Chapter 4 - The Twisted Roots
The gun in Luca’s hand did not waver as he stared down the grand staircase.
I stood frozen in the nursery, clutching Mia so tightly she let out a soft whimper.
Derek’s words echoed in my mind, making the room spin wildly out of control.
I had never been with another man during my entire three-year relationship with Derek.
"Let him go," Luca commanded his guards in a voice that demanded absolute obedience.
The guards released Derek, who collapsed onto the marble floor, gasping for air.
Derek looked up at me, his face bruised and his designer clothes torn.
"My father bribed a lab technician to run the newborn screening blood against my medical file," Derek panted.
"Mia shares zero genetic markers with me, Emma."
"How is that even possible?" I whispered, tears welling in my eyes as I looked at my beautiful baby.
Luca slowly lowered his weapon, but he did not look surprised.
"It is possible because Derek is sterile," Luca stated coldly.
Derek flinched as if he had been physically struck across the face.
"You knew?" Derek choked out, staring at the mafia boss in horror.
"I know everything that happens in my city," Luca replied, stepping protectively in front of me.
I shook my head, my mind desperately trying to connect the impossible dots.
"Derek and I used a fertility clinic because we were having trouble conceiving," I stammered.
"They used his sample for the intrauterine insemination procedure."
Luca turned to look at me, and for the first time, I saw genuine regret in his dark eyes.
"The clinic is a subsidiary of the Moretti corporate portfolio," Luca confessed quietly.
The air left my lungs as a horrifying realization crept into my mind.
"What did you do, Luca?" I demanded, my voice trembling with rising anger.
"Derek was sterile, and I knew he would eventually abandon you when the treatments failed," Luca said.
"So I paid the clinic director to use a different donor sample."
Derek screamed in rage and lunged up the stairs, but Luca’s guards immediately slammed him back down.
I backed away from Luca, holding Mia defensively against my chest.
"You played God with my body?" I cried, feeling completely violated.
Luca took a step toward me, his expression desperate and fiercely possessive.
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"I did not just use a random donor, Emma."
"The DNA in that clinic belonged to me."
