Chapter 4: The Father She Never Had
The name stared back at Sadie like a threat.
*Adrian Moretti.*
Her fingers tightened around the photograph until the edges bent slightly.
No.
It couldn't be real.
The man she had spent her entire life believing was a stranger was suddenly standing in front of her in black ink.
A ghost.
A name.
A secret.
Her father.
"He's alive?"" Sadie whispered.
Damian didn't answer immediately.
That was the worst part.
Because she already knew.
If he wasn't alive, Damian would have said no.
Instead, he looked at her with the same expression he wore when delivering bad news.
The expression of someone preparing her for pain.
"Yes.""
The single word shattered something inside her.
Sadie looked away.
For years, she had carried a quiet sadness about her father.
Not a sharp pain.
Not something she talked about.
Just a small empty space.
A question she stopped asking because nobody ever had an answer.
Where was he?
Did he love her?
Did he ever think about her?
Now she had answers.
And somehow, they hurt more.
"Why did everyone tell me he was dead?""
Damian's voice was low.
"Because your mother needed you to believe that.""
"Needed me to believe a lie?""
"She needed you to survive.""
Sadie looked at him sharply.
"Stop saying that.""
Damian went quiet.
"Stop making everything sound like it was done for my own good.""
Her voice cracked.
"Everyone keeps deciding what I can handle.""
The words landed.
Damian didn't defend himself.
That made it worse.
Because he knew she was right.
Sadie looked back at the photograph.
Her mother.
A woman she thought she knew.
A woman who sang while cooking dinner.
A woman who tucked blankets around her when thunderstorms shook the windows.
A woman who cried quietly in the bathroom when she thought Sadie was asleep.
That woman had been hiding from an empire.
And from a man named Adrian Moretti.
"Tell me about him.""
Damian looked at the photograph.
"Adrian Moretti was not just part of the Moretti family.""
Sadie waited.
"He was supposed to inherit everything.""
The words felt unreal.
"Everything?""
"The organization. The money. The influence.""
"And my mother?""
"She was the one person who could stop him.""
Sadie frowned.
"Why?""
Damian walked toward the window of the private lounge attached to the elevator area.
The city stretched below them.
Beautiful.
Cold.
Unforgiving.
"Because Isabella knew what Adrian was becoming.""
Sadie stared.
"What does that mean?""
"Your father was not always a monster.""
The answer surprised her.
Damian continued.
"He was intelligent. Charming. Loved by people.""
"Then what happened?""
"Power.""
The word came quietly.
"But power doesn't create who someone is.""
Damian looked at her.
"It reveals it.""
Sadie lowered her eyes.
She thought about Trevor.
About how money and success had changed him.
Or maybe revealed him.
"You knew him.""
Damian didn't deny it.
"Yes.""
Her heart sank.
Again.
Another secret.
"How?""
"Because my family had business with his.""
Sadie almost smiled.
A bitter, humorless smile.
"Of course.""
Damian looked at her.
"Sadie.""
"Everyone in my life knew things I didn't.""
She shook her head.
"My mother. Trevor. You.""
She looked at him.
"Was I the only person who didn't know?""
Damian's expression tightened.
"I was trying to protect you.""
"And now?""
"Now I know protecting you with lies only created a different kind of damage.""
That honesty stopped her.
Because she expected an excuse.
Not accountability.
Before she could answer, the sound of footsteps interrupted them.
Damian's security team entered the room.
A man in a black suit approached.
"Mr. Blackwood.""
Damian turned.
"What?""
The man glanced at Sadie.
Then back at him.
"We found something.""
Damian's face hardened.
"What?""
The man handed him a tablet.
Damian looked at the screen.
And the change in his expression was immediate.
Sadie noticed.
"What is it?""
He didn't answer.
"Damian.""
He slowly turned the tablet toward her.
On the screen was a security image.
A man entering their house.
The image was blurry.
But the face was visible enough.
Sadie's breath caught.
Because she recognized him.
Not personally.
But from the photograph.
The same eyes.
The same sharp jaw.
The same cold expression.
Adrian Moretti.
Her father.
"That's impossible.""
Damian took the tablet back.
"He was there.""
"When?""
"Two hours ago.""
Sadie stepped backward.
"No.""
Her voice became smaller.
"My father broke into our house?""
Damian didn't respond.
Because he knew the truth was worse.
Sadie looked at him.
"What aren't you telling me?""
The security man's eyes dropped.
Damian noticed.
"Leave.""
The man immediately left.
Now they were alone again.
Sadie crossed her arms.
"Tell me.""
Damian sighed.
"He wasn't looking for something.""
"What?""
"He was looking for someone.""
A cold feeling moved through her.
"Who?""
Damian stared at her.
"You.""
The room went silent.
Sadie shook her head.
"Why?""
"I don't know.""
"You don't know?""
Damian looked frustrated for the first time.
"I know what he did in the past. I know what he's capable of. But I don't know why he waited twenty-five years and came looking for you now.""
Sadie looked down.
A thought appeared.
A horrible thought.
"What if he wants something from me?""
Damian didn't answer.
She looked up.
"That's possible.""
"Yes.""
The honesty hurt.
"But what?""
Damian moved closer.
"We need to find out before he does.""
Sadie laughed quietly.
"You're talking about my father like he's an enemy.""
Damian didn't move.
"Sadie.""
"What?""
"I need you to understand something.""
His voice changed.
The softness disappeared.
The businessman returned.
The dangerous man.
"Adrian Moretti does not come back into someone's life without a reason.""
Sadie swallowed.
"And you think I'm the reason.""
"I think you are the reason someone is afraid.""
That sentence made her freeze.
"Someone?""
Damian looked away.
Too late.
She caught it.
"Who?""
No answer.
"Damian.""
He remained silent.
And Sadie realized something.
There was another secret.
Another person.
Another piece missing.
"Who is afraid of me?""
Damian looked at her.
Then his phone rang.
He checked the screen.
This time, he didn't answer immediately.
Because the name appearing there changed everything.
Sadie saw it.
A name.
A name she had never heard before.
But Damian's reaction told her it mattered.
*Isabella Moretti.*
Her dead mother's name.
"Why is my mother's name calling you?""
Damian froze.
The phone continued ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Sadie stared at him.
"Damian.""
He didn't move.
"Answer it.""
Slowly, he pressed the button.
"Hello?""
Silence.
Then his face changed.
Shock.
Impossible shock.
Sadie watched every emotion cross his eyes.
Fear.
Confusion.
Pain.
Finally, Damian whispered:
"Isabella?""
Sadie's entire body went cold.
Because her mother's voice came through the phone.
A voice she hadn't heard in fifteen years.
A voice that should not exist.
Damian looked at Sadie.
And whatever he heard next destroyed the last piece of certainty they had.
"Where are you?""
A pause.
Then:
"You're alive.""
Sadie's knees nearly gave out.
Alive.
Her mother.
Alive.
Damian listened.
Then his face became serious.
"Tell me why you contacted me now.""
Another pause.
Sadie couldn't hear Isabella's answer.
But she saw Damian's expression change.
Slowly.
Terrifyingly.
Then he looked directly at Sadie.
And whispered:
"Because she says Adrian Moretti is not your father.""
Sadie's breath stopped.
The world tilted.
Damian lowered the phone.
And the next words from Isabella came through the speaker.
May you like
Loud enough for Sadie to hear.
"Sadie was never supposed to know who she really is.""
