Chapter 2 - THE SECOND BIRTH CERTIFICATE
Dominic ordered the ballroom cleared.
Within minutes, the guests had been escorted outside, the doors locked, and the guards dismissed from the private sitting room. Only Dominic, his mother, Hannah, and Vanessa remained.
The elderly woman sat beside the fireplace, holding the photograph as though it were the last piece of her life she still possessed.
"My name is Eleanor Moretti," she began. "I gave birth to twins on October seventeenth, thirty-two years ago."
Dominic sat opposite her.
"Why did Father tell me you died?"
"Because he needed me to disappear."
Eleanor explained that she had been taken to a private clinic after the delivery. Her husband, Victor, had insisted the birth required secrecy because of threats against the family.
At first, she believed him.
Then she discovered that the hospital records listed only one surviving child.
She had given birth to two healthy boys.
When she demanded an explanation, Victor told her that the second infant had died during an emergency procedure.
But Eleanor had heard the baby crying.
She had seen him.
And she remembered the blue identification bracelet around his wrist.
Three days later, Victor's men took her to a private psychiatric facility. She was told that Dominic had died in the same incident and that her husband had arranged a funeral for both children.
When she protested, doctors declared her delusional.
Her identity was changed. Her letters were intercepted. Every attempt to contact the outside world ended in punishment or another transfer to a different institution.
"Thirty-two years," Eleanor whispered. "I kept telling them I wasn't crazy. I kept telling them my babies were alive."
Dominic's hands clenched.
"Who authorized this?"
"Your father. And Robert Sterling."
Vanessa shook her head.
"My father was a lawyer. He handled legitimate businesses."
"He handled the paperwork that made me disappear," Eleanor replied.
Dominic looked at his fiancée.
"You knew about this?"
"No!" Vanessa said quickly. "I've never heard any of it."
Eleanor studied her face.
"Then why did you visit me last month?"
Vanessa's mouth fell open.
Hannah stepped forward.
"I found Mrs. Moretti at a care facility outside Albany. She was listed under the name Elaine Miller. She had a photograph of the Moretti mansion hidden inside her mattress."
"I contacted social services," Hannah continued. "They helped verify her identity. When I learned the nursing home had a visitor log signed by Miss Sterling, I became worried."
Dominic turned to Vanessa.
"You visited my mother?"
Vanessa's voice trembled.
"I went to check on someone. My father told me there was an elderly woman making false claims about your family."
"And you recognized her."
"I recognized the name. That's all."
Eleanor reached into her coat again and produced a folded document.
"This was hidden in the lining of my old suitcase. A nurse gave it to me before she disappeared."
Dominic unfolded it.
It was a birth certificate.
The child's name was Daniel Victor Moretti.
The mother was Eleanor Moretti.
The father was Victor Moretti.
A second birth certificate, attached to it, named Dominic Victor Moretti.
Both documents carried the same date, the same hospital, and the same parents.
But the signatures were different.
One certificate had been issued three days after the birth. The other had been issued six weeks later.
Dominic stared at the dates.
"Why would anyone need two birth certificates?"
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
"Because one of you was supposed to inherit the family, and the other was supposed to disappear."
Before Dominic could ask another question, his phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
ASK YOUR FATHER WHICH SON HE KEPT. THEN ASK YOUR FIANCÉE WHY HER FATHER PAID TO KEEP THE OTHER ONE ALIVE.
A second message followed.
It contained a photograph of a man standing outside the Moretti mansion.
The man looked almost exactly like Dominic.
Only older around the eyes.
May you like
And beneath the picture was a single name.
DANIEL MORETTI.
