Chapter 5 - The Secret Behind the Second Child
The words hung in the nursery.
“A brother?” Luca repeated.
Isabella nodded.
“He lives with Grandma.”
Elena looked at Luca.
They had never discussed having more than one child. The pregnancy she remembered had been confirmed as a single pregnancy.
But the photograph of the newborn had shown only one baby.
“Sweetheart,” Elena asked gently, “what does your brother look like?”
Isabella thought for a moment.
“He has brown hair. He cries when the lights go out. Vanessa says he's not allowed to come here.”
Luca turned toward the caretaker.
“Who is this boy?”
The man looked terrified.
“I don't know.”
Luca took a step toward him.
“Don't lie to me.”
“I swear, Mr. Moretti. I only look after Isabella.”
Dominic entered the room holding a file.
“Boss, I found something.”
He placed the documents on the table.
Three years earlier, St. Catherine's had recorded two newborn patients under separate identification numbers.
One was listed as the child of Elena Moretti.
The second had been registered under an unidentified mother.
Both records had been accessed by the same administrator.
Richard Rowan.
Luca looked at the dates.
“Why would Richard have access to these records?”
Dominic lowered his voice.
“Because he funded the hospital's private maternity wing.”
Elena studied the second birth certificate.
The child's name was Noah.
“Could they be twins?”
Dominic shook his head.
“The records don't establish that. But both children were delivered within minutes of each other.”
Elena's face tightened.
“Then I want a DNA test.”
Luca nodded.
They arranged for samples to be collected from Isabella and from a preserved hospital record containing Elena's original blood sample.
While they waited, Luca moved his daughter to the mansion.
He ordered the east wing prepared and personally checked every window and security camera.
Isabella refused to sleep without Elena beside her.
That night, Elena sat on the bed, brushing her daughter's hair.
“Did Vanessa ever hurt you?”
Isabella nodded.
“Sometimes she gets angry when I ask about you.”
“Did she hit you?”
The little girl shook her head.
“She never hits me. She says I'm too important.”
Elena's stomach twisted.
“What does that mean?”
Isabella reached beneath her pillow and produced a small photograph.
It showed Vanessa standing beside a little boy in a hospital room.
On the back was written:
NOAH — FIRST DAY HOME.
Elena recognized the hospital bracelet.
It was identical to the one in the photograph Richard had shown them.
The next morning, Luca received a call from the laboratory.
The DNA results were conclusive.
Isabella was his biological daughter.
But there was another finding.
The hospital's archived birth records suggested that Elena's delivery had involved a second infant.
A boy.
Luca read the report twice.
“Where is he?”
The laboratory technician couldn't answer.
But Dominic had already found a lead.
Richard Rowan owned a private residence in Connecticut, where he had been living under heavy security.
Luca and Elena arrived that afternoon.
Richard was waiting in his study.
“You should have stayed away,” he said.
Luca placed the photograph of Noah on the desk.
“Where is the boy?”
Richard stared at it.
Then he poured himself a drink.
“Your wife gave birth to two children.”
Elena felt the room tilt.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because the second child wasn't supposed to survive.”
Luca stepped forward.
“What?”
Richard explained that the hospital had discovered a medical complication during delivery. The second baby had required emergency treatment. He claimed that the child's mother had been unable to care for him.
Vanessa had arranged for the boy to be placed under a false identity.
But Richard had never expected Elena to return.
“Where is Noah now?” Luca demanded.
Richard looked toward the window.
“I don't know.”
Luca grabbed his jacket.
“You're going to tell me.”
Richard finally broke.
“Vanessa has him.”
“Where?”
“In the old Moretti summer house.”
Elena frowned.
“My family never owned a summer house.”
Richard looked at her.
“No. Your husband did.”
Luca froze.
The property had been closed for years.
His late father had used it for private meetings.
As they prepared to leave, Richard spoke again.
“There is something else you need to understand. Vanessa didn't steal your children because she wanted to become their mother.”
“Then why?” Elena asked.
Richard's expression darkened.
“Because your husband inherited something when his father died. Something worth more than the entire Moretti empire.”
Luca turned.
“What are you talking about?”
May you like
Richard leaned forward.
“A sealed trust. And the children are the only people who can unlock it.”
