3: Her Rebirth

Chiara Moretti

TWO YEARS LATER

I stood in the front of the full-length mirror that offered a reflection I barely recognized. It's been two years, three months, and precisely seventeen days since the fire, since the world believed Chiara Moretti perished in a horrific accident. And two years to the day since Alessandro Bianchi had offered retribution I was too broken to refuse.

My fingers, traced my face, once round and innocent, was now leaner, my eyes, though was still the same shade of deep hazel. A glance wouldn't reveal the old Chiara not even a lingering stare, I look entirely like a different person.

I had turned my attention to the television when I heard the journalist on the TV.  I had spent the last two years focusing on Marco and Alesia. I have seen every plastered across news articles, society pages, and glossy magazine spreads. I saw how they flaunted my wealth which only fueled the fury within me.

There was a sudden soft click, and the door opened, pulling me from my reverie. Alessandro Bianchi entered, and I turned to look at him. He moved closer, and I noticed a file in his hand.

He extended it, I tilted my head, raising a brow in silent question, then took the file. My eyes skimmed the bold letters on the first page, "DNA Maternity Test Results." My breath hitched and I flipped to the next page, then the next, my gaze devouring everything until one line that caused my breath to knock out of my throat.

"Subject A (Chiara Moretti) shows no biological relation to Subject B (Anna Moretti) or Subject C (Alesia Moretti)."

"What... what is this?" I whispered, my voice shivering with tremor. My hands clenched the file, the paper crinkling protestingly. "Mr. Bianchi, what does this mean?"

"I was able to run a DNA test between you, your mom, and your sister. It means exactly what it says, Ms. Moretti. That DNA report says she is not your biological mother and Alesia is not your biological sister. It appears your father, Paolo Moretti, married Alesia's mother when Alesia was already in the picture, from another man."

The world tilted, my vision blurred, not from tears, but from a sudden, dizzying wave of disorientation. My mother... not my mother? Alesia... not my sister? All those years, all those memories, all the love, real or imagined, I had held for my family... it was all a lie?

"My father..." I choked out, a raw anger bubbling up. "My father knew this? He knew and he never told me? He died without telling me the truth about my own parentage? How could he? How could he hide something so fundamental from me?" My fists tightened, nails digging into my palms. The betrayal felt fresh, cutting deeper than Marco's treachery, because this came from the one person I had always believed loved me unconditionally. "I need to know the truth behind this! Every single detail. Why? Why would he lie?"

Alessandro Bianchi remained impassive, watching the storm brewing in my eyes. "We will find out, eventually. But that is not our immediate concern."

As if on cue, he flicked his wrist. The door swung open again, revealing two maids, their arms filled with different dresses, they moved forward with them and I glanced at them each more exquisite than the last.

I furrowed my brows, "What in the world is this?" I asked, tilting my head at Alessandro Bianchi.

A rare smile touched his lips with a calculated expression, "It means, Ms. Moretti, tonight, you are making your first appearance."

My heart hammered against my ribs. "Appearance? Where?"

"A gala for the elite and I am quite certain Marco and Alesia will be there."

My anger was momentarily eclipsed by a surge of adrenaline. "Did you really confirm this?" I asked taking a step closer to him.

His smile broadened, "Oh, yes. He has partnered with some very interesting individuals and he will definitely be there," he replied and took a step closer to me, "I need you to know Ms. Moretti, this is not an ordinary gala, it's also a display of dominance in this world of ours."

"What world? Is there something I need to know now?"I asked and Mr. Bianchi stepped forward

"I am sure you must have heard rumors about me being involved in the mafia world," he said and I looked away immediately, he moved closer to me, gently placing his hand on my chin and raising my head up to meet his eyes. "Well, you didn't hear wrong. Most of the people you are meeting today are involved in the mafia world and it's not just that, Marco had also stepped his foot into that world with your money, so you should know you are going to play a game of fire."

He stopped and my eyes widened in shock, I have spent the last two years trying to recover I had no time to know much more about him except for his physical attributes.

"I know you are shocked Ms. Moretti but I'm formally welcoming you into this world, where the powerful dominate and the weaklings are stepped on." He paused as he noticed I hadn't said a word "Do you want to take a step back? I won't force you if you are not sure about doing this."

"I am more than sure Mr. Bianchi, I have prepared for this for the past two years, I need to take back everything they have stolen from me," I replied and he raised his brows at me.

"Then what is troubling you, You don't look that good."

"What if I'm recognized?" The question was out before I could stop it, a flicker of fear almost consumed me whole. "I'm sorry but I am a bit scared of the whole thing."

His gaze was steady and unwavering. "Don't be scared and you won't be recognized. You are not going as Chiara Moretti, the presumed dead heiress. You are going as Miss Viviana Marino." He paused, letting the new name settle between us. "A businesswoman who has just returned to Italy. Someone with the best wine production in the whole of Southern Europe, a true connoisseur of the finer things, and not just that, she is also a remarkable tech engineer, with a keen interest in the future of artificial intelligence. A visionary, a woman of both wealth and intellect, with an air of quiet power."

I let out a slow, deep breath, trying to steady the sudden tremor in my hands. "Mr. Bianchi," I said, my voice firmer now, "you still haven't told me. Why are you doing this? What do you want in return? You have invested a fortune in my transformation, my training, my new life. What do you gain from all this?"

His dark eyes held mine, looking unreadable and then the ghost of that calculated smile returned. "Do not concern yourself with that, Ms. Moretti. You will know in due time. And it is not what you are supposed to worry about for now." He gestured to the waiting dresses, then back to the file resting on the table. "For now, it is time. Time to put your revenge into your own hands, time to reclaim everything they stole from you, your legacy, your name, your future, and perhaps, even uncover the truth about your past."

He turned to leave, dismissing the maids with a nod, leaving me alone once more with the dresses, I turned and looked at my reflection in the mirror, the old Chiara was dead, yes. But Viviana Marino? Viviana Marino was about to be born, and her first act would be to tear down the world of those who had wronged her, brick by carefully placed brick.

Tonight, the game began.