Chapter 5 - THE FATHER'S CONFESSION
Victor Moretti's estate stood beyond a line of ancient oak trees, guarded by armed men and cameras hidden beneath the eaves.
Dominic arrived shortly before midnight.
His father was waiting in the library, sitting beside a fire with a glass of whiskey in his hand.
At seventy, Victor remained imposing. His silver hair was perfectly combed, and his tailored suit concealed the weakness in his left leg.
"You brought her back," Victor said.
"She came back herself."
Victor's expression hardened.
"That woman has caused enough trouble."
"She's my mother."
"She's a liability."
Dominic stepped closer.
"Tell me about Daniel."
Victor stared into his drink.
"You were six when your mother died."
"That's not what I asked."
For the first time, Victor looked afraid.
"Your mother became obsessed with the idea that there had been twins. She was unstable after childbirth. The doctors said—"
"Don't insult me with a story you've been telling for thirty-two years."
Dominic placed the two birth certificates on the desk.
Victor's face changed.
"You have no idea what those documents mean."
"Then explain them."
Victor slowly stood.
"Your grandfather had enemies. The Moretti empire was vulnerable. Two heirs meant twice the risk. One child could be taken, used against us, or turned into a weapon."
"So you gave Daniel away?"
"I protected him."
"By erasing his identity?"
Victor's silence was answer enough.
Dominic's voice dropped.
"Why was Mother imprisoned?"
"She discovered the arrangement and threatened to expose it. Robert Sterling convinced me that the scandal would destroy the family. He arranged a private facility where she could be treated."
"Treated?"
Victor looked away.
"I believed she would recover."
"For thirty-two years?"
"I was afraid."
The admission hung in the room.
Dominic had imagined his father as a man who could never feel fear. Now he saw what fear had made of him.
"What happened to Daniel?"
Victor walked to a cabinet and removed a thin file.
"Robert took him. He promised to place him with a family far away from the organization. He said the child would have a normal life."
"But he never did."
Victor's shoulders sagged.
"No."
Dominic opened the file. It contained records of payments, transfers, and the names of officials who had helped conceal the twins' identities.
One page was missing.
"Where is the rest?"
Victor's eyes shifted toward the door.
"Robert has it."
"Why?"
"Because the last page proves that Daniel's identity wasn't the only thing changed."
Dominic stared at him.
"What else?"
Victor's voice became barely audible.
"The child raised as Dominic Moretti was not the child born with that name."
The room seemed to tilt.
Dominic looked down at the certificates again.
"You're saying I'm Daniel?"
"No. I'm saying the names were switched after the birth. The child I brought home was the one the hospital recorded as Daniel. The other child was sent away under your name."
Dominic's mind raced.
"Then how do we know who we are?"
Victor closed his eyes.
"We don't. Not without the original records."
For the first time in his life, Dominic felt his identity slipping away.
He had built his entire existence on being Victor Moretti's heir.
Now he couldn't even be certain he had been born with the name he carried.
Victor reached for his son's arm.
"I did what I believed was necessary."
Dominic pulled away.
"No. You did what was convenient."
He turned toward the door.
Behind him, Victor spoke one final sentence.
"Your mother knows which of you was born first."
Dominic stopped.
"Then why did she never tell me?"
May you like
Victor's answer chilled him.
"Because she promised the real Dominic that she would never reveal the truth until the man who stole him was dead."
