Bianca's POV
The floorboard creaked beneath my foot.
I froze, my heart hammering against my ribs. The sound echoed through Alessia's bedroom like a gunshot. I held my breath and listened.
Nothing.
The house was finally quiet. The wedding guests had left hours ago. Leo was in his study, probably drinking and thinking about his dead fiancée. I was alone.
Time to find the truth.
I crept across the room toward the bookshelf. My bare feet were silent on the cold marble floor. The moonlight streaming through the windows cast strange shadows on the walls. Everything looked different in the darkness.
Scary.
Like ghosts were watching me.
Maybe they were. Maybe Alessia was here, trying to help me find what she'd hidden.
"Where is it?" I whispered to the empty room. "Where's the music box?"
I ran my fingers along the books on the shelf. Old leather covers. Dusty spines. Titles in languages I couldn't read. Nothing looked like a hiding place.
But Alessia had been smart. She wouldn't put something important where anyone could find it.
I started pulling books off the shelf, one by one. Behind each row, I felt along the wall. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
Then my fingers touched something smooth and cold.
Metal.
I pulled out more books. Behind a thick volume about Italian history, I found a small door built into the wall. It was painted the same color as the wall, almost invisible.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside was a tiny silver music box.
It was beautiful. The kind little girls get for their birthdays. On top was a ballerina in a white dress. She looked peaceful. Happy.
Nothing like how I felt.
I lifted the music box out of its hiding place. It was heavier than I expected. When I wound the key on the bottom, it played a soft, sad song.
The ballerina spun in slow circles, her arms raised to the sky.
For a moment, I just watched her dance. She reminded me of Alessia. Always graceful. Always perfect.
Always dead.
I blinked back tears and looked closer at the music box. There had to be something else. Some secret compartment.
I turned it over and felt along the bottom. My fingers found a tiny latch, almost too small to see.
Click.
A hidden panel slid open.
Inside were two things: a small USB drive and a folded piece of paper.
My sister's handwriting.
With trembling fingers, I unfolded the letter. The paper was soft, like it had been handled many times. Like Alessia had read it over and over.
My dearest B,
If you're reading this, then something terrible has happened to me. I pray you never have to see these words. But if you do, then you need to know the truth.
The truth about our family. About Leo's family. About the monster I was going to marry.
I stopped reading. Monster? Leo was dangerous, yes. But Alessia had loved him. Hadn't she?
I kept reading.
I discovered something about the Cavalcanti business. Something that made me sick to my stomach. They don't just steal money, B. They steal lives. They steal children.
I found records. Files. Pictures. For years, they've been taking babies from poor families. Selling them to rich people who can't have children. Making millions.
My hands started shaking so hard I could barely hold the paper.
Dr. Bianchi helps them. He runs the clinic where they bring the stolen babies. He changes their birth certificates. Makes new identities. The families who lose their children never know what happened.
But that's not the worst part.
The worst part is what they did to me.
I had to stop reading. My stomach felt sick. This couldn't be real. This couldn't be true.
But I knew it was. Deep in my heart, I knew my sister was telling the truth.
They used me, B. They made me think I was getting fertility treatments. Made me believe Leo and I were trying to have a baby together. But they lied.
The treatments weren't for me and Leo. They were for someone else. Someone who wanted to use my body to create a child.
I'm pregnant, B. But the baby isn't Leo's.
The room started spinning. I grabbed the edge of the bed to keep from falling.
Pregnant. Alessia had been pregnant when she died.
I tried to find out who the real father was. I searched through Dr. Bianchi's files. I followed the money trail. And what I discovered made me want to run away and never come back.
The baby's father is someone close to Leo. Someone who has been planning this for months. Maybe years.
Someone who wants to destroy Leo from the inside.
I confronted him about it yesterday. Told him I knew what he was doing. He smiled and said I was too smart for my own good.
Today, I'm writing this letter because I'm scared. He knows that I know. And people who know too much don't live very long in this family.
If something happens to me, you need to find Dr. Bianchi. He has all the records. All the proof. The USB drive has copies of everything, but you'll need his help to understand it all.
Most importantly, you need to save my baby.
The child is innocent, no matter who the father is. The baby is hidden somewhere safe. Dr. Bianchi knows where.
Promise me you'll find my child, B. Promise me you'll keep the baby safe from these monsters.
My vision blurred with tears. I wiped them away and kept reading.
I know this is a lot to ask. I know you never wanted to be part of this world. But you're the only person I trust. You're the only person who can save my baby.
Leo doesn't know about any of this. He thinks the baby is his. He thinks I'm happy about the pregnancy. If something happens to me, don't tell him the truth right away. He's dangerous when he's angry.
Be careful who you trust. The person who did this to me is still out there. Still planning. Still dangerous.
I love you, sister. I'm sorry for bringing this darkness into your life.
If you're reading this, B, then they killed me. Find Dr. Bianchi. Save the baby. The father is not who you think.
The letter was signed with a shaky 'A' and a small heart.
I read the last line again.
The father is not who you think.
Not Leo. Someone else. Someone close to him.
Victor.
It had to be Victor. Leo's brother. The man who wanted to take over the family business.
He'd used Alessia to create his own child. His own heir. And when she found out, he killed her.
Now he was planning something else. Phase two, like he'd said on the phone.
What was phase two?
I heard footsteps in the hallway.
Panic shot through me like lightning. Someone was coming.
I shoved the letter and USB drive into my nightgown pocket. I closed the music box and put it back in its hiding place. I pushed the books back onto the shelf.
The footsteps stopped outside my door.
I dove into bed and pulled the covers over me. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe normally.
The door opened.
"Bianca?"
It was Leo's voice. Soft. Almost gentle.
I kept my eyes closed and tried to look like I was sleeping.
"I know you're awake," he said.
My eyes snapped open. He was standing in the doorway, still wearing his wedding suit. But his tie was gone and his shirt was wrinkled.
"I couldn't sleep," I said.
"Neither could I." He stepped into the room. "This was her room. Alessia's room."
"I know."
"It feels wrong, having you sleep here. Like I'm trying to replace her."
"Aren't you?"
The question hung in the air between us. Leo's face was hard to read in the darkness.
"Maybe," he said finally. "Maybe that's exactly what I'm doing."
He walked to the window and looked out at the moonlit garden.
"Did you love her?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Do you think she loved you?"
Leo was quiet for a long time. "I thought she did. But now I'm not sure she even knew me."
"What do you mean?"
"She started acting strange in the weeks before she died. Asking questions about the business. Staying out late. Meeting people I didn't know."
My heart started racing. He was talking about Alessia's investigation.
"Maybe she was planning a surprise," I said.
"Maybe." Leo turned away from the window. "Or maybe she was planning to run away."
"From you?"
"From all of this. This life. This family." He looked at me with those golden eyes. "Would you? If you could?"
It was a test. I knew it was a test.
"I don't know," I said honestly.
"Smart answer." Leo walked toward the door. "Get some sleep, Bianca. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."
He knew my name. He'd called me Bianca, not Alessia.
"Leo?"
He stopped at the door.
"What's tomorrow?"
"The beginning of your new life, Mrs. Cavalcanti."
He left, closing the door behind him.
I waited until his footsteps disappeared down the hall. Then I pulled out the letter and USB drive.
My sister was dead. Murdered by someone she trusted.
Her baby was hidden somewhere, waiting to be found.
And I was married to a man who might not be the real enemy.
But if Leo wasn't the monster, then who was?
I looked at the USB drive in my hand. Such a small thing. But it contained enough evidence to destroy the entire Cavalcanti empire.
The question was: did I have the courage to use it?
A soft sound came from outside my window. Like someone walking on gravel.
I crept to the window and looked out.
A figure was standing in the garden, looking up at my room.
Even in the moonlight, I recognized him.
Dr. Bianchi. And he was holding a baby.