THE DON’S FORBIDDEN MARRIAGE
The Don’s Forbidden Marriage – Chapter 13
©Joy Cindy
The Woman at the Gate
Elena stared at the photograph.
Her fingers trembled around its edges.
Alessandro.
Vittorio.
Her mother.
Her father.
And Alessandro’s father.
All together.
Eight years ago.
The night everything changed.
She looked at Alessandro.
“Tell me why you were there.”
He remained silent.
Her voice rose.
“Tell me.”
Marco stepped backward, still holding the metal box.
“Go on, Don Romano,” he said. “Tell your bride what happened.”
Alessandro’s eyes turned cold.
“She is not my bride.”
“Not yet.”
“Marco,” Alessandro warned, “put the box down.”
Marco smiled.
“You’re in no position to give orders.”
Several guards entered the underground room.
But instead of surrounding Marco—
They stood beside him.
Elena’s heart sank.
“They work for you?”
Marco laughed.
“They work for whoever controls the future.”
Alessandro looked around.
“How many?”
“Enough.”
Leo moved closer to Elena.
“We need to leave.”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
“Not now.”
“I want answers.”
Alessandro turned toward her.
“You’ll get them.”
“Then start talking.”
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he looked at the photograph.
“Eight years ago, Vittorio contacted me.”
“Why?”
“He told me my father was planning to betray the Romano family.”
Elena frowned.
“Was he?”
“No.”
“Then Vittorio lied?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make me turn against my father.”
Elena looked at the photograph.
“And did you?”
“No.”
“Then why were you with Vittorio?”
“Because I pretended to believe him.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You were spying on him?”
“Yes.”
Marco laughed.
“That’s not what happened.”
Alessandro turned.
“You know nothing.”
“I know you were willing to sacrifice anyone for power.”
Elena looked at Alessandro.
“Is that true?”
“No.”
“Then prove it.”
Alessandro’s jaw tightened.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because the evidence was destroyed.”
Marco raised the metal box.
“Not all of it.”
He opened a hidden compartment.
Inside was a small recording device.
Elena stared at it.
“What is that?”
“The truth,” Marco said.
He pressed a button.
Static filled the room.
Then voices began.
Vittorio spoke first.
“The boy believes you.”
Another voice answered.
Elena’s heart stopped.
It was her father.
“He believes what we allow him to believe.”
Vittorio laughed.
“And Alessandro?”
Her father replied:
“He will lead the Romano family after his father disappears.”
The recording continued.
Then a younger Alessandro spoke.
“I know what you’re planning.”
Silence followed.
Vittorio’s voice returned.
“Then join us.”
The recording ended.
Elena looked at Alessandro.
“You knew.”
His face was tense.
“I knew something was wrong.”
“But you didn’t tell your father.”
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
“He didn’t believe me.”
Marco smiled.
“Because Alessandro had already lied too many times.”
Alessandro moved toward him.
“Enough.”
Marco raised a gun.
The room became silent.
Elena froze.
“Marco…”
“Stay where you are,” he said.
Alessandro stopped.
Marco looked at Elena.
“You deserve the truth.”
“Then tell me.”
“Your father and Vittorio planned to remove Alessandro’s father.”
Elena’s breath caught.
“Remove?”
“They wanted control of both families.”
“And Alessandro?”
“He was supposed to become Don.”
Elena looked at Alessandro.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
Marco laughed.
“You knew enough.”
Alessandro’s voice became cold.
“I was sixteen.”
“You were old enough to choose.”
“I chose my father.”
“But you failed him.”
The words struck hard.
Elena watched Alessandro.
His face remained calm.
But something in his eyes changed.
Guilt.
Eight years of it.
She looked at the photograph again.
“You blamed yourself.”
Alessandro didn’t answer.
“You thought your father died because you trusted Vittorio.”
“Yes.”
The single word was quiet.
Elena looked away.
For the first time, she understood why Alessandro carried so much anger.
Why he controlled everything.
Why he trusted almost no one.
He had been betrayed when he was still young.
And he had spent years believing he could have stopped it.
Her mother stepped forward.
“Marco, put the weapon down.”
Marco turned toward her.
“You have no right to speak.”
“I have every right.”
“You disappeared.”
“To protect my children.”
His expression hardened.
“You protected no one.”
Elena looked at her mother.
“What does he mean?”
Her mother became silent.
Elena’s heart tightened.
“Mother?”
“I made mistakes.”
“What mistakes?”
Her mother looked at Alessandro’s father.
Then at Elena.
“I knew the attack was coming.”
The room went silent.
Elena stared at her.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you stop it?”
“I tried.”
“How?”
“I warned Alessandro’s father.”
The older man stepped forward.
“She saved my life.”
Elena looked at him.
“What?”
“He was supposed to die that night,” her mother said. “But I helped him escape.”
Elena’s eyes widened.
“Then why did everyone think he was dead?”
“Because it was the only way to keep Vittorio from finding him.”
Alessandro stared at his father.
“You were alive.”
“Yes.”
“And you never came back.”
“I couldn’t.”
“You could have sent a message.”
“I did.”
Alessandro froze.
“What?”
His father looked toward Marco.
“But someone intercepted it.”
Everyone turned.
Marco smiled.
“You were always too slow.”
Alessandro’s eyes became dangerous.
“You took the message.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Vittorio ordered me to.”
Elena stared at Marco.
“How long have you worked for him?”
“Since before you entered this house.”
Her stomach tightened.
“All this time?”
“You trusted me.”
Alessandro stepped forward.
“I trusted you with my family.”
Marco’s smile disappeared.
“And that was your weakness.”
Suddenly, the lights went out.
A loud sound echoed through the underground room.
Someone shouted.
Then several guards rushed forward.
Elena felt Leo pull her away.
“Move!”
She heard Alessandro’s voice.
“Elena!”
“I’m here!”
The emergency lights flashed.
Marco was gone.
The metal box was gone too.
But the photograph remained on the floor.
Elena picked it up.
Then she noticed something on the back.
A handwritten message.
SHE KNOWS WHERE THE KEY IS.
Elena looked at her mother.
“What key?”
Her mother’s face turned pale.
“I don’t know.”
Elena held up the photograph.
“This says you know.”
Her mother shook her head.
“No.”
“Stop lying.”
“I’m not.”
“You knew about the attack. You helped Alessandro’s father escape. You disappeared for eight years.”
Her mother’s eyes filled with tears.
“Elena…”
“What else haven’t you told me?”
Before she could answer, a voice came through the villa speakers.
Everyone froze.
It was Vittorio.
“Good evening, Elena.”
Alessandro immediately looked toward the ceiling.
“Where are you?”
Vittorio laughed.
“Closer than you think.”
Elena stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
“The key.”
“What key?”
“Your mother knows.”
Elena looked at her.
Her mother remained silent.
Vittorio continued.
“Bring her to the old gate before sunrise.”
Alessandro’s expression hardened.
“No.”
“Then the evidence disappears.”
“We’ll find it.”
“No, you won’t.”
The voice became colder.
“And Elena’s brother will pay the price.”
Elena froze.
“Leo?”
Leo stepped toward her.
“I’m here.”
Vittorio laughed.
“Not that brother.”
Elena’s heart began to race.
“What do you mean?”
Her mother covered her mouth.
Elena turned toward her.
“Mother?”
Her mother looked terrified.
“There’s something I never told you.”
“What?”
“You had another brother.”
The room went silent.
Elena stared at her.
“No.”
“He was taken when he was a baby.”
“By who?”
Her mother looked toward the speakers.
“Vittorio.”
The voice laughed again.
“Bring the key, Elena.”
The speakers went silent.
Elena stood motionless.
Another brother.
A brother she had never known.
A brother who had been hidden from her entire life.
She slowly turned toward Alessandro.
“Where is he?”
Alessandro’s expression was dark.
“I don’t know.”
“Then find him.”
“I will.”
“No.”
Elena stepped closer.
“We will.”
Alessandro looked into her eyes.
Then nodded.
But outside the villa, the first light of morning began to rise.
And at the old gate, someone was already waiting.
Someone Elena had never met.
Someone who carried the same blood.
And the same secrets.
