THE DON’S FORBIDDEN MARRIAGE
The Don’s Forbidden Marriage – Chapter 6
©Joy Cindy
The Place Where Truth Was Buried
Elena stared at Alessandro.
“Take me to her.”
His expression didn’t change.
“I said no.”
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“Tonight, I do.”
Her anger flared.
“You’ve lied to me for eight years. My family has lied to me for my entire life. And now you expect me to sit here while my mother is somewhere out there?”
“Your mother is alive.”
“Then I want to see her.”
Alessandro stepped closer.
“And I want you alive when you do.”
His words silenced her.
For a moment, Elena saw the exhaustion behind his cold expression.
Not fear.
Not weakness.
Something else.
A man who had spent years carrying secrets alone.
She looked away.
“Where is she?”
“At an old monastery outside the city.”
“Why there?”
“Because your father never knew about it.”
Elena’s eyes narrowed.
“How do you know?”
“Because my father used to take me there.”
She looked at him.
“You knew my mother before tonight?”
Alessandro’s expression changed.
“I met her once.”
“When?”
“Eight years ago.”
The answer struck her.
“That was the night she died.”
“That was the night everyone believed she died.”
Elena’s heart began to race.
“What happened?”
Alessandro looked toward the dark windows.
“Your mother came to my father for help.”
“Why?”
“She had discovered your father’s betrayal.”
“And your father helped her?”
“He tried.”
“What happened?”
Alessandro’s jaw tightened.
“Someone found us.”
“Who?”
“We never found out.”
Elena stared at him.
“What happened to my mother?”
“My father took her to the monastery.”
“And then?”
Alessandro’s voice became colder.
“My father was killed.”
The room fell silent.
Elena swallowed.
“And my mother?”
“She disappeared.”
“For eight years.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you look for her?”
“I did.”
She stared at him.
“Then how did you find her?”
Alessandro looked at the silver pendant in her hand.
“She found me.”
Elena’s eyes widened.
“When?”
“Three days ago.”
“And she told you where she was?”
“She told me where to find her.”
“Then why are we still here?”
“Because the message was a trap.”
Elena frowned.
“How do you know?”
Alessandro looked at Leo.
“Because your brother received the same message.”
Leo’s expression changed.
Elena turned toward him.
“You knew?”
Leo nodded.
“I didn’t know if it was really from her.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wanted to make sure.”
Elena looked between them.
“Everyone keeps deciding what I can and cannot know.”
Alessandro’s eyes remained on her.
“You’re right.”
She looked at him.
The admission surprised her again.
He continued.
“But the people coming after you don’t care about your feelings.”
“Neither do you.”
His gaze sharpened.
“Don’t mistake protection for indifference.”
The words hung between them.
Elena didn’t know how to answer.
Then the lights flickered.
Alessandro immediately turned toward the security monitors.
One of the screens came back on.
A black car was parked outside the gates.
Elena moved closer.
“Who is that?”
Alessandro’s expression became cold.
“Nobody should be there.”
A guard’s voice came through the intercom.
“Don Romano, we have a problem.”
“Speak.”
“There is a woman at the gate.”
Elena’s heart stopped.
“Who?”
The guard hesitated.
Then the intercom crackled.
A woman’s voice came through.
“Elena.”
Elena froze.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it in dreams.
In memories.
In the recordings her father had kept locked away.
Her mother’s voice.
Elena moved toward the door.
“Mother?”
Alessandro caught her arm.
“Don’t.”
Elena turned sharply.
“Let me go.”
“Not until I know it’s really her.”
The voice came through the intercom again.
“Elena, it’s me.”
Tears filled Elena’s eyes.
“Mother.”
Alessandro looked at the security screen.
The woman stood outside the gates.
Her face was hidden beneath a dark hood.
Alessandro pressed the intercom.
“Show your face.”
The woman remained silent.
“Now.”
Slowly, she lifted her head.
Elena gasped.
The face on the screen was older.
Paler.
But there was no doubt.
It was her.
Her mother.
Elena pulled away from Alessandro.
“Open the gate.”
“No.”
“She’s my mother!”
“That’s exactly why this could be a trap.”
The woman on the screen suddenly looked behind her.
Her expression changed.
Then she spoke urgently.
“Alessandro, listen to me.”
He pressed the intercom.
“What?”
“Don’t open the gate.”
Everyone froze.
Elena stared at the screen.
“What?”
Her mother looked directly at the camera.
“He’s already inside.”
Alessandro’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
The lights went out again.
A second later, the mansion doors slammed shut.
Alarms began to sound.
Alessandro turned toward the guards.
“Search the house.”
Leo moved closer to Elena.
“Stay with me.”
Elena looked at the screen.
Her mother was still standing outside the gate.
“Mother!”
The woman looked toward the camera.
“Elena, don’t trust—”
The screen went black.
Elena’s heart pounded.
“Don’t trust who?”
No one answered.
Alessandro pulled out his phone.
“Lock down the entire estate.”
A guard rushed into the room.
“Don Romano!”
Alessandro turned.
“What?”
The guard’s face was pale.
“We found someone.”
“Where?”
“In the east wing.”
Alessandro’s expression changed.
“Who?”
The guard swallowed.
“Your security chief.”
Alessandro went still.
“He’s dead.”
Elena’s blood ran cold.
The guard nodded.
“And there’s something else.”
Alessandro’s voice became dangerous.
“What?”
The guard looked at Elena.
“Someone left a message.”
Alessandro stepped forward.
“What message?”
The guard handed him a small envelope.
Alessandro opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
He looked at it.
Then his face changed.
Elena noticed.
“What is it?”
He didn’t answer.
She reached for the photograph.
Alessandro tried to stop her.
But she saw it.
The photograph showed her mother.
Standing beside a younger Alessandro.
And behind them—
Elena’s father.
Her mother was holding a baby.
Elena stared at the image.
Her breath disappeared.
“Who is that baby?”
Alessandro said nothing.
Elena looked at him.
“Who is that?”
His silence was terrifying.
Then Leo stepped closer.
He looked at the photograph.
His face went pale.
“No.”
Elena turned toward him.
“What?”
Leo stared at the baby.
“That’s not possible.”
“Tell me!”
Leo looked at Alessandro.
Alessandro’s eyes remained fixed on Elena.
Finally, he spoke.
“The baby is you.”
Elena’s heart stopped.
She looked at the photograph again.
Her mother.
Alessandro.
Her father.
And herself.
But something was wrong.
She had never met Alessandro before she was an adult.
At least, that was what she believed.
She looked up at him.
“Why were you there?”
Alessandro’s expression was unreadable.
“Because I was there the night you were born.”
Elena took a step backward.
“You knew me before?”
“Yes.”
“How old were you?”
“Sixteen.”
She stared at him.
The room seemed to spin.
“Why have you never told me?”
“Because you were a child.”
“And now?”
Alessandro’s eyes held hers.
“Now you’re the woman your father promised to me.”
Elena’s heart raced.
The words sounded wrong.
Dangerously wrong.
She shook her head.
“No.”
Alessandro stepped toward her.
“Elena—”
“No.”
She backed away.
“There’s something else.”
He stopped.
“What?”
She looked at the photograph.
Her mother had been holding her.
Her father stood beside them.
And Alessandro was there.
But there was one more person in the picture.
A shadow in the background.
A man whose face had been scratched out.
Elena pointed at him.
“Who is that?”
Alessandro looked at the photograph.
His expression changed completely.
For the first time, Elena saw genuine fear in his eyes.
He whispered one name.
“Vittorio.”
Leo’s face went pale.
“He’s dead.”
Alessandro looked toward the dark windows.
“No.”
His voice was barely audible.
“He was supposed to be.”
Outside the gates, Elena’s mother suddenly disappeared.
And somewhere in the darkness beyond the estate, a man who had been presumed dead for eight years was watching the Don’s house.
Watching Elena.
Waiting for the marriage.
