Chapter 5: The Boy Who Carried His Father’s Name
For a few seconds, Luca couldn’t speak.
Not because he didn’t know what to say.
Because he had waited years for a moment he never believed would come.
A child.
His child.
Was on the other end of the phone.
“Marcus?””
His voice cracked.
He hated that it did.
Luca Moretti was a man who could negotiate million-dollar deals without blinking. He could stand in front of hundreds of people and command a room.
But one word from a young man he had never met had turned him into someone else.
“Yes,” the voice answered.
There was hesitation.
Fear.
Like Marcus wasn’t sure he was allowed to exist.
“I was told not to call you.””
Luca closed his eyes.
The sentence hurt more than anything.
“Who told you that?””
A pause.
“My whole life, I heard different stories.””
Luca gripped the phone tighter.
“Tell me.””
Marcus breathed slowly.
“My mother told me my father didn’t know about me.””
The room went silent.
Olivia and Daniel stood nearby, watching.
“But then I found an old box,” Marcus continued.
“There were pictures of you. Pictures of my mother. And that ring.””
Luca looked at the photograph again.
The family ring.
The one that had disappeared after Elena died.
“My mother never talked about you,” Marcus said.
“But I knew she was hiding something.””
Luca swallowed.
“Where is your mother?””
The silence that followed felt heavy.
“She passed away two years ago.””
The words hit him.
Another loss.
Another moment stolen.
Luca looked away, fighting the emotion rising inside him.
“I’m sorry.””
Marcus didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said something Luca would never forget.
“I think she wanted me to find you.””
Luca’s eyes closed.
Because suddenly he could picture Elena.
The woman who had loved him enough to protect their son.
The woman who had carried a secret alone.
“I want to meet you,” Luca said.
The answer came quickly.
“I do too.””
The call ended ten minutes later.
But Luca remained standing there, holding the phone.
Daniel was the first to speak.
“You finally found him.””
Luca looked at him.
“No.””
He looked down at Marcus’s photograph.
“He found me.””
Marcus arrived three days later.
Luca spent those three days preparing for every possible scenario.
He prepared questions.
He prepared apologies.
He prepared himself for anger.
But he wasn’t prepared for the young man who walked through the doors of the Moretti Foundation.
Marcus wasn’t a little boy.
He was twenty-one.
Tall.
Quiet.
With a serious expression that reminded Luca of Elena.
That was the first thing Luca noticed.
The eyes.
Those same eyes.
For a moment, Luca couldn’t move.
Marcus looked just as overwhelmed.
Neither of them knew how to act.
Should they hug?
Shake hands?
Say something meaningful?
Instead, they stood there like strangers who shared the same blood.
“I’m Luca,” he finally said.
Marcus gave a small smile.
“I know.””
The answer almost made Luca laugh.
Almost.
They sat in Luca’s office for hours.
Marcus told him about his childhood.
About his mother.
About the small apartment where he grew up.
About the questions he always had but never asked.
“I used to think she didn’t want me to know my father,” Marcus said.
Luca looked down.
“She did.””
Marcus studied him.
“How do you know?””
“Because she wrote me a letter.””
He explained everything.
The photograph.
The missing page.
The fear.
Marcus listened quietly.
When Luca finished, Marcus looked away.
“She was protecting me.””
“Yes.””
“From Vanessa?””
Luca didn’t answer immediately.
He wanted to be careful.
He wanted facts.
Not assumptions.
But everything pointed in one direction.
“We’re finding out.””
Marcus nodded.
“I want to know the truth.””
Luca looked at him.
“So do I.””
For the first time, they felt like they were on the same side.
Not father and son yet.
Not completely.
But two people searching for the same answers.
That evening, Vanessa appeared at Luca’s mansion.
She didn’t call.
She didn’t ask permission.
She simply walked inside like she still belonged there.
Luca was waiting.
The moment she entered the room, she knew something had changed.
“You met him.””
It wasn’t a question.
Luca stared at her.
“Yes.””
Vanessa’s face became unreadable.
“Luca, listen to me.””
“No.””
The single word stopped her.
“You’ve had years to talk.””
She stepped closer.
“You don’t understand what happened.””
“Then explain.””
Her lips parted.
Nothing came.
Again.
Silence.
The truth she kept running from was standing in front of her.
“You knew,” Luca said.
Vanessa looked down.
“I knew Elena had a child.””
“Not a child.””
His voice hardened.
“My child.””
She closed her eyes.
Luca felt something inside him turn cold.
“How long?””
Vanessa didn’t answer.
“How long did you know about Marcus?””
Finally, she whispered:
“Before we met.””
The confession changed everything.
Luca stared at her.
“You entered my life knowing I had a son.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
He almost laughed.
“Protect me?””
“Yes.””
Her voice became emotional.
“Elena was making dangerous choices.””
“Don’t blame her.””
The words came instantly.
Vanessa stopped.
Because Luca had never defended Elena like that before.
Not even after her death.
“She was scared,” Vanessa said.
“And you used that fear.””
Vanessa looked away.
For the first time, Luca saw something beyond guilt.
Regret.
But regret wasn’t enough.
Not anymore.
“Why did you search for Marcus?””
Vanessa didn’t respond.
Luca stepped closer.
“Why?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
She whispered:
“Of losing everything.””
May you like
Luca stared at her.
“You already did.””
