Chapter 3 - The Confession of Blood
Rocco stared at the printed DNA results until the black ink seemed to blur together.
The air in the underground medical bay suddenly felt dangerously thin.
He slowly turned his head to look at the housekeeper cowering in the corner of the sterile room.
Elena Bellini had worked for the Moretti family for six years.
She had cleaned his floors, cooked his meals, and kept her eyes firmly cast down in submission.
Now, science declared she was the mother of his newborn heir.
"Elena," Rocco said, his voice dropping to a terrifying, quiet register.
"Care to explain how you birthed a son I never gave you?"
Elena dropped to her knees on the cold tiles, sobbing uncontrollably.
Sophia grabbed her mother's arm, trying bravely to pull her back to her feet.
"I had no choice!" Elena screamed through her tears.
"They threatened to kill Sophia if I did not cooperate with the procedure."
Rocco signaled for the doctor to step out of the room.
Dr. Evans practically sprinted out the door, terrified of the impending violence.
"Who threatened you?" Rocco asked, stepping closer to the weeping woman.
"Madam Valentina," Elena confessed, her voice shaking violently.
"She discovered she was entirely barren five years ago."
"She knew you would divorce her if she could not provide a legitimate heir to the syndicate."
Rocco’s mind raced as the puzzle pieces began to brutally snap into place.
"She paid the doctors at St. Helena to harvest your genetic material," Elena continued.
"They implanted the embryo into me ten months ago."
"I was nothing but a silent vessel to secure her place in this mansion."
Rocco looked down at the tiny baby resting on the examination table.
The child was his own flesh and blood, born in secret, carried by a servant.
"If Valentina orchestrated this, why was my son thrown into the garbage?" Rocco asked coldly.
Elena looked up, her eyes wide with absolute horror.
"Because the baby was born with your exact eye color and facial structure," Elena whispered.
"Valentina realized she could never pass the child off as her own without raising suspicious questions."
"She decided it was safer to eliminate the evidence entirely and try again with a different surrogate."
Rocco felt a murderous rage ignite deep within his chest.
His composed, elegant wife had ordered the murder of his newborn son just to protect her social standing.
"Sophia saw who threw the bag away, Mr. Moretti," Elena added desperately.
Rocco immediately knelt down to be at eye level with the brave eight-year-old girl.
"Who did you see, little one?" Rocco asked gently.
Sophia looked at him with dark, fearless eyes.
"It was the man with the shiny gray suit," Sophia answered clearly.
"The one who stands next to you at the big table."
Rocco stood up slowly as the ultimate betrayal finally revealed itself.
Thomas Russo, his trusted consigliere, had carried out the execution order.
Before Rocco could issue a command, the heavy steel door of the medical bay violently burst open.
Thomas Russo stood in the doorway holding a suppressed automatic pistol.
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"I am truly sorry, Rocco," Thomas said with a cold smile.
"But Valentina and I have a much better vision for the future of this family."
