Chapter 7 - VANESSA'S LAST CONFESSION
Dominic found Vanessa the following morning in a private apartment above an abandoned restaurant.
She sat on the floor with her knees drawn to her chest, still wearing the dress she'd worn when she left the mansion.
Anthony stood near the window, watching the street.
When Dominic entered, Vanessa flinched.
“Don't come closer.”
Dominic stopped.
“Where's my cousin going?”
“Anthony says he's arranging a way out of the country.”
“And you believe him?”
She looked at the floor.
“No.”
Anthony reached for his coat.
“I'm not staying for this.”
Dominic's security team blocked the doorway.
“Sit down,” Dominic ordered.
For a moment, Anthony looked ready to fight. Then he noticed the armed guards and reluctantly stepped back.
Dominic faced Vanessa.
“Tell me what happened to Isabella.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't know how far Victor would go.”
“Start at the beginning.”
Vanessa took a shaking breath.
Victor had approached her shortly after Isabella discovered the financial fraud. He promised to make Vanessa Dominic's wife and give her influence over the Moretti business.
At first, she had believed she was helping the family.
Then Victor asked her to obtain Isabella's medical records.
She told herself it was harmless.
When Isabella discovered the unauthorized access, Vanessa panicked. She signed documents claiming to have permission to act on Isabella's behalf.
“I thought they were only going to delay the surgery,” Vanessa whispered. “Victor said Isabella needed more tests. He said she'd eventually recover, and no one would ever know.”
Dominic's expression turned cold.
“What did you sign?”
“A request to change the treatment plan. Then an authorization for the procedure.”
“You knew she hadn't consented.”
Vanessa began sobbing.
“Yes.”
The admission hung in the room.
Dominic turned away, fighting the urge to destroy everything within reach.
“Did you know the surgery would kill her?”
“No. I swear I didn't. Victor told me it was routine. He said the doctors would handle it.”
“Then why did you hide the letter?”
“Because I knew what it would reveal. And because Victor threatened me.”
She reached into her handbag and produced a small recorder.
“He told me to keep this safe. I recorded him after Isabella died because I was afraid he'd turn on me.”
Dominic took it.
Vanessa pressed a trembling hand to her mouth.
“I heard him speaking to Salvatore. They said Isabella had left evidence with someone outside the family. They didn't know where it was, so they started looking at everyone who had helped her.”
“Emily.”
Vanessa nodded.
“I found out Isabella had been paying for Emily's appointments. I thought she might have given her something. I searched her room, but she had already hidden the envelope.”
“So you threw her out.”
“I wanted her gone before she could tell you.”
Dominic stared at the woman he had planned to marry.
“You watched a pregnant woman sleep in a freezing garage because you were afraid she'd expose you.”
Vanessa covered her face.
“I know what I did.”
“No, you know what you're afraid of losing.”
He turned to Anthony.
“Why were you helping her?”
Anthony hesitated.
“Victor promised me a position in the company.”
“You betrayed your family for a title?”
“I was tired of standing behind you.”
Dominic looked at him with exhausted disappointment.
“You could have asked me for responsibility. Instead, you chose the people who murdered Isabella.”
Anthony's face tightened, but he said nothing.
Dominic took the recorder and handed it to Marco.
“Get this to the investigators with the financial records. Vanessa and Anthony stay here until the authorities arrive.”
Vanessa suddenly caught his sleeve.
“Dominic, please. I know I don't deserve forgiveness. But there's something else you need to know.”
He pulled away.
“What?”
“Victor didn't arrange Isabella's surgery alone. The doctor who signed the final order is still practicing. He's the one who can prove what really happened.”
Dominic went still.
“Name.”
Vanessa swallowed.
“Dr. Richard Hale.”
She looked up at him.
“He's the man who delivered your daughter.”
Dominic stared at her in disbelief.
“Isabella and I never had a daughter.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“That's what Victor wanted you to believe.”
She reached into her handbag and pulled out a faded hospital photograph.
A newborn baby lay in a clear bassinet.
On the back, someone had written:
Female infant, delivered at 2:14 a.m. Mother: Isabella Moretti.
Below it was a second line.
Transfer authorized by Dr. Richard Hale.
Dominic's hands began to tremble.
For eighteen months, he had believed he had lost his wife.
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Now he was being told he might have lost a child, too.
And somewhere, that child might still be alive.
