She died
1224 Words
Elena looked up from the table she was wiping, a cloth still in her hand.
“Coming!” she called cheerfully.
Lucia set down the jar of spices and wiped her hands on her apron.
“What is it, Boss?” Lucia asked as they both walked over to the corner where Gino stood.
Gino didn’t answer right away. He simply turned the phone screen toward them, his face serious.
Both girls leaned in.
The news report was still playing. The bold headline screamed across the screen in red letters. Photos of them — clear, recent shots from inside the shop — filled the frame. One showed Elena carrying a tray. Another showed her and Lucia standing together yesterday during the argument with Valentina.
Elena’s smile faded.
“What… what is this?” she whispered.
The anchor’s voice continued:
“…the two missing heiresses — Elena Moretti and Lucia — working together at Gino’s Barbecue Shop, a small local eatery. The girls, now eighteen, appear to have been living ordinary lives completely unaware of their true identities.”
Lucia’s hand flew to her mouth.
“That’s us,” she breathed. “Elena… that’s us on the news.”
Elena stared at the screen, eyes wide.
“Missing heiresses?” she repeated, voice shaking. “Moretti? That can’t be right. We’re not… we’re not from any rich family. We grew up in the orphanage. This has to be a mistake.”
Gino kept the phone steady so they could keep watching.
The report went on, explaining the hospital switch, the unknown execution order, the nurse who ran away with them, and how Giorgio had announced the deaths instead of telling the truth.
Elena’s knees felt weak. She grabbed the edge of the counter for support.
“Lucia… they’re saying we’re the Moretti twins,” she said, almost in a whisper. “The ones everyone thought died at birth.”
Lucia shook her head slowly, tears already forming in her eyes.
“But… but that doesn’t make sense. We’ve been here our whole lives. We were adopted — or at least you were. I stayed because no one wanted me. How can we suddenly be… heiresses? To a billion-dollar empire?”
Elena’s voice cracked.
Gino finally lowered the phone. His voice was gentle but firm.
“I don’t know what’s going on, girls, but this is real. It’s on every major channel. Your faces are everywhere.”
Lucia stared at the screen, eyes wide with shock.
“Sissy… what are we going to do?” she asked. “Yesterday we were just serving barbecue and now the whole country thinks we’re supposed to be rich heirs?”
Elena swallowed hard, still staring at the frozen image of herself.
“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “But if this is true… then everything we thought we knew about our lives is a lie.all of it.”
Lucia’s voice shook slightly.
“We have to tell Mrs. Clara. She raised us. She has to know about this.”
Elena nodded, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Yeah… we do. But right now I just feel scared. If this is real, Lucia, then someone out there wanted us dead when we were born. And now the whole world knows we’re alive.”
Gino cleared his throat, looking between the two shaken girls.
“Take the day off if you need to,” he said softly. “Go home. Talk to Mrs. Clara. Figure this out. The shop can survive one morning without you two.”
Elena looked at her boss, eyes glassy.
“Thank you, Gino. I… I don’t even know what to say.”
Lucia wiped her face quickly.
“Come on, Elena,” she said, taking her sister’s hand. “Let’s go home. We need to talk to someone who actually knows us.”
The two girls walked out of the shop hand in hand. Neither of them spoke as they hurried down the street toward the orphanage. The morning sun felt too bright, too normal, while the entire country was waking up to the news that the “dead” Moretti twins had been serving barbecue just a few hours earlier.
Both of them knew, deep down, that nothing would ever be the same again.
As soon as they pushed open the orphanage gate, Mrs. Clara was already standing in the doorway, waiting for them. The moment she saw their faces, she gave a small, sad smile.
“You saw the news too,” she said quietly.
Elena and Lucia nodded at the same time.
“Yes, we did,” Elena answered. “That’s why we’re here. Mrs. Clara… can you tell us what is going on?”
Clara sighed and gestured toward the small sitting area inside.
“Come sit down, both of you. It’s a long story, but I’ll make it brief.”
They sat on the old wooden bench. Clara took a deep breath and began.
“First… you and Elena are cousins, not sisters, Lucia.”
Lucia looked at her in surprise.
“What do you even mean by that? You mean Elena is not my sister but my cousin? What?”
Clara cleared her throat gently.
“Back then in 2008, my sister Vanessa was working at the hospital where you were born. She was a nurse and among those who delivered you girls. The Moretti heirs — Vittorio and Giorgio’s wives — gave birth to twins each on the same day. So there were two sets of twins.
“But Giorgio, who is your father, Lucia, wanted Vittorio’s wealth for himself. Of course, Elena, your mother died right after giving birth to you and your twin sister. Your father was already dead before your mother gave birth.”
Lucia sat frozen, listening.
Clara continued.
“Giorgio wanted the entire empire for himself. So he switched you with Elena’s twin sister and ordered both you and Elena to be killed. That way he could play the sympathy card by telling the public his own set of twins had died, so he’ll be raising his brother’s twins as his own.
Elena’s hands trembled in her lap.
Clara looked at both girls with soft, sorrowful eyes.
“The job of the killing was given to my sister Vanessa. But she couldn’t do it. She ran away with the babies instead you and Elena. She brought you here to St. Lucia Orphanage. Lucia your father wanted you dead for properties he didn’t even work for.”
Lucia was completely stunned. She sat there looking dazed, then tears slowly filled her eyes.
“Why did he keep Elena’s twin since he was going to lie?” she asked, voice cracking. “Why didn’t he just keep his complete twins me and my other twin?”
Clara sighed heavily but from the look of things I suppose he kept Elena’s twin so he could gain access to his brother’s properties since he already told the public he was raising them.
Elena leaned forward, voice shaking.
“Mrs. Clara… where is your sister? We should thank her for saving our lives.”
Clara’s eyes grew sad.
“She died in the same year from heart failure after the incident.”
Lucia’s tears finally spilled over. She covered her mouth with both hands, shoulders shaking.
- Writer
