sofia looked at him for a long moment.
“The man you buried was not your brother.”
Adrian’s face became completely blank.
It was the expression he wore when someone had made a fatal mistake.
Pierce started toward the door.
Adrian did not even look at him.
“Stay.”
Pierce stopped.
Adrian’s eyes remained on Sofia.
“Start at the beginning.”
She swallowed.
“I met Daniel six years ago in Milwaukee.”
“What name was he using?”
“Daniel Bennett.”
“What did he do?”
“He repaired industrial machinery.”
Adrian almost laughed.
His brother had been raised in mansions.
Educated in Switzerland.
He had hated tools.
Or claimed to.
“He never told you who he was?”
“Not at first.”
“When did he tell you?”
“After we got married.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“You married him without knowing his real name?”
“Yes.”
“That seems convenient.”
Sofia flinched.
“I loved him.”
Adrian’s tone hardened.
“My brother was declared dead twelve years ago.”
“I know.”
“You expect me to believe he simply walked away from the Moretti family, changed his identity and repaired machinery in Wisconsin?”
Sofia looked at him.
“That is exactly what he did.”
“Why?”
Her expression changed.
“Because someone tried to kill him.”
Adrian said nothing.
Pierce shifted uncomfortably.
Sofia continued.
“Daniel told me the car accident that supposedly killed him was planned.”
Adrian remembered it.
A burned Mercedes at the bottom of a ravine.
Two bodies.
His brother and his driver.
Dental records had confirmed Daniel’s identity.
Adrian had stood beside the coffin.
He had watched his father break down for the first and only time.
“Who planned it?”
Sofia shook her head.
“He never knew for certain.”
“Then why disappear?”
“He believed the person who ordered it was inside your family.”
Adrian’s face darkened.
“My family?”
“He said staying dead was the only way to stay alive.”
Adrian turned away.
His mind moved quickly.
Too quickly.
Memories collided.
Daniel arguing with their father.
Daniel accusing someone of stealing.
Daniel saying Adrian trusted the wrong people.
Then the crash.
Then nothing.
Adrian looked back.
“How did he die three years ago?”
Sofia’s eyes filled.
“He was shot.”
Pierce slowly lowered his gaze.
Adrian saw it.
“Where?”
Sofia wiped her face.
“Outside our apartment.”
“Robbery?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because they didn’t take anything.”
The room seemed to shrink.
“He was carrying cash.”
“How much?”
“Almost six thousand dollars.”
“And they left it?”
“Yes.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“What did Daniel say before he died?”
Sofia’s breathing became uneven.
“He told me to run.”
“From whom?”
“He didn’t say.”
“What else?”
Sofia looked toward the door.
Then she whispered.
“He said if anyone ever found Emily, I should never let them take her to Chicago.”
Adrian’s chest tightened.
“Yet you came here.”
“I had no choice.”
“You chose my house.”
“I didn’t know this estate belonged to you.”
Adrian frowned.
“Moretti is not exactly a hidden name.”
“The employment agency never told me who owned the property.”
That was possible.
Adrian required staff agencies to use holding companies for privacy.
Sofia continued.
“When I learned whose house it was, I almost left.”
“What stopped you?”
“Emily needed medicine.”
Adrian looked at her worn shoes beside the bed.
Then at the cheap bottle of fever tablets on the nightstand.
A realization formed.
“You have no money.”
Sofia gave him a tired smile.
“No.”
“How much were you paid here?”
She did not answer.
Adrian turned to Pierce.
“How much?”
Pierce swallowed.
“Standard housekeeping rate.”
“That is not a number.”
“Three thousand a month.”
Sofia looked shocked.
Adrian noticed.
“You weren’t receiving three thousand.”
She slowly shook her head.
“How much?”
“Eighteen hundred.”
Adrian turned.
Pierce backed toward the wall.
“I can explain.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“You have ten seconds.”
“Administrative deductions.”
“For what?”
“Uniforms.”
Adrian looked at Sofia’s worn uniform.
“Anything else?”
“Meals.”
“Staff meals are free.”
Pierce said nothing.
Adrian pulled out his phone.
“Marco.”
His head of security answered instantly.
“Yes, boss.”
“Come to the staff wing.”
Pierce’s face changed.
“And bring two men.”
“Understood.”
Adrian ended the call.
Pierce moved forward.
“This is a misunderstanding.”
“No.”
Adrian looked at him.
“This is theft.”
Then he glanced toward Sofia.
“And possibly something worse.”
Pierce’s eyes hardened.
“You have no idea what you’re opening.”
Adrian’s voice was almost calm.
“That is what everyone says just before I open it.”
Footsteps sounded outside.
Pierce suddenly reached inside his jacket.
Adrian reacted instantly.
He slammed Pierce against the wall.
A small black object dropped to the carpet.
Not a gun.
A phone.
The screen lit up.
A message notification appeared.
Adrian looked down.
Only one line was visible.
SHE TOLD HIM ABOUT DANIEL.
Adrian picked up the phone.
Another message arrived.
REMOVE THE CHILD TONIGHT.
Adrian stared at the screen.
Then at Pierce.
Pierce’s face had lost all color.
Adrian spoke softly.
“Who sent this?”
Pierce remained silent.
May you like
Adrian took one step closer.
“Wrong answer.”
