Chapter 3 - The Daughter They Stole
Luca grabbed Richard by the collar.
“Where is the baby?”
The ballroom erupted into whispers.
Richard's security men immediately moved forward, but Luca's guards blocked them.
“Answer me!”
Richard struggled against Luca's grip.
“I don't know where she is now.”
Elena looked as though she might collapse.
“My baby?”
Luca released Richard and turned toward his wife.
“Did you know you were carrying a child that night?”
Elena nodded, tears streaming down her face.
“I found out that afternoon. I wanted to surprise you. I had bought a tiny pair of white shoes and hidden them in your study.”
She pressed a hand against her stomach.
“But I never got to give them to you.”
Luca closed his eyes.
For three years, he had believed he had lost his wife. Now he was discovering that he might have lost a daughter, too.
Vanessa suddenly rushed toward the photograph.
“Give me that!”
One of Luca's guards caught her arm.
“Don't touch it,” Luca ordered.
Vanessa struggled.
“You don't understand! I was protecting you!”
Elena stared at her.
“Protecting him from his own daughter?”
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“You have no idea what you brought into this family.”
Luca turned slowly.
“Explain.”
Vanessa looked toward her father, but Richard refused to meet her eyes.
Finally, she spoke.
“The night of the accident, my father received a call from someone at the hospital. They said you were dead, Elena. They also said your baby had been delivered prematurely.”
“Who called him?” Luca demanded.
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
Vanessa's composure cracked.
“I was twenty-six years old! My father told me what to do. He said you needed someone beside you. He said the family would fall apart if you discovered the truth.”
Elena stepped closer.
“So you married my husband in your mind before you even knew whether I was alive?”
Vanessa looked away.
Luca took the photograph from Richard.
“Where was this taken?”
“St. Catherine's Medical Center,” Richard answered.
“Who took it?”
“A nurse.”
“Name?”
Richard hesitated.
“Margaret Collins.”
Elena immediately recognized the name.
“She's the nurse who helped me.”
Luca's expression sharpened.
“Then we find her.”
Within twenty minutes, the engagement party had been canceled. Guests were escorted outside, and the mansion's security team began checking the hospital records.
Emily quietly helped Elena upstairs.
For the first time since returning, Elena was alone with someone who didn't look at her as though she were a ghost.
“I'm sorry about what happened,” Emily whispered, gently placing a cold cloth against her cheek.
Elena touched the young woman's shoulder.
“You shouldn't have had to endure that.”
Emily gave a sad smile.
“People like Vanessa have been treating the staff that way for years.”
Elena looked at her.
“How long have you worked here?”
“Almost eight months.”
“Then you know something about this house that nobody else wants to say.”
Emily hesitated.
“I found something in the old nursery.”
Elena's heart began pounding.
“What?”
“A music box. It was hidden behind the wardrobe. Inside was a photograph of you holding a little girl.”
Elena stared at her.
“That photograph doesn't exist.”
“I saw it with my own eyes.”
Emily reached into her pocket and showed her a picture she had taken on her phone.
Elena recognized herself immediately.
She was holding a baby wrapped in a yellow blanket.
But there was something else.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written a date.
It was six months after the night of the accident.
Elena covered her mouth.
“That means someone knew I was alive.”
Downstairs, Luca was already making calls.
His longtime security chief, Dominic, approached him with a tablet.
“We located Margaret Collins.”
“Where?”
“She left St. Catherine's three years ago. She currently works at a residential care home outside Albany.”
“Get a car ready.”
Dominic hesitated.
“There's another problem.”
Luca looked up.
“What?”
“Someone accessed the hospital's archived files ten minutes ago.”
“Who?”
Dominic turned the tablet toward him.
The access record showed a name.
ELENA MORETTI.
Luca frowned.
“That isn't possible.”
Dominic shook his head.
“There's more. The account used to access the records was registered to your private office.”
Before Luca could respond, his phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
He answered.
A little girl's voice came through the speaker.
“Daddy?”
Luca froze.
“Who's this?”
“Mommy said you might be angry if you knew I was here.”
He gripped the phone.
“Where is your mother?”
There was a brief silence.
Then the child whispered:
“She's not my mommy.”
The call ended.
And when Luca looked at the screen, a photograph appeared.
It showed the little girl standing beside Vanessa.
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The caption read:
ASK YOUR FIANCÉE WHY SHE RAISES YOUR DAUGHTER.
