Chapter 2 - The Wife Who Never Left
The locksmith arrived ten minutes later.
By then, Clara had spoken with the doctor, who advised immediate medical evaluation. Vincent arranged transportation and insisted that she remain seated while the staff prepared to take her to the hospital.
Yet he refused to leave the staircase.
The suitcase had become the center of the mansion.
The locksmith examined the combination lock.
“I can open it without damaging the contents, sir.”
“Do it.”
Vanessa stood near the wall, twisting her engagement ring.
“Vincent, please. Whatever you find, it won't change anything.”
He didn't look at her.
“Then you have nothing to fear.”
The lock clicked.
Vincent lifted the lid.
Inside lay neatly folded clothes, a silver hairbrush, a jewelry box, a pale blue scarf, and a white wedding veil.
He stared at the veil.
He remembered Elena wearing it beneath the garden arch where they had exchanged vows. She had laughed when the wind caught it, and he had promised that no matter how dark his world became, he would never let her face it alone.
He had broken that promise without knowing it.
Vincent lifted the jewelry box.
Inside lay a platinum wedding band engraved with two names.
Vincent & Elena.
Forever.
His knees nearly gave way.
“She left this behind?”
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“I thought she had taken it.”
“You told me she left because she didn't love me.”
“Vincent—”
“You told me she wanted freedom from my family.”
She said nothing.
He set the ring carefully on the staircase.
Then Clara noticed the lining at the bottom of the suitcase was raised.
“Mr. Moretti?”
He turned.
“There's something underneath.”
The locksmith pressed along the base and found a hidden compartment.
Inside were a black mobile phone, a medical document, and a sealed envelope.
Vincent recognized the phone immediately.
“Elena's.”
He had given it to her on their second anniversary. She had carried it everywhere until the night she disappeared.
The medical document bore the name of Lakeview Women's Medical Center.
Patient: Elena Moretti.
Date: November 18, 2022.
Diagnosis: Pregnancy confirmed.
Vincent stared at the words.
For four years, he had believed Elena left him.
But she had been pregnant.
His child had been growing inside her when she disappeared, and he had never known.
“No,” he whispered.
Vanessa sank onto a step.
“I didn't know about the pregnancy.”
Vincent raised his eyes.
“Don't lie to me again.”
“I swear I didn't know she was expecting.”
“Then why are you terrified of that suitcase?”
She looked away.
Before she could answer, Daniel returned with a charger. He connected the phone to a power bank.
The screen flickered.
A photograph appeared: Vincent and Elena on their wedding day.
He entered their anniversary date as the passcode.
The phone unlocked.
There were photographs, old messages, and dozens of voice recordings. Most importantly, there was an unsent text dated the night Elena disappeared.
Vincent opened it.
Vincent, if you're reading this, something has gone terribly wrong.
His fingers tightened around the phone.
I wanted to tell you about the baby myself. I was going to surprise you after dinner.
He swallowed.
But Vanessa came to see me today.
Vincent slowly looked up.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
He continued reading.
She told me you already knew about the pregnancy. She said you didn't want the child.
His breathing became shallow.
She showed me divorce papers, an agreement surrendering parental rights, and a letter saying you wanted me out of your life.
Vincent stared at the screen.
“I never signed those.”
I didn't believe her at first. But then Richard Sterling told me the guards had orders to keep me away from you.
Richard Sterling was Vanessa's father, a powerful attorney who had advised Vincent during the search for Elena.
The message continued.
Richard gave me two choices: leave Chicago quietly, or lose my baby.
Vincent lowered the phone.
For a long moment, he couldn't speak.
Then he looked at Vanessa.
“You and your father made my pregnant wife believe I had rejected her?”
Vanessa began sobbing.
“I was afraid!”
“Of what?”
“Of losing you!”
Vincent's expression hardened.
“So you made sure I lost her first.”
She reached toward him.
He stepped away.
“Our engagement is over.”
“Vincent, please!”
“Don't.”
His voice was quiet, but everyone in the hall heard the finality in it.
He turned to Daniel.
“Preserve the phone and every item in this suitcase. Contact an independent attorney and notify the police. No one connected to Richard Sterling is to touch this evidence.”
“Yes, sir.”
Then Vincent looked down at the medical document again.
A child.
His child.
Somewhere in the world, a little girl might be growing up without knowing her father.
His phone vibrated.
The message came from an unknown number.
If you've found my suitcase, Vincent, please don't trust anyone who told you I disappeared.
He stared at the screen.
Another message followed.
Our daughter is alive.
Vincent forgot how to breathe.
Then a third message appeared.
Her name is Grace.
He sat down on the staircase, the phone trembling in his hand.
For four years, he had mourned a wife he believed had abandoned him.
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Now he had learned that she might still be alive.
And his daughter was somewhere in the world, waiting for a father who had never known she existed.
