Chapter 6 - The Truth About The Moretti Marriage
“Don’t let him tell you why he really saved you.”
Serena’s voice disappeared into the darkness.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody even breathed.
The hidden wall remained closed.
The room was silent again.
But her words stayed.
They were louder than any scream.
I turned toward Rafael.
He didn’t look surprised.
That was the part that terrified me.
“You heard her.”
His jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“You knew she was going to say that.”
“No.”
“Then why do you look like you already knew?”
Rafael looked away.
And that was the first time I saw something I had never seen before.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Regret.
I stepped back.
“What are you hiding from me?”
Before Rafael could answer, one of his guards rushed into the room.
“Boss, we checked the wall.”
“And?”
“Nothing.”
Rafael’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean nothing?”
“There is no hidden passage.”
I looked at the wall.
Impossible.
We had all heard her.
She was right there.
“She wanted us to think she was here.”
Rafael’s expression changed.
“What?”
I looked at him.
“She wasn’t trying to escape.”
A pause.
“She wanted me to hear that.”
The room became quiet.
Because that was the first thing that made sense.
Serena wasn’t running.
She was leading me.
But why?
Why would she warn me about Rafael?
Why would she trust him enough to hide in his mansion?
I turned toward him.
“Tell me the truth.”
Rafael didn’t speak.
“Now.”
The guards looked uncomfortable.
Nobody talked to Rafael Moretti like that.
But I wasn’t afraid anymore.
Because I had spent my entire life being told to stay quiet.
And silence had never protected me.
Rafael finally walked toward the table.
He picked up the photograph of me and Serena.
“When Serena came to me six months ago, she wasn’t asking for protection.”
I waited.
“She was asking me to make a promise.”
“What promise?”
His eyes met mine.
“That if something happened to her, I would keep you alive.”
The words hit me harder than I expected.
“Why me?”
“Because she knew your father would sacrifice you.”
I looked down.
That was the truth I hated admitting.
“She knew?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Rafael placed the photograph down.
“Because she found the documents.”
“What documents?”
“Documents proving your father had been planning this marriage for years.”
I frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“He wasn’t planning to marry Serena to me because of an alliance.”
I looked at him.
“Then why?”
Rafael was quiet.
Then he said:
“Because he needed access to my family.”
The room felt colder.
“My family?”
“Your father believed marrying Serena into the Moretti family would give him protection.”
“And when Serena disappeared?”
“He replaced her.”
“With me.”
Rafael nodded.
My stomach twisted.
Everything suddenly became clear.
I wasn’t a bride.
I wasn’t even a backup plan.
I was a distraction.
My father didn’t care whether I survived the marriage.
He only cared that the deal continued.
I sat down slowly.
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
All my life, I thought I was the daughter who mattered less.
The daughter who wasn’t special.
But the truth was worse.
I wasn’t ignored.
I was hidden.
“Why did Serena protect me?”
Rafael looked at the photograph.
“Because she loved you.”
I closed my eyes.
A painful feeling filled my chest.
I remembered Serena.
She was always the one who stood between me and my father’s anger.
The one who gave me excuses when I made mistakes.
The one who told me I was stronger than I believed.
And I thought she left me.
I thought she abandoned me.
But she had been fighting for me.
“She should have told me.”
Rafael’s voice softened.
“She tried.”
I looked up.
“What?”
“She tried to contact you three times.”
My face changed.
“When?”
“Before the wedding.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“She was stopped.”
“By who?”
Rafael didn’t answer.
I already knew.
My father.
The realization made me feel sick.
Before I could say anything, Rafael’s phone rang.
He checked the screen.
His expression immediately changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then his face became colder.
“Send me the location.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?”
“We found Serena.”
My heart jumped.
“Where?”
Rafael looked at me.
“She left the mansion ten minutes ago.”
My hope disappeared.
“She was here?”
“Yes.”
“Then how did you lose her?”
He didn’t answer.
Because he knew.
Someone inside helped her.
We moved quickly toward the garage.
The entire mansion was in chaos.
Guards searched every hallway.
Security checked every camera.
But Serena had disappeared again.
When we reached the garage, one of Rafael’s men pointed toward a car.
“Boss.”
The car belonged to Serena.
My sister’s car.
It had been abandoned outside the property.
Rafael opened the door.
Inside was a phone.
And a letter.
My name was written on the envelope.
Clara.
My hands shook as I opened it.
The handwriting was Serena’s.
I knew it immediately.
My dear Clara,
If you are reading this, it means I failed to explain everything myself.
I stopped.
My eyes filled.
Rafael stood beside me.
I continued reading.
I know you hate me right now.
You think I left you.
You think I chose myself over you.
But I never did.
The reason I disappeared was because I found out the truth about our family.
Not just about Dad.
About Mom.
My breathing stopped.
Mom.
The word felt impossible.
I kept reading.
The woman you were told died when you were a baby was never dead.
She was hidden.
And the person who hid her was the same person who is trying to control your life now.
I lowered the letter.
Rafael looked at me.
“Keep reading.”
My hands trembled.
The next sentence was shorter.
More terrifying.
Clara, Rafael Moretti is not the man you should fear.
My eyes moved to Rafael.
Another warning.
But then came the next line.
He is the only person who knows where our mother is.
The world seemed to stop.
I looked at Rafael.
“You know?”
His expression changed.
Not denial.
Not surprise.
Pain.
“You knew where my mother was?”
Before he could answer, a gunshot echoed through the garage.
Everyone dropped.
Rafael pulled me behind him.
The guards raised their weapons.
Another shot hit the wall.
Someone was outside.
Waiting.
Rafael looked toward the entrance.
“Everyone stay back.”
Then his phone vibrated.
He looked down.
A message.
One sentence.
His face changed completely.
“What is it?”
He didn’t answer.
I stepped closer.
“What did they send you?”
Slowly, Rafael turned the screen toward me.
It was a photo.
A woman sitting inside a dark room.
An older woman.
A woman I had only seen in childhood pictures.
A woman I thought was dead.
May you like
Under the photo was a message:
Your mother is awake. She wants to meet Clara alone.
