Chapter 6 - THE TWO BROTHERS WHO NEVER CAME HOME
“My husband was related to the man who may have killed him?”
Hannah's voice cracked.
She gripped the edge of Luca's desk, staring at the personnel file.
Michael had told her he was an only child.
He had said his parents died when he was young.
For eight years, she'd believed she knew the man she married.
Now she was discovering an entire family he had hidden.
Luca took the file from Marco.
“It's possible the information was entered incorrectly.”
Hannah looked at him.
“Do you believe that?”
“No.”
She turned away.
A wave of anger rose through her grief.
Not just at Bellamy.
At Michael.
At Daniel.
At everyone who had decided she was safer not knowing the truth.
“My husband knew these people,” she whispered. “He knew someone was dangerous. And he let me raise our son without telling me why.”
Luca didn't try to defend him.
“Maybe he thought he was protecting you.”
“That's what everybody says when they take away somebody else's choice.”
The words struck Luca harder than she intended.
Because he recognized himself in them.
He had spent years controlling who entered his home, where his employees went, which problems they were allowed to bring him.
He called it protection.
Sometimes it was simply power.
Hannah sat down.
“I want to know who Michael really was.”
Luca nodded.
“Then we start with Rebecca.”
They traveled to Connecticut the following morning.
Hannah insisted on going.
Eli remained at the guest cottage with Mrs. Parker and two female security officers Hannah had personally approved.
Before leaving, she knelt beside him.
“Mommy has to talk to someone who knew Daddy.”
Eli looked up from his coloring book.
“Will you find out why he left?”
Hannah felt her throat tighten.
“Daddy didn't want to leave us, sweetheart.”
“I know.”
He colored another blue line across the paper.
“But I still miss him.”
She kissed his forehead.
“So do I.”
Rebecca Sullivan lived in a small residential home overlooking a wooded lake.
She was seated beside a window when they arrived, knitting a pale yellow blanket.
At the sight of Luca, her hands stopped moving.
“Antonio?”
Luca froze.
She stared at him.
Then her expression softened with sadness.
“No. Of course not.”
She placed the knitting aside.
“You're Luca.”
He nodded.
“And you knew my father.”
Rebecca gave a tired smile.
“I knew him before he became the man everyone feared.”
Hannah sat beside her.
“My name is Hannah Collins.”
Rebecca's smile vanished.
“Michael's wife?”
“Yes.”
The older woman reached for her hand.
“Oh, my dear.”
That simple kindness nearly broke Hannah.
Rebecca continued.
“I wanted to come to the funeral. Arthur wouldn't let me.”
Hannah swallowed.
“Arthur Bellamy is your son?”
Rebecca nodded.
“And Michael?”
“My youngest.”
Luca closed his eyes.
The family tree was becoming clear.
Rebecca had two sons with Antonio Moretti.
Arthur, the eldest.
Michael, born years later.
Both had grown up outside the Moretti household.
Both were Luca's half brothers.
And Eli was his nephew.
But one question remained.
“Why did my father keep them secret?” Luca asked.
Rebecca looked toward the lake.
“Because Antonio promised me a life he wasn't brave enough to give.”
She spoke slowly.
Years earlier, Antonio had been a young businessman with a complicated marriage.
He met Rebecca while expanding the family shipping operations.
Their relationship continued for years.
Arthur was born first.
Michael came later.
Antonio supported them financially, but refused to acknowledge them publicly.
Rebecca raised the boys with the painful understanding that their father belonged to another household.
“Arthur took it hardest,” she said.
“He watched your father appear in newspapers with you and Daniel. Birthdays. Vacations. Family celebrations.”
Luca lowered his eyes.
“He thought Antonio loved you more.”
“Did he?” Luca asked.
Rebecca's voice trembled.
“Antonio loved all his sons. But he was a coward about showing it.”
Hannah leaned forward.
“Did Michael know about his brothers?”
“Yes. He met Daniel when they were adults.”
“And Luca?”
Rebecca looked at him.
“Michael wanted to tell you. Daniel convinced him to wait until they understood what Arthur was doing.”
Luca felt his stomach tighten.
“What was Arthur doing?”
Rebecca glanced toward the doorway.
“He had been moving money out of the family companies for years.”
“Why?”
“He believed it was money Antonio owed us.”
“How much?”
“More than I ever wanted.”
Luca thought of the missing forty-two million.
Rebecca continued.
“Daniel discovered the transfers. But instead of going to the police, he confronted Arthur privately.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel wanted to give him a chance to return the money.”
Luca closed his eyes.
That sounded exactly like his brother.
Daniel had always believed people could be better than their worst decisions.
Hannah asked the question that mattered most.
“Did Arthur hurt Daniel?”
Rebecca's eyes filled.
“I don't know.”
“Did he hurt Michael?”
The older woman began trembling.
“I've asked myself that every morning since the funeral.”
Luca leaned forward.
“Rebecca, Bellamy has been using Daniel's name to move money. He's been threatening Caroline. He sent people looking for Eli.”
Rebecca looked horrified.
“My Arthur?”
“Yes.”
She covered her mouth.
Then she began crying quietly.
“I should have stopped him years ago.”
Hannah touched her hand.
“What happened?”
Rebecca reached into the drawer beside her chair.
She removed a photograph.
It showed Arthur and Michael as teenagers.
Arthur stood proudly beside a bicycle.
Michael was grinning, holding a fishing rod.
“My boys used to be inseparable,” Rebecca whispered.
“Arthur protected Michael from everything. When their father forgot birthdays, Arthur made sure Michael had presents. When we couldn't pay the heating bill, Arthur found work.”
She looked at Luca.
“Then Arthur went to law school. He wanted Antonio to be proud of him.”
“Was he?”
“Antonio hired him. Paid him well. Trusted him with everything.”
Rebecca's expression hardened.
“But he still wouldn't call him his son.”
Silence filled the room.
Hannah finally understood something important.
Arthur's anger had not begun with money.
Money was simply the language he'd learned to use for love.
Luca looked at Rebecca.
“Did Arthur know Michael had a son?”
She nodded.
“Of course.”
“Did he ever meet Eli?”
“Only once.”
“When?”
“Shortly after Michael died.”
Rebecca reached into her handbag and removed a small photograph.
Eli stood beside Arthur in a Newport park.
Arthur was crouching beside him.
The boy held a blue balloon.
And Arthur was smiling.
Not the controlled smile Luca knew.
A genuine one.
Hannah stared.
“Michael never told me about that meeting.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“He couldn't have. Arthur visited after Michael's funeral.”
Hannah looked closer.
She remembered that day.
A man in a gray coat had approached Eli near the playground.
Hannah had assumed he was another parent.
Now she recognized Bellamy.
“He came to my son without telling me who he was.”
Rebecca nodded sadly.
“He told me he wanted to make sure Eli was safe.”
Luca studied the photograph.
Then he noticed something tucked beneath Arthur's coat.
A navy envelope.
The same type Daniel had used for confidential project documents.
“Rebecca,” Luca asked, “did Arthur give Eli anything that day?”
The older woman hesitated.
“A letter.”
Hannah stiffened.
“What letter?”
“He said it was from Michael. Something Eli should receive when he was older.”
Hannah stood.
“My husband left a letter for our son?”
Rebecca nodded.
“Arthur told me he delivered it personally.”
Hannah shook her head.
“I've never seen it.”
Rebecca looked confused.
“But Arthur said Hannah had agreed to keep it safe.”
Luca's expression darkened.
“Where was he supposed to deliver it?”
Rebecca thought carefully.
“To the Moretti estate. Daniel had arranged a secure place for the boys' letters years earlier.”
Luca suddenly remembered an old family tradition.
His father had given each son a cedar keepsake chest when they turned eighteen.
Luca still had his.
Daniel's had been stored after his death.
Bellamy had overseen the inventory.
Luca reached for his phone to instruct Marco to locate it.
But Rebecca stopped him.
“Wait.”
Her expression had changed.
“There's something you should know before you open Daniel's chest.”
Luca looked at her.
“What?”
Rebecca's eyes filled.
“The last time Michael visited me, he said Daniel had discovered why Antonio never acknowledged Arthur.”
“Why?”
Rebecca whispered, “Because Antonio wasn't afraid of his wife finding out.”
May you like
She looked directly at Luca.
“He was afraid Arthur would discover what he'd done to Michael.”
