Chapter 8 - The Secret Beneath the Hospital Records
Dante canceled every meeting on his schedule.
By sunset, the Moretti estate had become a fortress. Armed guards patrolled the gardens, surveillance teams monitored every entrance, and Matteo was moved to a secure bedroom beside Elena's suite.
But Elena couldn't stop thinking about the photograph.
"Who was Sofia's husband?" she asked Dante.
He stood beside the fireplace, holding a glass of untouched whiskey.
"She wasn't married."
"Then who was the baby's father?"
Dante's expression hardened.
"A man named Victor Hale."
"Where is he now?"
"Dead. Or so I was told."
Elena frowned.
"You keep saying people are dead when they might not be."
Dante looked at her.
"That's exactly what worries me."
He explained that Victor had worked for the Moretti organization before becoming involved with Sofia. He had been a trusted accountant, responsible for managing several legitimate businesses and their financial records.
When Dante discovered that Victor was secretly transferring money from their family accounts, he ordered an investigation.
Victor disappeared three days later.
Sofia died shortly afterward.
Dante had always believed Victor arranged the accident to silence her.
"But you said the baby died too," Elena whispered.
"That's what the hospital reported."
"Did you see the body?"
Dante didn't answer.
That was enough.
The following morning, Elena insisted on visiting the hospital where Sofia had given birth.
Dante initially refused.
Then he noticed the determination in her eyes.
"You're not going without me."
At St. Catherine's Medical Center, they met an elderly records administrator named Margaret Ellis.
When Dante showed her the photograph, the woman's hands began trembling.
"I remember this family," Margaret whispered.
Dante leaned forward.
"Tell me everything."
Margaret glanced toward the hallway before lowering her voice.
"Your sister gave birth to a healthy baby boy. But that night, someone came into the maternity ward and ordered the nurses to transfer him."
"Who?"
"I don't know. The paperwork was signed by a senior physician."
"Where was he transferred?"
Margaret swallowed.
"The records say he was taken to a private pediatric facility."
Dante's expression became murderous.
"Which facility?"
"Riverside Children's Hospital. But the institution closed years ago."
Elena noticed Margaret staring at the photograph.
"Did you know the baby personally?"
The old woman nodded slowly.
"He had a small birthmark behind his left ear. A crescent-shaped mark."
Dante looked at Elena.
Neither spoke.
Because Matteo had exactly the same birthmark.
Elena felt the floor shift beneath her.
"That's impossible."
Margaret reached into a drawer and pulled out an old folder.
"I kept something because I knew one day someone would come looking."
Inside was a photocopy of the original birth certificate.
The father's name had been scratched out.
The mother's name remained visible.
Sofia Moretti.
But the baby's name was different.
Matteo.
Elena stepped backward.
"Our Matteo?"
Dante took the document with shaking hands.
"No."
The administrator looked between them.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Moretti. I thought you knew."
Dante's phone suddenly rang.
It was his head of security.
"Boss, we have a problem."
"What?"
"Someone accessed the estate's security system."
Dante's eyes narrowed.
"From where?"
The guard hesitated.
"Inside the house."
A second later, Elena's phone buzzed.
A video appeared.
It showed Matteo sitting alone in his bedroom, looking toward the camera.
Then a familiar voice spoke from behind the lens.
"Hello, Elena."
The woman stepped into view.
It was Isabella Vance.
The woman Dante had shot three years earlier.
May you like
She smiled directly at the camera.
"Did you really think I was finished?"
