My Fiancé Betrayed The Wrong Mafia Heiress Chapter 16
After She Escaped
Luca
I fail to stop all the men chasing her.
They drag me back underground and throw me at the feet of the Moretti family head.
That is where I finally learn who she is.
Serafina Moretti.
His missing daughter.
The only rightful heir to the family.
His younger brother hid her identity, isolated her, and trapped her in the training ground. He wanted to break her into an obedient weapon he could control.
But he failed.
No one can break Serafina.
Her father asks me where she went.
I say nothing.
The truth is, I do not know.
Even if I did, I would never tell him.
He picks up a knife and drives it into the left side of my chest.
The blade tears through flesh and stops just short of my heart.
As I fall, I feel only relief.
Serafina is already gone.
When I wake, my wound has been treated.
The knife was never meant to kill me.
A man with his skill does not miss a heart by accident.
It was punishment.
And a test.
He brought me into the Moretti household after my father died, but after that day, he publicly names me his adopted son and gives me greater authority within the family.
I understand what he wants.
He wants Serafina to remain free of this darkness.
But the Moretti empire still needs someone to control its worst parts until she returns—or forever, if she never does.
Maybe he respects me for protecting her.
Maybe he simply finds me useful.
I do not care.
From that day on, my life consists of training and missions.
I take control of the family’s legitimate businesses and expand them. Legitimate companies, investments, shipping, and real estate slowly replace the operations that can never survive in daylight.
By the time I hold real power, the Morettis no longer rule only from the shadows.
We own a legitimate empire in plain sight.
And in private, we still possess enough power to destroy anyone who challenges us.
But I never stop looking for Serafina.
The scar across my chest is ugly.
Sometimes I stare at it and wonder whether she would hate looking at it.
So I cover it with a tattoo.
Black thorns.
A broken cage.
A bird flying toward my heart.
I do not know whether the bird represents her or me.
Maybe it represents neither of us.
Maybe when she escaped, she carried both our freedom with her.
I use every resource I control to search for her, but every trail ends in nothing.
Sometimes I ask myself what I will do if I find her.
Tell her she is the Moretti heir?
Drag her back into the world she fought so hard to escape?
I never find an answer.
So I keep searching.
Without direction.
Without hope.
But never truly giving up.
Three years ago, a man named Daniel contacted me.
He came from a family connected to the Carters and was secretly investigating their illegal deals. He offered me a collection of incomplete files and asked the Morettis for help.
At first, I was not interested.
Then I found an altered adoption record hidden among the encrypted documents.
Daniel died before he could finish his investigation.
His death was disguised as a car accident.
It took me almost a year to reconstruct the clues he left behind.
Then I finally confirmed the truth.
Serena Vale was Serafina Moretti.
Serena.
That was the name the Vales gave her.
When I saw her again, the wounded girl from the training ground was gone.
She was beautiful. Elegant. Quiet.
She seemed to have hidden every sharp edge she once possessed.
I thought I would reveal myself immediately.
Then I saw Ethan beside her.
She looked at him with a happiness I had never seen in her eyes before.
At least, that was what I believed.
I investigated Ethan and the deal between the Vale and Carter families.
The Vale empire was already collapsing. They needed the Carters’ connections in politics, banking, and law enforcement to survive.
Ethan needed the marriage too.
If he wanted to continue rising through the prosecutor’s office, he needed a respectable public image, the Vale family’s money, and a perfect wife who could secure his family’s support.
Vanessa could be his mistress.
She could never be his wife.
If Ethan publicly married Daniel’s widow, people would begin asking when their betrayal started.
So they needed Serafina to complete the wedding.
She would protect Ethan’s reputation.
Vanessa would receive his love.
Both families arranged everything.
No one cared what Serafina wanted.
I tried to warn her.
I told her Ethan and the Vales were not as innocent as she believed. I reminded her that not everyone who smiled at her wanted her to be happy.
She thought I was trying to turn her against them.
She loved Ethan too much to hear me.
I did not force her to listen.
If she had truly found happiness, I was willing to let her remain Serena Vale.
I was willing to let her forget the Morettis.
And me.
Unfortunately, I was wrong.