Chapter 6 - THE NIGHT THE NAMES WERE SWITCHED
Eleanor listened without interrupting as Dominic repeated his father's confession.
When he finished, she closed her eyes.
"I prayed you would never have to learn this."
"Which of us was born first?" Dominic demanded.
She opened her eyes.
"You were."
Dominic went still.
"You were born at 11:42 p.m. Your brother arrived nine minutes later. I remember because the clock above the delivery room door stopped at midnight."
"Then why did Father say the names were switched?"
"Because he wanted to make you doubt everything, including me."
Eleanor took his hand.
"The first certificate was correct. You were Dominic. Daniel was Daniel. Your father brought you home because he wanted the elder twin to inherit the organization. Robert Sterling arranged for your brother to be moved because he believed a second heir would threaten his influence."
"Then why would Father claim we were switched?"
"To protect himself. If Daniel could prove he was the legitimate heir, Victor could lose control of the organization. By making the records seem uncertain, your father hoped neither of you could challenge him."
Daniel stood beside the fireplace, his face unreadable.
"So all those years, I wasn't just abandoned. I was deliberately erased."
Eleanor nodded, tears sliding down her cheeks.
"Your father told me Daniel had died. When I discovered he was alive, I threatened to expose the entire scheme. That's when they took me away."
Dominic turned toward Hannah.
"How did you find her?"
Hannah hesitated.
"I was working at the nursing home as a temporary caregiver. She kept asking for a boy named Dominic and a boy named Daniel. Everyone thought she was confused. But one night she gave me the ring and told me the engraving was proof."
She looked at Eleanor.
"She also told me that a nurse had hidden a letter in the lining of her coat."
Hannah removed a sealed envelope from her bag.
The paper was brittle with age. The handwriting was unmistakably Eleanor's.
If this letter reaches either of my sons, know that you were both loved. You were not separated because one of you was unwanted. You were separated because powerful men believed they could own your futures.
The original birth records are hidden in the old Moretti family chapel. Beneath the stone bearing your grandfather's name is a small iron box. Inside are the truth, the original hospital bracelet, and the name of the person who arranged everything.
The letter ended with a warning.
Trust no one who claims that blood makes a man innocent.
Daniel looked at Dominic.
"We need that box."
Dominic nodded.
"We leave now."
But before they could move, every light in the room went out.
A gunshot cracked through the mansion.
Hannah screamed.
When the emergency lights came on, Daniel was gone.
A guard lay unconscious near the doorway.
And Eleanor's ring had been torn from her hand.
On the floor was a small white card.
BRING THE ORIGINAL RECORDS TO THE OLD CHAPEL BY MIDNIGHT. COME ALONE, OR YOUR BROTHER DIES.
Dominic read the message twice.
Then he looked at Eleanor.
"Who took him?"
She stared at the card.
"Robert Sterling."
May you like
Dominic's expression turned cold.
"Then tonight, the Sterling family loses everything."
