They Chose Her. I Chose to Disappear 7

 

Chapter 7 

They’d refused to believe it at first. 

But after an exhaustive investigation, they had no choice but to accept the truth. 

The accident and surgery that had supposedly left Valentina in a vegetative state had been a complete fraud. 

The rebellious Valentina had refused the family’s heir training and dreaded being sent to a strict boarding school. So, she’d bribed her doctor to help her fake the entire coma. 

When Don Lorenzo and Donna Marisa were away, she partied and lived it up. The second her doctor texted that they were coming to visit, she’d race back to the hospital room. 

To maintain the charade, the doctor claimed Valentina’s condition was too fragile for direct contact. They were only permitted to visit through a glass partition, for no more than ten minutes 

at a time. 

The millions the Morettis had poured into medical bills over the years had lined the pockets of Valentina and her doctor, funding their extravagant lifestyles. 

When Valentina turned eighteen, she’d started sleeping with the doctor too. 

But when she heard I was about to graduate, and that Don Lorenzo and Donna Marisa planned to give me ten percent of the family trust, she’d panicked. The rumors that they were grooming me to take over the New York headquarters hadn’t been a joke. She couldn’t keep pretending anymore. So she’d staged her “miraculous recovery” and set out to steal everything I had. 

All her past lies came tumbling out too, including the necklace incident. She’d worked so hard to drive me away, only to blow her own cover because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. 

Adrian had called off the engagement immediately. 

Don Lorenzo had flown into a rage, nearly collapsing from anger. Donna Marisa had just sat on the couch, numb, unable to process what she’d heard. 

Luca, furious beyond words, had shipped her off to the strictest reform school the Morettis owned. 

When the initial fury subsided, a tidal wave of guilt crashed over the four of them, threatening to drown them. 

Adrian signed over his personal assets to me. Don Lorenzo and Donna Marisa planned to give me 

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not only what they’d originally promised but more. Luca even offered to step down as head of the 

London branch, the family’s most lucrative overseas operation. 

But right before they’d come to find me, Valentina had threatened to kill herself multiple times. Out of some twisted sense of blood loyalty, the Morettis had pulled her out of the school. They’d warned her to behave, and for a while, she had. 

It didn’t last. A month earlier, Valentina had shown up with a stack of fake photos, sobbing to Don Lorenzo, Donna Marisa and Luca. 

“I’ve been so worried about Elena’s safety. I know how much you all miss her, that’s why I had someone watching over her. But I never imagined she’d stoop to something like this.” 

If this gets out, she’ll never be able to show her face again, let alone take over the New York headquarters.” 

Valentina had been certain they would turn on me-curse me, loathe me, cast me out. She thought they’d erase me from the family tree to cleanse the stain on their reputation. 

But when she looked up, all she saw was three pairs of eyes blazing with rage. Her lies had been exposed instantly. She was the one who was the family’s disgrace, not me. 

Because Luca had had people watching over me ever since I left. He knew exactly where I was and what I was doing every single day. Everyone but Valentina knew I’d done nothing but study and work part-time, keeping to myself. 

Valentina had walked straight into a trap. It was suicide. 

She’d never worked a day in her life, and when the Morettis disowned her, she’d had nowhere to go but back to the doctor. But the Morettis had immediately sued him for fraud, falsifying medical records and embezzling family funds. 

He went to prison, his assets seized. Valentina was left homeless and adrift. No one has seen or heard from her since. 

None of it mattered to me anymore. 

But Adrian and the rest of the Morettis have been keeping an eye on me, quietly, all this time. 

Adrian tried to find me to apologize, more than once. 

He wanted to hand me the property deed himself. 

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But Luca stopped him. Every time. 

A hint of resentment crept into Adrian’s tone as he spoke. 

“Luca wouldn’t let any of us disturb you.” 

“He said you wouldn’t want us to.’ 

“But I truly believe we owe you a proper, face-to-face apology.” 

“We should’ve told you we’d make amends.” 

“We should’ve cleared up everything that happened…” 

I raised a hand, cutting him off. 

My eyes locked on his, cold. 

“He’s right.” 

“I didn’t want it.” 

“If you’re set on apologizing and begging for forgiveness, say it to Elena Moretti’s death 

certificate.” 

Adrian’s face froze. 

I looked past him, to where the rest of the Morettis were approaching slowly. 

Luca’s face looked faintly pale, his eyes dull and drained from exhaustion. 

“Elena, is there truly no way to fix this?” 

Don Lorenzo and Donna Marisa had aged noticeably. 

Both stared at me with tear-glistening eyes. 

“We were wrong from the start.’ 

“Our favoritism was unforgivable. All the fault is ours. 

“Elena, once you come home, you can punish us however you wish.” 

“Just come home with your father and mother. Please.” 

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I’d once longed to hear these words more than anything. 

I’d cried myself awake countless lonely nights, dreaming of this exact apology. 

But that old hurt no longer lingered. 

I’d left my past behind. 

Now, it was time to leave these people behind too. 

My gaze swept over them, not settling on anyone. 

My voice was flat. 

“Move.” “I’m going to campus to enroll.” 

There’s a new path ahead. 

The people and things from the past can stay in the past. 

If they want to drown in guilt, to suffer, to trap themselves in regret for a lifetime… let them. 

It’s got nothing to do with me. 

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Chapter 7