Chapter 9 - The Mother Who Never Died
I refused to believe it.
My mother had died in a hospital.
I'd held her hand.
I'd watched her take her last breath.
But Adrian noticed something in the photograph.
“Grace, look at her wrist.”
The woman wore a hospital identification bracelet.
The same hospital where my mother had supposedly died.
Marco investigated the records.
Within an hour, he discovered the truth.
The woman buried under Elizabeth Miller's name wasn't my mother.
Someone had switched the identification records.
My mother had survived the attack that everyone believed killed her.
She had disappeared.
And someone had been paying for her medical care ever since.
We drove to the address.
It was a modest house outside Manhattan, surrounded by trees.
I stepped out of the car with shaking legs.
Adrian came with us despite his injury.
Marco knocked.
No answer.
Then I noticed the front door was slightly open.
“Mom?”
A woman's voice came from inside.
“Grace?”
I froze.
The woman appeared in the doorway.
Her hair was almost entirely silver now. Her face was thinner, and she leaned heavily on a walking cane.
But her eyes were unmistakable.
“Mommy?”
I ran into her arms.
She began sobbing.
“My baby. My beautiful baby.”
I couldn't speak.
I only held her.
After several minutes, she led us inside.
Adrian remained near the doorway.
My mother looked at him.
“Daniel's nephew.”
Adrian nodded.
“I'm Adrian Romano.”
“I know who you are.”
She looked at me.
“It's time you knew everything.”
She explained that Isabella had discovered Victor's plan to seize control of the Romano empire.
Daniel had wanted to take Isabella and the baby away.
But Victor ordered an attack.
Isabella died in the fire.
Daniel escaped with the second baby.
Elizabeth took the first child—me—and fled.
But Victor eventually found her.
He arranged an accident that nearly killed her.
She survived, but she knew staying near me would put me in danger.
So she disappeared.
“Why didn't you come back?” I whispered.
My mother cried.
“I tried. Every year, I tried.”
She reached into a drawer and removed a stack of letters.
Each one was addressed to me.
All had been returned.
Then she showed me a final envelope.
“Daniel sent this before he disappeared.”
Adrian took it carefully.
Inside was a photograph of a man standing beside Isabella.
On the back were five words.
The real heir is still alive.
My mother looked at Adrian.
“Daniel didn't die, either.”
He went pale.
“Where is he?”
She pointed toward the photograph.
“Somewhere Victor couldn't find him.”
“Why didn't he come for me?”
“Because he believed you were safer without him.”
Adrian lowered his head.
For a moment, the powerful mafia boss looked like a lost little boy.
Then my mother took his hand.
“Your uncle Richard has been searching for Daniel for years. He knows the truth about the money, the twins, and the assassination.”
Adrian frowned.
“Richard is in custody.”
My mother shook her head.
“No, Adrian. The man you arrested was only following orders.”
She reached for another photograph.
It showed Richard standing beside a younger man.
The younger man's face was unmistakable.
Marco.
Adrian's most trusted bodyguard.
I turned toward the window.
A black car had just pulled into the driveway.
May you like
Marco stepped out.
And he was holding a gun.
