My Fiancé Betrayed The Wrong Mafia Heiress Chapter 03
What Daniel Left Behind
I should feel relieved.
I am not pregnant. There is no baby tying me to Ethan for the rest of my life.
But all I can see is my mother’s hand resting gently on my stomach.
My father pouring Ethan a drink and congratulating him on becoming a father.
Vanessa kneeling in front of me with tears in her eyes, promising she will always help me take care of my child.
They all knew.
They knew there was no baby when they smiled at me. They knew when they watched me press a hand to my stomach and whisper that I would protect my child.
Every tear, every embrace, every blessing was part of the same lie.
Luca watches me in silence. Then he reaches for the tablet and opens an audio file.
“This was recorded three days ago,” he says. “It proves they were together before tonight.”
The video is from a car’s dashboard camera. The screen shows nothing but the gray concrete wall of an underground parking garage.
Their voices are painfully clear.
Vanessa speaks first, soft and playful.
Ethan answers with a patience he hasn’t shown me in years.
They talk about my wedding, which was six days away when this was recorded, as if it belongs to them. Vanessa complains about having to stand beside me. Ethan promises that marrying me will change nothing between them.
They sound relaxed. Intimate. Like they are the couple about to exchange vows, while I am only a problem they have agreed to manage.
Then Vanessa laughs.
Ethan laughs with her.
It hurts more than I expect.
I remember when he used to speak to me in that same low, gentle voice. I thought that tenderness belonged only to me.
Now I know he can use that same gentle voice with another woman.
Their quiet laughter, their comfortable pauses, the affection they make no effort to hide. Every sound makes my chest tighten.
A cold ache spreads through me. My hands begin to shake. I press them against my knees, but I cannot make it stop.
Then Vanessa speaks again.
“But what about the things Daniel left behind?”
Ethan’s voice turns sharp.
“Vanessa.”
“I’m only saying, if Serena finds out…”
“Enough.”
The recording cuts off.
I stare at the dark screen.
Daniel Carter.
Vanessa’s late husband. Ethan’s older brother.
He died three years ago in what both families called a tragic accident. Until now, I have never questioned that story.
Why are she and Ethan afraid of something Daniel left behind?
What could it possibly have to do with me?
The questions keep running through my head. But I can’t make myself speak.
Luca closes the tablet.
“What are you going to do?” he asks.
No answer.
I do not even remember standing.
One moment I am at the table. The next, I am outside the café with the city moving around me as if nothing has changed.
Sunlight falls across my face, bright and warm.
I cannot feel it.
Every part of me is cold.