They Gave My Wedding Away Before I Died의 모든 챕터: 챕터 1 - 챕터 9

When I returned to the Upper East Side townhouse Adrian and I had chosen for after our wedding, the front steps were crowded with dark garment trunks and document cases stamped with the Moretti crest.A card from my mother was clipped to one of them.Bianca has been followed by reporters since the engagement was called off. She’ll stay here for a few days because security is better. Go back to the estate for now.I called my mother.“Elena, perfect timing. The cedar cabinet beside the bridal dressing room is still locked. Bianca’s gown and the family jewelry need to go inside. Send the code to the house manager.”“Why was my access removed?”“Adrian had your access removed,” my mother said. “He was worried you might show up without warning, see Bianca in your wedding gown, and cause another scene.”“Only for a few days. Reporters are watching her everywhere else. After the wedding, everything will go back to normal.”I pressed my thumb to the lock, but nothing happened.Adrian and I ha

I woke on the morning of the wedding to voices downstairs.The Moretti estate had been busy since dawn. Drivers checked the order of the motorcade, security reviewed the guest list, and staff carried flowers and gift boxes through the hall.Adrian was already dressed when I came downstairs. The dark suit was the one we had chosen together months ago, and he wore the cuff links I had given him for our engagement.He looked up and saw me.For a moment, I thought he might come over and ask why I had never waited for him last night.Then Bianca called from the dressing room.“Adrian, can you help me with my veil?”He glanced at me. “Give me a minute.”Then he went to her.My mother found me soon afterward and handed me a black velvet envelope.“There will be a lot of guests today, and you’re not feeling well. Stay at the estate and rest.”She adjusted the collar of my robe with the same familiar gesture she had used when I was a child.“If something happens to you during the ceremony, Bian

When the staff arrived to transfer my body for donation, my mother finally lost control.She stepped in front of the gurney and gripped the rail.“Where are you taking my daughter?”The doctor stopped.“Miss Moretti signed a valid body donation agreement before her death.”“I don’t agree.”Her voice shook.“I’m her mother. She told me everything growing up. She would never make a decision like this without me.”After a moment, the doctor handed her a sealed bag containing my belongings.Inside were my phone, keys, medication, and the black velvet envelope she had given me that morning. The hotel documents were untouched.On the back, I had written:Mom, I don’t need another replacement.My mother went silent.She had seen how pale I looked that morning. She knew I had been to the hospital twice.Yet what worried her most was whether I might appear at the wedding and make Bianca feel guilty.Nico stood against the wall and picked up my phone.The password was still his birthday.He unlo

Three days later, Thomas Hale brought the restored footage to the Moretti estate.The image was old and grainy, but it showed enough.When the first shots struck the convoy sixteen years earlier, ten-year-old Elena broke away from security and ran back toward the vehicles. She dragged the injured Nico behind an armored car and pressed her own coat against his wound until the guards reached them.By the time Carlo Ferraro appeared, Nico was already safe.As everyone prepared to retreat, young Bianca began crying that a medal her mother had left her was still inside the first car.Carlo stopped.The guards tried to hold him back, but he turned and ran into the line of fire.Less than half a minute later, he collapsed beside the vehicle.The footage ended.No one in the room spoke.The Morettis did owe Carlo something.But he had never taken a bullet for Nico.The person who had pulled Nico out of the gunfire had been Elena all along.My father sat at the end of the long table without mov