THE TRUTH COMES OUT
1335 Words
EPISODE 4: THE TRUTH COMES OUT - PART 1
The photos hit the internet at 7:03am.
Elena holding Luca’s hand in the hallway.
Both of them on the floor of her bedroom.
Sunrise through the window.
Caption: “CEO LUCA MORETTI CAUGHT WITH CONTRACT WIFE?”
By 7:05am, Mrs. Hale was pounding on Elena’s door.
“Miss! You need to see this!”
Elena’s phone was already buzzing. 200+ notifications.
She opened Twitter.
Her stomach dropped.
#MorettiScandal was trending.
“Gold digger nanny”
“Fake engagement exposed”
“Poor little rich boy”
Milo was watching cartoons downstairs, oblivious.
Luca was gone. Again. Board meeting. Or damage control.
Elena locked herself in the bathroom and threw up.
---
At 9am, Luca came home.
He looked furious. Tie loose. Hair a mess. Like he’d been fighting all morning.
“Pack a bag,” he said.
“What?”
“Pack. Now. We’re leaving.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere they can’t find us.” He was already calling someone. “Get the jet ready. No. The helicopter.”
Elena didn’t move. “Luca, we need to talk about this.”
“We’ll talk on the plane.”
“This is because of last night.” It wasn’t a question.
Luca stopped. Looked at her. “Yes. Because I couldn’t keep my hands to myself. Because I’m an idiot.”
“You didn’t—”
“I did.” He ran a hand through his hair. “And now the whole world knows. And my board knows. And my ex-wife’s lawyers know.”
Elena’s blood went cold. “Ex-wife?”
Luca froze.
“What ex-wife, Luca?”
He didn’t answer.
“Luca.”
He sighed. “It’s complicated.”
“Don’t you dare say that again.” Elena’s voice was shaking. “You told me you were divorced.”
“I am.”
“Then why are her lawyers involved?”
Luca looked away. “Because the divorce isn’t finalized. Because of assets. Because of—”
“You lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“You omitted the truth!” Elena was crying now. Angry crying. “That’s the same thing!”
Milo appeared in the doorway. Bear in hand. “Mommy? Are we going somewhere?”
Elena wiped her face fast. “No baby. Go watch TV.”
Luca knelt down. “Hey buddy. We might take a little trip. Just you, me, and mommy. Okay?”
Milo nodded. “Can I bring Bear?”
“Of course.” Luca’s voice broke.
When Milo left, Luca stood. “We have 20 minutes.”
Elena shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me the truth. All of it.”
Luca’s jaw ticked. “Fine. You want truth? Here it is.”
He pulled out his phone. Showed her an email.
From: Victoria Moretti
Subject: Custody
“I want full custody of Milo. He’s a Moretti. He belongs with me. Not with some waitress you knocked up.”
Elena felt like she’d been punched. “Victoria... your wife?”
“Ex-wife.” Luca’s voice was dead. “We were married 8 years. No kids. Business marriage. She found out about you 3 months ago. Hired PI. Got the DNA test before I did.”
Elena couldn’t breathe. “So she knows?”
“She knows everything. And she’s using it.” Luca looked at her. “She wants to destroy me. And she’ll use you and Milo to do it.”
Elena sank to the floor. “Oh my God.”
“I’m sorry.” Luca knelt too. “I should have told you. But I was scared you’d run.”
“I did run. 5 years ago.”
“I know.” He reached for her hand. She pulled away.
“Don’t touch me.”
Luca flinched. “Elena—”
“No. You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to lie, and touch me, and make me feel things, and then hide that you’re STILL MARRIED ON PAPER.”
“I’m not—”
“The divorce isn’t finalized!” Elena shouted. “That means you’re still married!”
The room went silent.
Milo peeked in. “Are you guys fighting?”
Both of them answered at once. “No.”
Luca stood. “Get your stuff. We’re leaving in 10.”
He walked out.
Elena stayed on the floor and cried.
---
The helicopter ride was silent.
Milo slept between them.
Luca stared out the window. Elena stared at her hands.
They landed at a private island. Moretti property. No press. No people.
Just a beach house. Big. Empty.
“Stay here,” Luca said. “I’ll handle Victoria.”
“And then what?” Elena asked. “We go back to pretending?”
Luca didn’t answer.
Night came.
Elena couldn’t sleep.
At 2am, she heard voices. Downstairs.
She crept down.
Luca was on the phone. Yelling.
“I don’t care what it costs! I want her silenced!”
“Luca?”
He hung up. Turned.
“What are you doing up?”
“Who were you talking to?”
“No one.”
“Don’t lie to me again.”
Luca rubbed his face. “My lawyer. About the divorce.”
“And?”
“And it’s going to be messy. And expensive. And public.” He looked at her. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this.”
Elena crossed her arms. “Did you love her? Victoria?”
Luca was quiet. “No. It was business.”
“But you married her.”
“My father arranged it.” He laughed bitterly. “Moretti men don’t get love. We get contracts.”
Elena felt sick. “Is that what I am to you? Another contract?”
Luca stepped closer. “No.”
“Then what am I?”
He didn’t answer.
---
The next day, Victoria called.
Luca put it on speaker.
“Luca, darling.” Her voice was sweet. Poison. “I saw the photos. Cute.”
“What do you want, Victoria?”
“Custody. And $50 million. Or I go to the press with everything. The contract. The fake engagement. The fact that you’re sleeping with your nanny while still married to me.”
Elena’s face burned.
“Over my dead body,” Luca said.
“Maybe it will be.” Victoria laughed. “You have 48 hours.”
Click.
Elena looked at Luca. “What are we going to do?”
Luca’s eyes were dark. “We fight.”
---
The court date came.
Victoria in Chanel. Luca in a suit. Elena holding Milo’s hand.
Temporary joint custody. Divorce finalized in 30 days.
Outside, Luca grabbed Elena’s hand. “Come on.”
In the car, Elena pulled away. “You used me.”
“We are a family.”
“No. We’re a contract.”
Luca stared. “Is that what you want?”
“I don’t know.” Elena cried. “I’m tired of lies.”
“No more lies,” Luca whispered.
---
Weeks passed. Cold. Distant.
Until Milo got sick again. Fever 103.
They sat by his bed all night. Like the first night.
At 3am, Luca kissed her forehead. “I promise I’ll try.”
Elena closed her eyes. “Okay.”
---
The next morning: DIVORCE FINALIZED.
Luca told her at breakfast. “The contract is over. You can leave with $10 million.”
Elena looked at Milo. Then at Luca.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “But no more contracts. If we do this, we do it for real.”
Luca stood. “For real.”
Milo: “Are you guys gonna kiss now?”
Both blushed.
“Maybe,” Luca said.
Elena smiled. “Maybe.”
The truth was out.
And for the first time, it didn’t hurt.
[END OF EPISODE 4]
#StrayWritingMarathon #ContractMarriage #BillionaireRomance #Episode4 #PlotTwist #CEOxNanny #DivorceDrama #SingleMom #RomanceNovel #BookTok #StoryTime #ForbiddenLove
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