Chapter 8 — The Secret Under the Chapel
We reached the chapel twenty minutes later.
The gunmen had disappeared.
Stefano had disappeared.
But the photograph remained.
And so did the question.
Who was the second child?
The chapel stood behind the mansion.
Small.
Ancient.
Almost forgotten.
Alessandro unlocked the door.
Inside, candles burned along the walls.
His grandmother followed.
Marco stayed close behind.
Liam carried the old photograph.
I held the brass key.
We reached the altar.
His grandmother pointed toward the stone floor.
“Underneath.”
Alessandro moved a wooden panel.
A metal door appeared.
He inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Cold air rose from below.
We descended a narrow staircase.
At the bottom was a vault.
Inside were dozens of boxes.
Documents.
Photographs.
Old tapes.
Hard drives.
And one large black folder.
My name was written on it.
I opened it.
The first page was a birth certificate.
My birth certificate.
But something was wrong.
The date was correct.
The hospital was correct.
My father's name was correct.
My mother's name was correct.
But beneath it was another document.
A second birth certificate.
Same date.
Same hospital.
Same mother.
Same father.
Different child.
Male.
I stared at it.
“No.”
Liam took the paper.
“Elizabeth…”
“I don't understand.”
Marco looked over his shoulder.
His face went pale.
“This is impossible.”
Alessandro looked at him.
“Why?”
Marco pointed at the signature.
“Because that's my mother's handwriting.”
Silence.
My heart pounded.
“Your mother?”
“Yes.”
I looked at the certificate.
The child's name had been blacked out.
But beneath the ink, faint letters remained.
I held it beneath the light.
Gabriel.
My breath caught.
“Gabriel?”
Marco nodded slowly.
“My brother.”
Alessandro looked at him.
“You had another brother?”
“I didn't know.”
His grandmother sat down.
“I thought he died.”
“How?”
She closed her eyes.
“The same night Marco disappeared.”
I stared.
“So there were two babies?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“There were three.”
Silence.
I felt dizzy.
“Three?”
She looked at me.
“Marco was the first.”
She pointed toward the document.
“Gabriel was the second.”
Then she looked at me.
“And you were the third.”
I couldn't breathe.
My entire understanding of my family shattered.
I wasn't simply connected to the Vitalis.
I wasn't simply Marco's niece.
I wasn't merely the daughter of Isabella.
I was part of a family that had hidden three children from one another for decades.
“Where is Gabriel?”
No one answered.
Then Liam found another folder.
“There's an address.”
He opened it.
A photograph fell out.
A young man.
Late twenties.
Dark hair.
Amber eyes.
A scar above his eyebrow.
I stared at the photograph.
Then at Alessandro.
They looked almost identical.
“What?”
Alessandro took the photograph.
His face went completely blank.
“That's not possible.”
“Why?”
He turned the photograph over.
A date.
Five years ago.
A hospital.
Then a name.
Gabriel Vitali.
Alessandro whispered:
“He's alive.”
My stomach tightened.
Marco stepped closer.
“Where?”
Liam pointed to the address.
Chicago.
Not far from us.
Then the lights inside the vault flickered.
A sound came from above.
Someone had entered the chapel.
Alessandro raised his gun.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Elizabeth.”
“I am done staying behind doors while everyone else decides what happens to my life.”
He stared at me.
Then nodded.
“Fine.”
We climbed the stairs.
The chapel was empty.
Except for one man.
He stood beside the altar.
His back was toward us.
Dark coat.
Dark hair.
Scar above his eyebrow.
Alessandro stopped breathing.
The man slowly turned.
Amber eyes.
The same eyes.
The same face.
But older.
Harder.
Broken in ways Alessandro wasn't.
He looked at Marco.
Then Alessandro.
Then me.
His expression changed.
“Elizabeth.”
I froze.
“How do you know my name?”
He smiled sadly.
“Because I've been waiting twenty-seven years to meet you.”
Alessandro raised his weapon.
“Who are you?”
The man looked at him.
“You really don't remember me?”
Alessandro's face tightened.
“No.”
The man took a step forward.
“I remember you.”
He pointed toward Alessandro.
“You were the little boy who was supposed to inherit everything.”
Then he looked at Marco.
“You were the brother who was supposed to die.”
Finally, his eyes settled on me.
“And she…”
His voice softened.
“…was the girl they sacrificed to make sure none of us ever found each other.”
I couldn't speak.
Alessandro's gun remained raised.
“Gabriel?”
The man nodded.
“Yes.”
Marco whispered:
“My brother.”
Gabriel smiled.
“Hello, Marco.”
Then he looked at me.
And said the words that changed everything.
“Your father didn't hide me from the Vitalis.”
He paused.
“He hid you from me.”
I felt the world tilt.
“Why?”
Gabriel looked toward the door.
“Because if Stefano ever discovered the truth…”
His expression hardened.
“…he would kill your child.”
My hand instinctively moved to my stomach.
Alessandro stepped closer.
“What truth?”
Gabriel looked directly at him.
“The child isn't just your heir.”
A long silence.
“She is the last witness to what really happened twenty-seven years ago.”
Then a gunshot came from outside.
Gabriel dropped to the floor.
Blood spread across his shoulder.
Alessandro fired toward the doorway.
“Get down!”
I dropped beside Gabriel.
His eyes found mine.
He grabbed my wrist.
“Elizabeth…”
“What?”
His breathing became shallow.
“Your mother is alive.”
I froze.
“What did you say?”
He tightened his grip.
“She never died.”
May you like
Then he lost consciousness.
And somewhere outside the chapel, a car engine roared away into the night.
