My Fiancé Betrayed The Wrong Mafia Heiress Chapter 09
What Daniel Died For
Vanessa’s face loses all color.
Ethan steps toward me.
“Stop this, Serena.”
I ignore him and nod to Luca.
The screen changes.
Photographs of Ethan and Vanessa entering hotels appear one after another. Reservation records follow, some dated before Daniel’s death. Then the speakers play the recording from the car. I hear them laughing about my wedding and promising that Ethan’s marriage to me will change nothing between them.
Gasps rise from the guests.
Vanessa shakes her head.
“No. You don’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly,” I say. “You were sleeping with Ethan while your husband was still alive.”
Ethan lunges toward the sound booth.
“Turn it off!”
Luca does not move.
The affair evidence disappears from the screen.
In its place are police reports and photographs from the night Daniel struck the reporter.
His blood alcohol report appears next, followed by bank records showing bribes paid to members of the Carter family.
“The Carters knew a reporter had evidence of their illegal deals,” I say. “They got Daniel drunk and sent him down the same road. His car struck the reporter, and the reporter died.”
A secret agreement signed by the Carter family appears beside the police report.
“They forced Daniel to take full responsibility. They threatened Vanessa and his son until he agreed to remain silent.”
A recording begins.
Ethan’s father tells Daniel exactly what he must say to the police.
My father reminds him that Vanessa and the child depend on both families.
My mother tells him that one confession can protect everyone.
Then Ethan’s voice fills the hall.
Stop fighting us, Daniel. Protect your family for once.
Ethan’s face turns gray.
Vanessa stumbles backward.
“That’s impossible,” she whispers.
The screen changes again.
This time, it shows Daniel’s fatal crash.
The front of his car is twisted around a concrete barrier. Another photograph shows the brake line, cleanly cut.
“Daniel began collecting evidence after the reporter died,” I say. “When he tried to leave proof behind, the Carter family made sure he never got the chance to release it.”
Vanessa stares at the wreckage.
I look directly at her.
“You knew Daniel had discovered you and Ethan, didn’t you?”
Her lips tremble, but she says nothing.
Ethan suddenly charges toward the control table.
“Give me that drive!”
Several Carter security guards rush forward at the same time.
Guests scream and scatter. Chairs overturn. The ceremony hall erupts into chaos.
Then one man pushes through the crowd and runs straight toward me.
I recognize him immediately.
He is in one of the photographs from Daniel’s crash scene, standing a short distance from the wreck with a phone pressed to his ear.
Something sharp flashes beneath his sleeve.
A knife.
He is going to kill me.
The Carters are trying to silence me in front of everyone.
I step back, but I am too late.
Luca moves in front of me.
The blade sinks into his side.
He lets out a low grunt, grabs the man’s wrist, and twists hard. The knife falls. Luca throws him to the floor and pins his arm behind his back.
Moretti men move through the hall and overpower the Carter guards before they can reach us.
“Luca!”
I rush forward and catch him as he sways.
Blood spreads across his white shirt. His shirt has torn during the struggle, exposing a black tattoo across his chest.
I freeze.
Dark thorns wind around an old scar, forming a broken cage. The scar runs through its center like a split in the bars, and a bird flies out of the opening toward his heart.
My hand stops just above it.
“This scar…”
Luca glances down and tries to pull his torn shirt closed.
I remember the night he opened the training ground gate and helped me escape. I have always known what he did for me.
I never knew what happened to him afterward.
“Did they do this to you because of me?”
His silence gives me the answer.
“What happened after I escaped?”
“They found out I opened the gate,” he says quietly.
My chest tightens.
“And they punished you.”
“It was nothing.”
The scar crossing his chest says otherwise.
I look at the tattoo again.
“What does it mean?”
Luca avoids my eyes.
“I got it later.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
…
For a moment, he says nothing.
A bird breaking out of a cage and flying toward his heart.
I do not know exactly what the tattoo means, but I can guess.
Luca forces a faint smile and pulls his shirt closed.
“We need to leave,” he says. “Father is waiting for you.”