Chapter 15 - THE FATHER I THOUGHT WAS DEAD|
My father was alive.
The thought was so impossible that I couldn't speak.
My mother explained that Richard Brooks had been a research scientist at Northstar before the company became a Varenna-controlled operation. He had helped develop a confidential genetic database intended to identify inherited medical conditions.
But when he discovered that the data was being used to manipulate wealthy families, he tried to expose the project.
He vanished shortly afterward.
“Why didn't you tell me?” I asked.
“Because I didn't know where he was. And I believed they would hurt you if I spoke.”
Luca sat beside me.
“We'll find him.”
My mother looked at him.
“You don't understand. Your father-in-law has been looking for Richard for years.”
Luca's expression changed.
“Augusto?”
“He wanted the original research records. Richard took them before he disappeared.”
Marco immediately began searching.
Within hours, he found an old financial transfer connected to a rural property in New Hampshire. The property had been purchased under a false name and maintained through a small trust.
There was a recent electricity bill.
Someone was living there.
Luca wanted to go immediately, but I insisted on accompanying him.
We traveled with a security team and contacted local authorities before approaching the property.
The house was small, surrounded by trees. An older man opened the door.
His hair was gray.
His shoulders were thinner than I remembered from the photographs my mother had kept.
But I recognized his eyes.
“Dad?”
He stared at me.
Then his face crumpled.
“Evelyn.”
I walked toward him.
He reached for me, then stopped as if afraid I would disappear.
I hugged him.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then he looked over my shoulder and saw Luca.
His expression changed.
“Varenna.”
Luca nodded.
“Mr. Brooks.”
My father stepped back.
“Your family destroyed my life.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Luca didn't defend himself.
“I know what my father did. I'm trying to put an end to it.”
My father studied him.
Then he looked at my stomach.
“Is that his child?”
“Yes.”
He closed his eyes.
“Then you need to hear everything.”
Inside the house, he showed us the original Northstar research files. He had preserved them for years, afraid that the company would destroy the evidence if he exposed it too soon.
He explained that the genetic database had never been designed to identify infertility. That was only one part of a larger operation.
Northstar had been tracking inherited conditions, family relationships, and potential heirs.
Augusto wanted to control who could inherit the Varenna empire. Carlo wanted to sell the information to other criminal organizations.
Luca's false diagnosis had been used to keep him from having an heir until the business alliance was secure.
But there was something my father had not expected.
He looked at the newest file.
Then at me.
“Evelyn, your blood sample was used as a reference in their research.”
“Why?”
“Because your family has a genetic marker that can help identify certain inherited conditions.”
Luca frowned.
“Is it dangerous?”
“No. But Northstar has been using it to identify relatives without their consent.”
My father turned another page.
Then his face went pale.
“There's a problem.”
“What?”
He pointed to a list of samples.
“Someone has recently requested a new analysis using Evelyn's pregnancy records.”
Luca stood.
“Who?”
May you like
My father looked at him.
“Your uncle Carlo.”
