God help you
1022 Words
Clara pulled Lucia into her arms and held her tightly.
“Shh, my dear,” she whispered, rubbing slow circles on Lucia’s back. “Breathe. I know this feels like the world is collapsing, but you are not alone. None of you are.”
Elena knelt in front of her cousin, taking both of Lucia’s trembling hands in hers. Her voice was steady, stronger than it had been in years.
“Lucia, look at me,” Elena said gently but firmly. “We are still the same girls who woke up this morning and went to work together. The news didn’t change who we are. It only changed what other people think they know about us. We will face this the same way we always have — together.”
Lucia wiped her eyes, still shaken.
“But everything we thought was true… it’s all a lie,” she whispered.
Elena squeezed her hands tighter.
“Then we’ll build a new truth. Starting right now. I’m scared too, but I’m not running away from it. And neither are you.”
Clara nodded, brushing a strand of hair from Lucia’s face.
“Elena is right. You two have survived worse than this. We will figure it out step by step.”
Just then, the quiet morning air was shattered by the deep roar of multiple car engines. Six sleek black vehicles pulled into the orphanage gate in perfect formation. Doors opened in unison. Bodyguards in dark suits stepped out, scanning the compound with cold, professional eyes.
Clara’s face hardened the moment she saw them.
“Stay here for a moment,” she told the girls, her voice low and tense. “I’ll handle this.”
She rushed outside. Valentina, Giorgio, and Caterina stood at the front of the group, all elegantly dressed as if they had stepped straight out of a magazine. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut.
Caterina spoke first, her voice sharp but edged with something almost desperate.
“Where are the girls?”
Clara sighed, folding her arms.
“What do you need them for?”
Giorgio stepped forward, his tone smooth and authoritative.
“I need them. They are my daughters.”
Clara smirked, the expression cold.
“You mean the kids you ordered killed? Are you joking right now? You need them for what exactly?”
Valentina scoffed loudly.
“Ma’am, can you just ask them to come out? Killings? My dad will never do that.”
Clara shot her a sharp look.
“Shut your mouth. When elders are talking, little kids should not get involved.”
Valentina’s mouth opened in shock, but she stayed quiet.
Before the tension could explode, Lucia and Elena stepped out of the building and walked toward the group.
The moment Caterina saw them side by side, she almost lost her footing. Elena looked exactly like Elisa. The resemblance was uncanny. Caterina’s eyes widened, and for a split second she stared at Lucia as if she had seen a ghost.
That… that is my own daughter?
Valentina pointed straight at Elena.
“I knew something was off about you,” she said. “You looked exactly like Elisa.”
Elena stared back at her coldly, saying nothing.
Lucia stepped forward, voice steady despite everything.
“What do you guys want?”
Caterina walked closer. Her eyes filled with tears as she gently took Lucia’s hands in hers. Her voice cracked, trembling with raw emotion.
“My dear girls… we’ve come to take you home. Both of you.” She swallowed hard, a single tear slipping down her cheek. “We’ve missed so many years. I thought I had lost you forever. Please… let us make it right. You don’t have to live like this anymore. You deserve the life you were born for — beautiful clothes, safety, everything a daughter of the Moretti name should have. We want to give you that. We want to be the family you never had. I’ve cried for you every single night for eighteen years. Come home… please.”
Giorgio nodded, his voice low but persuasive.
“You are my blood. Both of you. Come home. We will protect you. No more struggling. No more questions about who you are. You will have everything.”
Caterina squeezed Lucia’s hands tighter, her voice breaking.
“Please, my girls. We’ve already lost so much time. Don’t make us lose any more. I can’t bear it.”
Lucia pulled her hands away slowly. She could see the calculation in her father’s eyes and the forced warmth, but she also saw the cameras already flashing from the cars behind them. Still, after a long moment, she looked at Elena.
Elena met her gaze, then gave a small nod.
Lucia turned back to the Morettis.
“…Fine. We’ll go with you.”
Caterina’s face lit up with relief, fresh tears glistening in her eyes.
“Thank you. You won’t regret this.”
Elena spoke up firmly.
“If that’s the case, we’ll go in and take our clothes first.”
Valentina stepped forward quickly, waving a hand.
“Don’t bother,” she said. “Those kinds of clothes are not needed in that building. We’ll get you new ones — proper ones.”
Elena opened her mouth to protest, but Lucia touched her arm and shook her head.
They both turned to Mrs. Clara instead. Without a word, they pulled her into a tight hug.
Clara held them close, her voice low and fierce.
“Do not be soft for anyone. Do you hear me? Stay sharp. Stay together.”
Both girls nodded against her shoulder.
Then they let go, turned, and walked toward the waiting cars. Caterina and Giorgio followed. Valentina trailed behind with a satisfied smirk.
The engines roared to life. The six black cars pulled out of the orphanage gate in formation and zoomed off down the road, leaving only dust and the faint sound of tires on gravel behind them.
Clara stood alone at the gate, watching the convoy disappear.
She whispered to herself, voice heavy with worry,
“God help those girls.”
- Writer
