THE DON’S FORBIDDEN MARRIAGE
The Don’s Forbidden Marriage – Chapter 8
©Joy Cindy
The Hidden Bloodline
The underground room became silent.
Elena stared at Alessandro.
Vittorio’s words echoed inside her mind.
Ask him why your mother never told you who your real father was.
Her hands slowly curled into fists.
“What does he mean?”
Alessandro didn’t answer.
For the first time since she had met him, the Don looked uncertain.
Not afraid.
Not weak.
But trapped between the truth and the consequences of revealing it.
“Elena,” he said quietly, “this is not the place.”
Her eyes filled with anger.
“You always say that.”
“Because Vittorio is trying to manipulate you.”
Vittorio smiled from the entrance.
“Am I?”
Alessandro’s gaze turned cold.
“Leave.”
“I waited eight years to return,” Vittorio replied. “I’m not leaving because you gave me an order.”
Elena stepped around Alessandro.
He immediately caught her arm.
“Stay behind me.”
She pulled away.
“No.”
“Elena—”
“You don’t get to hide the truth from me anymore.”
His jaw tightened.
She looked directly into his eyes.
“Who is my real father?”
The question hung between them.
Alessandro remained silent.
Vittorio laughed softly.
“Look at him. He knows.”
Elena turned toward Vittorio.
“Then tell me.”
The older man walked slowly into the room.
Alessandro moved in front of Elena again.
“Another step,” the Don warned, “and you’ll regret it.”
Vittorio stopped.
“You still protect her like she belongs to you.”
“She belongs to no one,” Alessandro replied.
Elena looked at him.
The words surprised her.
Vittorio’s smile faded.
“Then tell her the truth.”
Alessandro’s eyes darkened.
“You want the truth? Fine.”
He turned toward Elena.
“Your mother was in love with my father.”
Elena swallowed.
“You already told me that.”
“But your mother married your father because she was threatened.”
“I know.”
“And after you were born, your father began spreading a lie.”
Elena’s heart began to race.
“What lie?”
Alessandro looked at the photograph in his hand.
“That you were his daughter.”
The underground room seemed to grow colder.
Elena stared at him.
“You’re saying he isn’t?”
“I’m saying your mother never told anyone the truth.”
“Then who is my father?”
Alessandro lowered his gaze.
“My father.”
Elena stopped breathing.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
She looked at the photograph.
Her mother.
Alessandro’s father.
Her father.
And herself.
Suddenly, every secret felt connected.
Every lie.
Every hidden document.
Every reason Alessandro had protected her.
“No,” Elena whispered.
Alessandro stepped closer.
“Elena—”
“No.”
She backed away.
“That means…”
Her voice disappeared.
Alessandro’s father.
Her father.
What did that make Alessandro?
She looked at him.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Since my father died.”
Her eyes widened.
“Eight years?”
“Yes.”
“You knew I was your sister?”
The word sounded strange.
Impossible.
Alessandro’s expression became tense.
“Half-sister.”
Elena stared at him.
The man she had been promised to.
The man she was supposed to marry.
The man who had protected her for years.
Her half-brother.
She felt the room spin.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“The marriage contract…”
“It was never meant to happen,” Alessandro said.
“But you told me—”
“I used the contract to bring you here.”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
“You lied.”
“I protected you.”
“You lied to me!”
Vittorio smiled.
“Now you understand.”
Alessandro turned toward him.
“Be quiet.”
Vittorio ignored him.
“Your father created the marriage contract because he knew the truth would destroy both families.”
Elena looked at him.
“Why would he do that?”
“Because he wanted control.”
“Control over what?”
“Over Alessandro.”
Alessandro’s voice became cold.
“Enough.”
But Vittorio continued.
“Your father knew Alessandro would never allow you to be harmed. He knew Alessandro would protect you because you shared the same blood.”
Elena looked at Alessandro.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was trying to keep you away from this world.”
She laughed bitterly.
“You brought me into it.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always say that.”
His expression hardened.
“Because every choice I made was between losing you and losing everything else.”
Elena stared at him.
For the first time, she saw the weight he carried.
Eight years of protecting a secret.
Eight years of watching from a distance.
Eight years of knowing she was family while she believed he was a stranger.
But the truth didn’t erase the lies.
It only made them hurt more.
She looked toward the underground exit.
“I’m leaving.”
Alessandro stepped forward.
“You can’t.”
She turned sharply.
“Watch me.”
“Elena, Vittorio is here.”
“I don’t care.”
“You should.”
Vittorio smiled again.
“Let her go, Alessandro.”
The Don’s eyes narrowed.
“You planned this.”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
Vittorio looked at Elena.
“Because she deserves to know what you did.”
Elena frowned.
“What did he do?”
Vittorio’s smile returned.
“He didn’t only protect you.”
Alessandro went still.
Elena noticed.
“What does that mean?”
Vittorio looked directly at her.
“Ask Alessandro where your mother has been for the last eight years.”
Elena turned toward Alessandro.
“You told me she was hiding.”
“She was.”
“Where?”
He said nothing.
“Alessandro.”
His silence made her heart sink.
Vittorio spoke softly.
“Your mother wasn’t hiding from your father.”
Elena’s eyes widened.
“Then who was she hiding from?”
Vittorio’s gaze moved toward Alessandro.
“From the Romano family.”
The room fell silent.
Elena stared at Alessandro.
“Is that true?”
“No,” he said.
Vittorio laughed.
“Then tell her where she is.”
Alessandro’s expression became unreadable.
“Elena, listen to me.”
“Where is my mother?”
“I will take you to her.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
She shook her head.
“No more promises.”
“I’m not lying.”
“You’ve lied to me since the moment we met.”
“I never lied about wanting to protect you.”
“That doesn’t make everything else right.”
Alessandro looked at her for a long moment.
Then he reached into his jacket and removed a small key.
He placed it in her hand.
Elena stared at it.
“What is this?”
“A key to a room beneath my villa.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“What’s inside?”
“The truth.”
She looked at him.
“Why didn’t you show me before?”
“Because I hoped you would never have to see it.”
Vittorio’s smile disappeared.
For the first time, he looked uneasy.
Elena noticed.
“What’s in that room?”
Alessandro’s voice became quiet.
“Everything your father tried to hide.”
A loud sound echoed above them.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Everyone froze.
Another sound followed.
Footsteps.
Several people were moving through the passage.
Vittorio stepped backward.
“We should leave.”
Alessandro looked at him.
“You’re afraid.”
“I’m being careful.”
“Of who?”
Vittorio’s eyes moved toward the ceiling.
“Your father.”
Alessandro’s expression hardened.
“My father is dead.”
“No,” Vittorio whispered.
“He isn’t.”
Elena stared at him.
“What?”
Vittorio looked directly at Alessandro.
“The man you buried eight years ago was not your father.”
The room went silent.
Alessandro’s face became completely still.
“You’re lying.”
“Am I?”
Vittorio reached into his coat and removed an old photograph.
He threw it onto the table.
Alessandro looked at it.
His expression changed.
Elena stepped closer.
The photograph showed two men standing outside a monastery.
One was Vittorio.
The other was Alessandro’s father.
The picture had been taken recently.
Elena looked at Alessandro.
“This can’t be real.”
His voice was barely audible.
“It was taken three days ago.”
Vittorio smiled.
“Now you understand why the marriage cannot happen.”
Elena frowned.
“What marriage?”
Vittorio looked at her.
“The contract was never about joining two families.”
He paused.
“It was meant to bring you to the one person your father feared most.”
“Who?”
Vittorio’s eyes moved toward the darkness behind them.
Then he answered.
“Your real father.”
A sudden voice echoed through the underground passage.
“Vittorio.”
Everyone turned.
A tall man stood at the entrance.
His face was hidden beneath a dark coat.
Alessandro slowly stepped in front of Elena.
The stranger removed his hood.
Elena gasped.
The man looked exactly like Alessandro.
Older.
But unmistakable.
Alessandro’s voice broke the silence.
“Father?”
The man’s eyes moved from Alessandro to Elena.
Then he spoke.
“After eight years, my family is finally together.”
Elena tightened her grip around the key.
And for the first time, she understood something terrifying.
The marriage contract had never been the greatest secret.
It had only been the beginning.
