Chapter 1 - The Broken Seal
I looked at Carmen. Her hand shook so violently that the crystal wine glass slipped through her fingers, shattering across the polished kitchen tiles with an explosive crack. Red wine splattered her designer cream trousers like fresh blood, but she didn’t flinch. Her wide, frantic eyes remained pinned to the door of my private study.
My father, Hector DeLuca, stepped forward with his jaw set tight, trying to project his usual iron authority. ""Mauricio, give me the child. Go back into the living room and join your sister. We will handle whatever business arrived in the mail after dinner.""
Renata gripped my collar tighter, hiding her face in the crook of my neck. Her damp sleeves soaked through my cashmere sweater, her tiny body trembling from the chill of the kitchen and the sheer terror radiating off the adults.
""She told me you opened it, Mom,"" I said, my voice dropping to a low, lethal register that made even my father hesitate. ""Why are you opening my private legal mail?""
""It came addressed to the DeLuca Estate!"" Carmen shrieked, her voice pitched unnaturally high. ""I have managed this household's correspondence for forty years! It was a mistake, an accident—the envelope was torn in the rain!""
""You're lying,"" I said coldly.
I didn't wait for their excuses. Holding Renata securely against my hip with one arm, I turned the brass knob of my study and pushed the heavy oak door open. My sanctuary had been disturbed. Drawers behind my mahogany desk were slightly ajar. The heavy manila envelope bearing the embossed gold seal of Vance & Sterling LLP lay flat across the green blotter. The wax seal was severed clean, slit open with a silver letter opener that still rested on the edge of the wood.
My father followed me in, shutting the heavy door behind him to lock out the festive sounds of Paola's daughters laughing over their pile of luxury gifts. ""Mauricio, think about your standing in this family. Think about the company. Some things are buried for a reason.""
""Buried?"" I scoffed, setting Renata down softly onto the deep leather armchair. I knelt before her, brushing damp strands of brown hair from her forehead. ""Renata, baby, stay right here. Look at the snow outside the window. Daddy will be right back.""
She nodded bravely, tucking her legs beneath her oversized dress.
I walked over to the desk and pulled the contents from the envelope. My eyes scanned the front cover: Confidential Estate Inquest & Paternity Registry Verification.
Four years ago, I had adopted Renata through a quiet private agency after finding her in an underfunded orphanage upstate. The records stated she was an abandoned infant, left without a name or a family history. I had fallen in love with her sweet smile the instant I saw her, resolving to give her the world. My parents had protested vigorously, sneering that bringing a stray into the prestigious DeLuca bloodline was an insult to our heritage. Yet, I had forged ahead, giving her my name.
Now, staring down at the legal affidavit, my breath seized in my chest.
Attached to the legal brief was a DNA profile comparing Renata’s genetic marker to a stored family sample. The match was at 99.98% certainty. She was not a stranger’s orphan. She was a direct DeLuca.
""Julian,"" I whispered, the name tearing out of my throat like shattered glass.
Julian was my younger brother. He had been the golden child, the rebel, the artist who refused my father’s corporate empire. Four years ago, Julian died in a fiery, single-car accident on a rain-slicked highway. We buried an empty casket. Two months later, the private agency contacted me about an anonymous infant matching my adoption preferences.
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""Explain this,"" I turned around, thrusting the papers into my father’s chest. ""Julian had a daughter. Renata is Julian's child. And you knew.""
Carmen slipped into the room, leaning heavily against the doorframe, tears finally streaking her flawless makeup. ""Mauricio, please... you don't understand what he was going to do. Julian was going to ruin everything.""
