Chapter 9 - THE SECOND CHILD
Isabella refused to answer Dominic's question in front of Charles and Salvatore.
Back at the estate, she sat alone in the family chapel until Dominic entered and closed the doors behind him.
"Who was born in the room next to Emily?"
His mother looked exhausted.
"A boy."
Dominic stood perfectly still.
"Who was he?"
"Your father's son."
The words seemed to drain the air from the room.
Dominic gripped the back of a pew.
"You told me Emily was his only child outside our marriage."
"I believed she was."
"Then who was the boy?"
Isabella closed her eyes.
"His name was Daniel. Claire gave birth to twins."
Dominic stared at her.
"Twins?"
"Emily was born first. Daniel arrived eleven minutes later."
He took a step backward.
"Where is he?"
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know."
She explained that the twins had been separated during the chaos surrounding Claire's accident. One hospital record listed Emily as the only surviving child. Another, discovered years later, referred to a male infant transferred to a private clinic.
Richard had spent years searching for the missing boy, but every lead ended in forged records or dead witnesses.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I never knew whether Daniel survived. And because Anthony threatened to destroy anyone who continued searching."
Dominic's voice rose.
"You let Emily grow up believing she had no family while you kept this secret?"
"I thought the secret would die with me."
"It almost got her killed."
Isabella bowed her head.
"I know."
Dominic paced the chapel.
The missing twin changed everything. If Daniel was alive, he might be entitled to part of Richard's estate. More importantly, someone had spent decades ensuring that no one discovered his existence.
Marcus entered with an update.
"The hospital records point to a private clinic in upstate New York. The clinic closed twenty years ago, but we found an employee who remembers a boy transferred under the name Daniel Carter."
"Where is he now?"
"Unknown. But the transfer was authorized by a doctor named Samuel Voss."
Dominic recognized the name.
Voss had served as the Moretti family's private physician for nearly thirty years. He had died five years earlier.
"Find his records. Every patient, every payment, every property he owned."
Marcus nodded.
Meanwhile, Emily confronted Claire in the guest suite.
"You knew I had a twin?"
Claire looked stricken.
"I suspected. When I woke after the accident, the hospital told me only one baby had survived. I was too injured to question them."
"Then why didn't you investigate later?"
"I did. I hired a lawyer. He disappeared."
Emily's voice broke.
"Everyone had a reason to stop looking."
Claire reached for her hand.
"I should have kept searching."
Emily allowed her mother to hold her, but the hurt remained.
"I'm not angry because you were afraid. I'm angry because everybody decided my life was easier to manage if I didn't know the truth."
Claire nodded through tears.
"You're right."
A knock interrupted them.
Marcus stood at the doorway holding a file.
"We found Dr. Voss's private records."
He placed a photograph on the table.
It showed two newborn babies in hospital bassinets. One wore a silver bracelet. The other wore a small gold chain.
On the back, a nurse had written two names.
EMILY CARTER. DANIEL CARTER.
Beneath them was a third name.
GUARDIAN: SALVATORE GRECO.
Emily stared at it.
"Salvatore raised my brother?"
"Possibly," Marcus said. "There are financial records showing payments to a boarding school in Switzerland under Daniel's name. The payments stopped three years ago."
Dominic entered the room.
"Three years ago?"
Marcus nodded.
"The same year Salvatore became the family's senior adviser."
Dominic took the file.
"Find the school. Find the teachers. Find anyone who knew the boy."
Before Marcus could leave, a secure message arrived on Dominic's phone.
It contained a photograph of a young man standing outside a courthouse.
He was in his late twenties, with dark hair, a sharp jaw, and a small scar above his left eyebrow.
Dominic had never seen him before.
But the man's eyes were unmistakably Moretti eyes.
Beneath the photograph was a message.
YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT TO GIVE UP EMILY'S CLAIM. OTHERWISE, YOUR SISTER WILL LEARN WHAT HAPPENED TO HER BROTHER.
Emily looked at Dominic.
"He's alive."
Dominic nodded.
"And someone knows where he is."
His phone rang.
An unfamiliar voice spoke.
"Mr. Moretti, if you want your brother alive, come alone."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"Who is this?"
The voice answered with a quiet laugh.
"The man who raised your father's second son."
May you like
Then the line went dead.
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