Chapter 4: The Girl Everyone Wanted
“Luna Moretti.””
The name echoed across the street.
For a brief moment, nobody moved.
The men standing near the black vehicle waited.
They expected fear.
They expected panic.
They expected the little girl to run toward them when they mentioned her mother.
Instead, Luna stepped closer to Vincent.
Her small hand wrapped around his.
And Vincent Moretti felt something inside him change.
Twenty years ago, he had lost his daughter because he trusted the wrong people.
He would not make that mistake again.
Not today.
Not ever.
The man in front smiled.
He was tall, with a shaved head and a calm expression that made him more dangerous than someone shouting threats.
“My name is Elias Crow.””
Vincent stared at him.
“I don’t care.””
Elias’s smile faded slightly.
“You should.””
“No.””
Vincent stepped forward.
“The only thing I care about is why you know her name.””
The street seemed to become smaller.
People who had been watching from nearby tables quietly moved away.
They knew a confrontation was coming.
Elias glanced behind Vincent.
“Luna, your mother asked us to bring you somewhere safe.””
Luna looked at him.
Then at Vincent.
“She didn’t say anything about you.””
Elias’s expression tightened.
“She couldn’t.””
“Why?””
Because he had no answer.
And Vincent noticed.
That tiny hesitation told him everything.
This man was lying.
Vincent moved between them.
“You have five seconds to leave.””
Elias laughed softly.
“Still making demands like the city belongs to you.””
“It doesn’t belong to me.””
Vincent looked directly into his eyes.
“But you’re standing in the wrong place.””
One of Elias’s men shifted.
Marco immediately noticed.
His hand moved.
The tension exploded without anyone speaking.
But Elias lifted a finger.
His men stopped.
Interesting.
Vincent watched carefully.
A normal group of criminals would have attacked.
These men weren’t normal.
They had discipline.
Training.
Organization.
The Order.
“Damian Vescari warned you,” Elias said.
Vincent’s face remained cold.
“Damian warns people when he wants something.””
“And you think I’m different?””
“No.””
Vincent glanced at Luna.
“I think you’re worse.””
For the first time, Elias looked genuinely annoyed.
“Your daughter is carrying something that can destroy powerful people.””
“She’s eight years old.””
“Exactly.””
The answer was quiet.
Too quiet.
Vincent felt his stomach tighten.
Elias continued.
“She doesn’t understand what she has.””
Vincent’s eyes narrowed.
“What does she have?””
Elias looked at Luna’s necklace.
“The truth.””
Luna touched the silver key.
“My mother said the key wasn’t important.””
Elias looked at her.
“Your mother lied to protect you.””
Vincent’s expression hardened.
“Don’t talk about her.””
Elias ignored him.
“Your mother spent twenty years running because she discovered something she was never supposed to find.””
“What?””
Elias smiled faintly.
“You really don’t know.””
The words bothered Vincent.
Not because they insulted him.
Because they were true.
For the first time in his life, Vincent Moretti was standing in the middle of a war without knowing the battlefield.
He knew enemies.
He knew weapons.
He knew betrayal.
But he didn’t know Elena’s secret.
And that frightened him.
Luna suddenly spoke.
“My mother said people would lie.””
Everyone looked at her.
She stared at Elias.
“She said the people who tell the truth the loudest are usually the ones hiding something.””
A strange silence followed.
Vincent almost smiled.
That was Elena.
Even after everything, she was still teaching their daughter how to survive.
Elias’s expression darkened.
“Your mother taught you well.””
Luna stepped closer to Vincent.
“She taught me not to trust strangers.””
Elias looked at Vincent.
“Then she taught her wrong.””
The sentence was barely finished before Vincent moved.
Not quickly.
Not violently.
Just enough.
One second Elias was standing comfortably.
The next, Vincent was close enough that the warning in his eyes was unmistakable.
“You don’t get to speak about her.””
Elias didn’t move.
“You’re emotional.””
“No.””
Vincent’s voice was low.
“I’m patient.””
That was when Elias noticed something.
Vincent wasn’t reacting like the old Vincent.
The old Vincent would have attacked.
The old Vincent would have turned the street into a battlefield.
This Vincent had a daughter watching him.
And that made him more dangerous.
Because he had something to lose.
Elias stepped back.
“Fine.””
He reached into his coat.
Marco immediately raised his weapon.
But Elias only pulled out an envelope.
He held it toward Vincent.
“This is from Adrian Vale.””
The name changed everything.
Vincent stared at the envelope.
“Where did you get that?””
“Before he disappeared.””
“Why would he give you anything?””
Elias smiled.
“Because unlike you, he knew what was coming.””
Vincent took the envelope.
He didn’t open it.
Not yet.
“Leave.””
Elias looked surprised.
“That’s it?””
“For now.””
“You’re letting me walk away?””
Vincent looked at him.
“No.””
A pause.
“I’m letting you deliver a message.””
Elias raised an eyebrow.
“What message?””
Vincent looked at Luna.
Then back at him.
“Tell whoever sent you that Luna Moretti is under my protection.””
Elias smiled.
“And if they refuse?””
Vincent’s expression became empty.
“Then they can come explain it to me.””
Elias turned away.
But before entering the vehicle, he stopped.
“One more thing.””
Vincent waited.
“The girl doesn’t know what happened the night she was born.””
His eyes moved to Luna.
“But someone does.””
The SUV door opened.
“Find Adrian Vale before he talks.””
Then Elias added:
“Because when he tells you why Luna survived…”
He looked directly at Vincent.
“You won’t forgive yourself.””
The vehicles drove away.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then Marco looked at Vincent.
“Boss.””
Vincent opened the envelope.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
Only one sentence was written.
I didn’t save your daughter. I saved her from you.
Vincent stared.
The words felt impossible.
Wrong.
Cruel.
But beneath the sentence was something else.
A date.
The date of Luna’s birth.
And beside it, a location.
A private clinic.
Not the hospital where Elena gave birth.
A place Vincent had never heard of.
Marco leaned closer.
“What is it?””
Vincent handed him the paper.
Marco read it.
His face changed.
“Boss…”
“What?””
“This clinic.””
“What about it?””
“It closed twenty years ago.””
Vincent waited.
Marco swallowed.
“Because every doctor and nurse working there disappeared.””
A cold silence followed.
Luna looked between them.
“What happened there?””
Vincent looked at the little girl.
He wanted to lie.
To protect her.
But Elena had spent twenty years protecting her with the truth.
So he gave Luna the only thing he could.
Honesty.
“I don’t know.””
The answer surprised her.
“You don’t?””
Vincent shook his head.
“No.””
She looked at him carefully.
“Everyone thinks you know everything.””
A small, sad smile appeared on her face.
“But you don’t.””
For some reason, that hurt more than anger would have.
Vincent looked away.
“No.””
The confession felt strange.
Almost freeing.
“I don’t.””
Luna was quiet.
Then she said:
“Good.””
Vincent looked at her.
“Good?””
She nodded.
“Because my mom said people who pretend they know everything are usually scared.””
Vincent stared.
Again.
Elena.
Always Elena.
Even after twenty years.
Always finding ways to reach him.
Marco cleared his throat.
“Boss.””
Vincent looked up.
“We need to move.””
This time, he agreed immediately.
They left the plaza.
But Vincent couldn’t stop looking at the envelope.
I didn’t save your daughter. I saved her from you.
The words followed him.
Because there was one person in the world who knew Vincent Moretti better than anyone.
Elena.
And if she had been afraid of him…
why?
An hour later, inside the Moretti mansion, Luna sat quietly in a large bedroom that looked like it belonged to someone else.
Everything was too perfect.
Too clean.
Too expensive.
She touched the soft blanket on the bed.
“My room?””
Vincent stood near the doorway.
“Yes.””
She looked around.
“Did you have this before I came?””
The question caught him.
“No.””
“Then why is there a room?””
Vincent didn’t answer.
Because the truth was embarrassing.
For twenty years, he had kept one room empty.
A room nobody entered.
A room filled with toys he never gave away.
Books he never read.
A crib that became a symbol of everything he lost.
Luna noticed his silence.
“You did.””
Vincent looked at her.
“Did what?””
“Waited.””
He froze.
Children were not supposed to understand things adults spent years hiding.
But Luna did.
Maybe because she had spent her life searching for answers too.
Before Vincent could respond, his security system alarm suddenly activated.
Every screen in the mansion turned black.
Then one message appeared.
Not from a phone.
Not from a computer.
From someone inside his network.
Someone who had broken through his security.
A single sentence appeared.
Vincent stepped closer.
And his blood went cold.
Because the message was signed with a name he had not seen in twenty years.
Elena Moretti.
The message read:
*Vincent, if you are reading this, they already know Luna is with you. Do not trust anyone in your house.*
The screen flickered.
A second message appeared.
May you like
And this time, Vincent stopped breathing.
*Especially the person who has been protecting you for the last twenty years.*
