Chapter 8 - THE LAST LIE
For the next forty-eight hours, nobody knew where Anthony Moretti had gone.
His attorneys claimed he was traveling. His staff said he had left Chicago on business. His security team refused to answer questions.
Vincent surrendered his passport and cooperated with investigators, hoping to prevent his father from using the uncertainty to reorganize the family businesses.
Meanwhile, Evelyn secured an emergency court order protecting my medical privacy and preventing anyone from accessing my records without authorization.
I had spent years believing that Vincent's name would protect me.
Now I was learning that protection could be another word for possession.
At my next prenatal appointment, Vincent waited in the reception area rather than entering the examination room. He had asked permission to attend, and I had agreed on the condition that my doctor discuss my medical information with me first.
The appointment went smoothly.
The baby's heartbeat was strong.
When I came out, Vincent stood immediately.
"Everything okay?"
"Yes."
His shoulders relaxed.
"That's good."
He looked as though he wanted to ask more, but he stopped himself.
Instead, he said, "Thank you for letting me be here."
I nodded.
The moment was small, but it mattered.
Then my phone rang.
Elena Romano.
She had been staying at a protected address after the cemetery meeting. Evelyn had arranged for her to speak with investigators, but she had refused to discuss the full details of Isabella's death until she had confirmation that the original hospital records existed.
Now she sounded terrified.
"Claire, I found something in my daughter's papers."
"What is it?"
"Isabella wasn't only investigating Anthony. She was investigating the doctor who treated her after the accident."
My stomach tightened.
"The doctor who told Vincent she wasn't pregnant?"
"Yes. Isabella had written that he was being paid to alter medical records. She believed he had done it before."
"Before Isabella?"
Elena hesitated.
"She believed there was another woman."
I felt the hallway tilt.
"Who?"
"I don't know her name. But Isabella wrote that the woman had given birth to a child who was then removed from the hospital records."
I looked at Vincent.
He had heard enough to understand that something was wrong.
Elena continued.
"Claire, I think Isabella discovered that Anthony was hiding more than financial crimes. She believed he was using the hospital to erase children from the records of women connected to the family."
I couldn't speak.
"Why would he do that?"
"To control inheritances. To prevent certain people from claiming money or property. Isabella thought there might be children who had been declared dead when they were actually alive."
A terrible thought entered my mind.
"Did she mention Vincent?"
"No. But she wrote that the truth began with a woman who lived in the Moretti mansion."
The call ended abruptly.
I stood frozen in the corridor.
Vincent approached carefully.
"What did Elena say?"
I told him.
His face became unreadable.
"My mother," he whispered.
"What?"
"My mother had a baby before me. At least, that's what she told me when I was young. She said the baby died shortly after birth."
"Have you ever seen the records?"
"No."
"Did your father talk about it?"
"Never."
For several seconds, we stared at each other.
Then Vincent took out his phone and called his mother.
She answered on the fourth ring.
"Vincent?"
"Mom, I need to ask you something about the baby you lost before I was born."
The silence was immediate.
Then she began to cry.
"Who told you?"
Vincent closed his eyes.
"Is the child alive?"
His mother struggled to speak.
"I don't know."
"Did Father know?"
Another silence.
Then she whispered, "Your father told me the baby died. I never saw a body. I was sedated for days. When I woke up, he said it was better if I never asked questions."
Vincent looked as though someone had struck him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because he threatened to send you away. You were only a little boy. He said if I ever spoke about it, he would make sure I never saw you again."
His mother began sobbing.
"I thought I was protecting you."
Vincent ended the call and leaned against the wall.
For the first time, I saw the full weight of the Moretti family's history pressing down on him.
But before either of us could speak, Evelyn hurried toward us with a document she had received from the prosecutor.
It was an archived hospital report.
The name of the mother had been blacked out.
The child's birth date matched the year Vincent was born.
And in the space marked biological father, someone had typed a name that made Vincent stagger.
ANTHONY MORETTI.
His father had not merely hidden a child.
He had hidden a second family.
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And if the hospital records were authentic, Vincent's entire inheritance had been built on a lie.
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