Beneath His Billion-Dollar Lies

CHAPTER FIVE: The Sister’s Lie

POV – Carina

I stare at the photograph on the floor as if it might dissolve, vanish, change into something less damning. Something less real. But it doesn’t.

It’s her. My sister, Alina. Smiling next to Vanessa. Her arm slung casually around the woman who tried to destroy everything I’ve built. In her other hand…a vial.

The same type I saw tonight. The kind that makes a man like Dante forget the woman he loves and believe he belongs to someone else.

I fall backward like the wind’s been knocked out of me, my knees hitting the cold floor. “No,” I said. Dante’s hand tightens around mine. “Carina…”

I can’t breathe. I can’t think. “She wouldn’t…” My voice breaks. “She’s my sister.”

Leo kneels beside me, his expression grim. “I didn’t want to believe it either. But she’s been working with Vanessa for months. I traced the payments. Offshore accounts under Alina’s name. Emails too. She’s been the one leaking your designs. Your sketches. Everything.”

I shake my head slowly, eyes stinging. “Why would she do that to me? She’s all I had left after our parents died. I paid her tuition, her rent…I gave up jobs to take care of her.”

Leo looks down. “Sometimes, the people we love the most are the ones who hold the deepest envy.”

Dante groans from the couch, still pale, but more present now. “She used me. Both of them did.”

I crawl toward him and brush a lock of hair from his forehead. “I’m so sorry…”

He looks at me…really looks at me…and something shifts in his gaze. It softens, then hardens with resolve. “You don’t owe me an apology. They fooled all of us.” But I still feel it.

The sting of betrayal doesn’t just hurt because of what Alina did…it hurts because deep down, I ignored the signs. I wanted to believe her silence was stress. That her distance was just... growing up.

I didn’t know she was growing into my enemy. Leo stands. “There’s more.” I flinch. “More?”

He tosses a folder onto the floor beside the photo. “Alina didn’t just help Vanessa steal from you. She helped sabotage your gala. The night Dante found out about Emily? She’s the one who sent the birth certificate.”

My heart twists. That night had shattered everything. “Why?” I said. “What does she gain from ruining my life?”

“She wanted you gone,” Leo says bluntly. “Vanessa promised her a position. In Paris. A fresh identity. They were going to build a new label together…using your name.”

My fingers curl into fists. “She sold me out for a job?”

Dante speaks again, voice hoarse. “She sold you out because she thought she’d never shine standing next to you.” The silence that follows is heavy.

Dante tries to sit up. I rush to help him, wrapping an arm behind his back. “You shouldn’t be moving yet,” I murmur. His mouth brushes my temple. “I’m fine now. I have you.”

My throat tightens. “I almost lost you.” “But you didn’t,” he whispers. “You came back for me.”

His lips graze mine…a slow, shaky kiss that burns through the ache in my chest. It’s tender. Real. Healing.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I promise. “Not again.” He leans his forehead against mine. “Neither am I.”

The moment could last forever. But Leo clears his throat. “Sorry to break up the reunion, but we have a problem.”

I pull away reluctantly. “What is it?” He sighs. “Alina’s disappeared. She cleaned out her apartment, wiped her accounts. She’s gone dark.”

Dante’s jaw clenches. “Then we find her.” I nod. “She doesn’t get to walk away from this.”

Leo’s eyes flick to me. “There’s one more thing.” “What now?” He pulls out a piece of paper.

A lab result. A DNA test. My heart drops. “It’s about Emily,” he says quietly. I feel the blood drain from my face. “What do you mean?”

Leo hesitates. “I ran a secondary test after Vanessa tried to fake one. Just to be sure.”

Dante sits up straighter, tension rippling off him. Leo hands me the paper. “Read it.”

I take it. Scan the results. And nearly drop the page. Emily… isn’t just Dante’s child. She’s an heiress.

Not just to Dante’s wealth…but to something far more dangerous. She’s linked to the Lombardi bloodline,” Leo murmurs. “Vanessa knew. That’s why she wanted control. Emily isn’t just Dante’s child…she’s leverage.”

My knees weaken. The Lombardi family is one of the oldest and most powerful Italian dynasties…steeped in secrets, influence, and enemies.

I said, “Does Dante know?” He grabs the paper from me, scanning it in seconds.

His eyes flare. “This changes everything.” Leo nods. “Exactly. Which is why Vanessa wanted her. And now that Alina’s gone rogue... we don’t know who else knows.”

My stomach churns. If Emily is in danger…. I bolt upright. “She’s at the safe house with Nora. We need to get her…” Before I can finish, Leo’s phone buzzes.

He answers, and I see his entire expression change. “What?” I demand. He hangs up slowly. “Carina… she’s gone.”

“No,” I whisper. “Emily?” He nods grimly. “The guards were drugged. Nora was knocked unconscious. Someone took Emily fifteen minutes ago.”

The room tilts. “No,” I say louder. “No, no, no—” Dante holds my hand. “We’ll find her.”

Tears spill from my eyes. “She’s just a baby. What if she’s scared? What if they hurt her?”

“She’s strong,” he whispers, voice raw. “She’s ours.” My heart cracks in two. Leo paces. “There’s a GPS chip in her favorite bear. If they took it with her, I can trace it.”

I practically leap to my feet. “Do it. Now.” He nods and rushes out of the room. Dante wraps his arms around me. I sink into him, shaking. “I should’ve protected her,” I cry. “I should’ve told you everything sooner.”

“We protect her now,” he says fiercely. “Together.” But even as we hold each other, the fear sets in. This isn’t just a fight for love anymore. It’s war, and our daughter is the prize. Twenty minutes later…

Leo storms back into the penthouse with his tablet. “I’ve got a location.” “Where?” I demand.

He pulls up the map. “Abandoned mansion outside the city. Used to belong to the Rocchettis. It’s been empty for years. But heat signatures show movement.”

Dante grabs his jacket. “We’re going.” “I’m coming too,” I say instantly.

He gives me a look. “It could be dangerous.” “She’s my daughter. I’m not sitting this out.”

Leo tosses me a burner phone. “We leave in five.” I grip Dante’s hand as we run to the elevator.

The city screams past us in a blur of lights and noise. My heart racing. My fingers won’t stop trembling. When we arrive, the mansion looms like something from a nightmare.

Dark. Silent. Waiting. We sneak in through a side entrance. Each creak of the floorboards sounds like a gunshot. Dante whispers, “Do you hear that?”

I stop. A soft cry. Emily. I bolt toward the sound, bursting into a dusty nursery. She’s there. Tied to a chair. Alina stands beside her. Holding a gun. My entire world tilts.

“Alina,” I breathe. Her eyes shimmer with tears. “You were always the star. Always the favorite. I just wanted to matter.”

“You do,” I said, my hands raised up. “You’re my sister.” “I needed my own path. Vanessa gave me that.”

“She used you,” I plead. “Just like she tried to use me.” Alina’s eyes flicker. Dante steps beside me. “Let her go.” She shakes her head. “I can’t.”

Then… I hear sound of s shot. Rings through the room. And someone falls. Who could be the person?