Chapter 8 - THE HUSBAND WHO HAD BEEN WAITING IN ROME
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Richard Jensen arrived at the estate shortly before midnight.
He didn't sneak through the garden.
He didn't attempt to disguise himself.
He walked directly through the front entrance with two men wearing expensive suits.
The guards raised their weapons.
Richard calmly produced a document.
"Tell Dante Salvatore I have something he wants."
Marco appeared at the top of the staircase.
"You have ten seconds to explain why you're here."
Richard smiled.
"Because my wife is here."
Clare heard his voice from the hallway.
Her body went rigid.
Dante noticed.
"Stay behind me."
"No," she whispered.
He turned.
"Clare—"
"I'm done hiding."
She walked into the entrance hall.
Richard's smile widened.
"There she is."
Maya was upstairs with Rosa.
Clare forced herself not to look toward the staircase.
"What do you want?"
Richard opened his arms.
"Come home."
"This is not my home."
"You've made enough trouble."
"I left you."
"You left without permission."
Dante stepped between them.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Richard glanced at him.
"Ah. The famous Dante Salvatore."
He smiled.
"You're exactly as intimidating as people say."
Dante's expression didn't change.
"Why did you pay Bellini?"
Richard looked surprised.
Then he laughed.
"So you found the records."
"Tell me what you did."
Richard glanced at Clare.
"Your husband has been asking questions about the wrong baby."
Clare's breath caught.
"What does that mean?"
Richard removed a photograph from his jacket.
It showed a newborn girl in a hospital nursery.
On the back was a handwritten name.
MAYA JENSEN.
Clare stared.
"That's not Maya."
Richard smiled.
"Isn't it?"
Dante reached for the photograph.
Richard pulled it away.
"Careful. You don't want to damage the only evidence proving what happened."
Clare stepped forward.
"Where did you get that?"
"From the hospital."
"Why?"
Richard's expression turned cold.
"Because you were never supposed to leave Ohio."
He revealed that he had worked with Bellini and Vanessa for years.
His company had funded experimental medical procedures involving newborns.
The purpose wasn't simply to falsify hearing diagnoses.
It was to conceal the identities of certain children.
Children born to wealthy families.
Children whose inheritance could be redirected if their legal identities were changed.
Dante's face darkened.
"Who ordered the exchange?"
Richard smiled.
"Your family."
Dante stepped closer.
"Which member?"
Richard looked toward the staircase.
"Ask Isabella."
Marco immediately reached for his phone.
But Richard continued.
"Your sister arranged the medical records. Bellini handled the diagnosis. Vanessa moved the babies. And I provided the financial structure."
Clare felt nauseated.
"Why use my identity?"
"Because you were convenient."
Richard explained that Clare had once worked in the maternity unit where Vanessa had access to confidential patient information.
Her records had been copied.
Her identity had been used to register another newborn.
Then the child had disappeared.
Clare shook her head.
"What happened to that baby?"
Richard's smile vanished.
"That's what you should be asking."
Dante grabbed his jacket.
"Where is the child?"
Richard leaned closer.
"Somewhere safe."
"Tell me."
"Not until we make a deal."
Dante's voice dropped.
"You came into my home and threatened my family. You don't negotiate from that position."
Richard laughed.
"Your family? That's an interesting word."
He looked directly at Clare.
"Ask your wife why she never told you about the baby."
Clare stared at him.
"I'm not your wife."
Richard shrugged.
"Not anymore, perhaps."
He placed a second photograph on the table.
It showed a woman holding an infant.
The woman was Alessia.
But the baby wasn't Leo.
It was another child.
On the back, someone had written:
MATTEO SALVATORE — THE FIRSTBORN.
Dante's face went white.
"That child was declared dead."
Richard nodded.
"By your sister."
Then he turned toward the entrance.
"One more thing, Dante."
He paused.
"Alessia didn't die in the explosion."
Dante stared.
"What?"
Richard smiled.
"Her body was never identified."
And before anyone could stop him, the lights went out.
A gunshot echoed through the estate.
May you like
When the emergency lights came on, Richard was gone.
So was Leo.
