I straightened my posture and nodded, raising my chin. “Right.”
I was still scared shitless but for some reason the atmosphere in the car was non-threatening. Less than ten minutes later, the SUV pulled up in front of a high-end building.
“Where are we?”
“Moretti Enterprises,” The man on my right side answered, getting out and holding the door open for me.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, getting out too and stopping on the sidewalk to admire the sight before me.
Moretti Enterprises. Luxury hotel, restaurant, gym, and spa all in a one-hundred-floor skyscraper.
“This way, miss.”
I followed behind one of the men, the other two on my back, and advanced inside the building. My breath caught as I admired the marble flooring and walls, chandeliers, and sleek finishes.
We took the elevator up to the Private Penthouse on one of the last floors where I was guided inside. After wandering through a couple of hallways we made it to what appeared to be an office. Floor-to-ceiling windows and views of Central Park. Large, impressive bookshelves covering the walls.
And a glass desk filled with folders and contracts, that Salvatore Moretti sat behind.
The moment we entered, he stood. “Natalia.”
I returned a polite smile, though quite awkward since I didn’t know what he could possibly want from me. I might have been friends with Kali but I knew close to nothing about their world – the ultra-rich; the billionaires. “Mr Moretti. You asked to see me?”
He studied me for a moment before glancing down and shaking his head. “You don’t know.”
“Know what?”
“Well, there is no easy way to say this.” He smoothed an absent hand over his tie. “The blood test you were called in to take two days ago? I set that up.”
I’d received a message from my doctor that I was overdue for a regulatory blood test. They asked if I was free that afternoon and I was… So, I went.
“Why?”
“Sweetheart… You having the same last name as me is not a coincidence.” Blood roared in my ears the longer his awfully similar brown eyes stared back into my own. “Natalia… I am your father.”
My eyes stung. My vision blurred.
“I… I don’t understand…”
I felt my knees getting weak, but within the split of a second, he was there to catch me if necessary. Salvatore Moretti took hold of my hand and guided me towards one of the armchairs.
He hunched down in front of me, holding my hands in his big ones.
“Nineteen years ago I was involved with a woman named Anabella Ricci.”
Through blurry eyes, I looked up at him.
He gave me a sympathetic smile. “Your mother.”
Anabella.
I never knew my mother’s name. I was too young to ask or remember.
“She got pregnant with you and well, here you are.”
A sudden memory hit me. My mother never wore rings.
“You two never got married?”