The Mafia Boss Was Ready to Marry Another — Until His Maid Revealed the Secret She’d Hidden
Chapter 10
Alexander Vale was older than Elena expected.
Seventy.
Elegant.
Calm.
He carried a cane.
He entered the mansion without resistance.
Luca stood between him and Elena.
“Who are you?”
Alexander smiled.
“You’re Luca.”
“Yes.”
“I knew your father.”
Elena stared.
“How?”
“He trusted me.”
“Then why did my mother hide you?”
Alexander’s expression softened.
“She was protecting you.”
“From what?”
“From me.”
Silence.
Alexander explained.
He had loved Elena’s mother.
They planned to leave the Delacroix family.
But Antonio Delacroix threatened him.
He disappeared.
Elena was born afterward.
Alexander believed she was not his daughter.
But he had always suspected.
Now he had proof.
A DNA test.
Elena stared.
“Who is my father?”
Alexander answered:
“Antonio Delacroix.”
Elena froze.
Her biological father was Luca’s grandfather.
The same man who had created the empire.
Luca stared.
“So Elena is…”
“Your grandfather’s daughter.”
“But we’re not related.”
“No.”
Alexander nodded.
“Your grandmother and Antonio were married.”
Luca looked shocked.
“And my mother?”
“Your father’s sister.”
The family tree was complicated.
Elena was Antonio’s daughter by another woman.
Luca’s father was his son by his wife.
They were half-aunt and nephew.
Not cousins.
Not siblings.
But the connection made Elena the direct heir to the Delacroix bloodline.
The trust belonged to her.
Alexander smiled.
“Your mother wanted you to have a choice.”
Elena cried.
“She loved you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t she choose you?”
“Because she chose you.”
That answer broke her.
She finally understood.
Her mother had sacrificed love to protect her daughter.
Luca held Elena.
Alexander stepped back.
“I didn’t come for money.”
“Then why?”
“To tell you the truth.”
He handed her a letter.
Her mother’s final letter.
My daughter,
There is one person who may come to you and tell you he is your father.
Listen to him.
But don’t give him your heart simply because he shares your blood.
Elena smiled through tears.
The final line:
The family you choose is more important than the family that created you.
She looked at Luca.
He kissed her forehead.
“Your mother was right.”
Alexander stayed for dinner.
For the first time, Elena knew her complete story.
Not all of it was beautiful.
But none of it controlled her anymore.
