Chapter 15 - THE PRICE OF A DAUGHTER|
Samuel did not try to touch Clara.
He stood on the opposite side of the table, his hands trembling slightly as he explained the truth he had concealed for thirty-four years.
He had loved Isabella before she became involved with Lorenzo. Their relationship had ended when Samuel began working for Vincent Rinaldi, who promised him enough money to rebuild the family workshop.
When Isabella became pregnant, Samuel wanted to marry her.
Rinaldi refused to allow it.
He believed the child would become a bargaining chip in the struggle between the Kretti and Moretti families. He offered to arrange a safe adoption and threatened to expose Samuel's role in the financial operation if he resisted.
Samuel surrendered the child.
Then he spent years trying to undo the decision.
"Why didn't you take me back?" Clara asked.
"Because I was a coward. And because every time I tried, Rinaldi reminded me that he knew where you lived."
"You let me grow up believing you were dead."
"I thought you would stop looking for me."
Clara laughed through her tears.
"I did stop looking. Because I believed there was nothing left to find."
Samuel lowered his head.
"I know."
He explained that the trust had been created to preserve the family workshop and protect the assets that belonged to Isabella's daughter. The original pattern books contained coded records of the money Rinaldi had diverted from the families' legitimate businesses.
The trust would become fully accessible when Clara turned thirty-five.
Rinaldi had engineered her marriage to Dominic because he believed a Kretti heir could be manipulated into signing away the property.
"Did Dominic know?" Clara asked.
"No. He was supposed to be the final piece of the arrangement, not its author."
Clara stared at the photograph.
"Why did you set fire to the workshop?"
Samuel's face crumpled.
"I didn't."
"Your image was on the security footage."
"Someone used my identity. I was trying to find the person responsible."
"Then why threaten us?"
"I didn't send those messages."
A sound came from the far end of the warehouse.
Dominic stepped from the shadows.
Samuel turned sharply.
"You weren't supposed to be here."
"Neither was my wife, according to your message."
Clara looked between them.
"I told you he would come."
Samuel's expression hardened.
"You don't understand what Rinaldi will do if he discovers you're here."
Dominic moved beside Clara.
"Then tell us where he is."
Samuel hesitated.
Before he could answer, the warehouse lights went out.
A gunshot cracked through the darkness.
Clara dropped behind the worktable.
Dominic pulled her down, covering her with his body as glass shattered overhead.
Matteo shouted from outside.
Security lights flashed across the walls.
Someone ran toward the rear exit.
Dominic started after him, but Clara caught his sleeve.
"Don't leave me."
He stopped.
The choice cost him precious seconds, but he remained beside her until Matteo returned.
The attacker had escaped.
Samuel lay on the floor, clutching his shoulder. Blood spread through his shirt.
Clara knelt beside him.
"Stay with me."
Samuel looked at her with exhausted eyes.
"I am sorry."
"Save your breath."
He shook his head.
"There is one thing you must know. Rinaldi didn't arrange your marriage because of the trust."
Clara froze.
"Then why?"
Samuel reached inside his coat and pulled out a small photograph.
It showed Dominic as a young boy, standing beside a woman Clara had never seen.
On the back were the words:
THE KRETTI HEIR WAS NEVER THE FIRST CHOICE.
Samuel's eyes closed.
May you like
Before he lost consciousness, he whispered one final sentence.
"Dominic isn't the only son your husband’s family has hidden."
