Chapter 5 - The uncle's secret
Nicholas opened the secondary file. The bright light from the desk lamp illuminated a heavily stamped, official birth registry. Right at the top, printed in bold black ink, was Lucy Carter's name. Below it was a complex lineage chart, heavily documented and legally authenticated. Attached to the very back was a fragile, aged hospital record from three decades ago.
The medical document linked Lucy’s late biological grandfather directly to Antonio Moretti. Antonio was Nicholas’s notoriously ruthless uncle, a man who had died violently years ago and was completely believed by the entire family to be childless.
Maria watched Nicholas’s expression change from controlled authority to absolute shock. She stood up quickly, clutching her cream blouse. "What is it? What does that paper say?"
Nicholas held the document out, his voice unnervingly calm. "It says that your late husband was my cousin. It says that your daughter is a Moretti."
Maria stared at the paper in absolute disbelief. Her rosy skin drained of color. "No. No, that is completely impossible. My husband was an orphan. He grew up in the system. He never knew his family. Lucy isn't a Moretti."
Nicholas kept reading the file. His gray eyes scanned the seals, the signatures, the undeniable proof of genetics and law. His expression remained fiercely tight because the documents firmly disagreed with Maria's denial. The paperwork was flawless.
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"Someone went through an immense amount of trouble to hide this lineage," Nicholas said, looking at Maria. "And an even greater amount of trouble to get you hired into my house exactly twenty-nine days ago."
Maria stepped back, her voice shaking violently. "I told you, it was just an employment agency. But right before my husband died, he told me something strange. He said if anything ever happened to him, a woman would reach out and offer me a job at this exact address. He told me it was the only place Lucy would be safe."
