Chapter 6 - THE SECOND DAUGHTER
The doctors managed to stabilize Giovanni, but they refused to allow another interrogation.
Lorenzo waited outside the intensive care unit, his hands clenched.
His father had finally spoken.
He had confirmed the existence of twins.
And he had warned Lorenzo to protect Nora's unborn child.
Why?
At dawn, Marcus arrived carrying a laptop.
“We recovered part of the security footage from the night Isabella gave birth.”
The screen showed a hospital corridor. A nurse pushed a bassinet past a closed door. Moments later, a man entered the room carrying a medical bag.
Lorenzo recognized the man from the old photograph.
Matteo.
“He was there,” Lorenzo whispered.
Marcus nodded.
“And there's more. We found an adoption file under a different name. One child was registered as Nora Bennett. The second was listed as Clara Hayes.”
“Where is she?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Clara Hayes died in a house fire eighteen years ago.”
Lorenzo slammed his palm against the desk.
“That's convenient.”
“Her death certificate was signed by Dr. Hayes.”
The same physician who had confessed to falsifying the hospital records.
Lorenzo called him immediately.
The doctor answered on the fourth ring.
“Lorenzo, I can't discuss this over the phone.”
“Then meet me.”
“I won't be coming.”
A pause followed.
“I'm sorry about your sister.”
The line went dead.
Lorenzo ordered Marcus to locate the doctor.
Meanwhile, Nora returned to the mansion under heavy security. She found a small envelope outside her bedroom.
Inside was a photograph of two newborn girls.
On the back, someone had written:
One was saved by love. The other was sacrificed to power.
Nora showed Lorenzo the photograph.
The two babies wore identical silver bracelets.
One bracelet was engraved with the letter N.
The other carried a C.
Lorenzo turned the photograph over again.
“Your mother kept this all these years?”
“I've never seen it before.”
A knock interrupted them.
Marcus entered.
“We found Dr. Hayes.”
“Where?”
“His house. He left before sunrise. His car was abandoned near the airport.”
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
“He's running.”
“There's something else. His office was searched. Whoever went through it knew exactly what they were looking for.”
“What's missing?”
“Twenty-six years of financial records and a sealed envelope addressed to Isabella Bennett.”
Nora felt suddenly sick.
“My mother must have known where the other baby went.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
“Maybe she did.”
That afternoon, a package arrived at the mansion.
No return address.
Inside lay a burned photograph and a handwritten note.
If you want to find Clara, stop searching hospitals. Search the woman who raised Vanessa Sterling.
Lorenzo read it twice.
“Vanessa's mother?”
Marcus nodded.
“Eleanor Sterling was a nurse at the same hospital twenty-six years ago.”
Nora stared at the photograph.
A woman's face had been partially burned away, but the silver bracelet on her wrist remained visible.
The same bracelet marked C.
Suddenly, Nora remembered a story her mother had told her when she was little.
A woman had visited their apartment one night, crying and begging Isabella to take a child.
Isabella had refused.
The visitor had left a silver bracelet behind.
Nora had never understood why her mother kept it hidden.
She hurried upstairs, opened the lining of her suitcase, and removed a small cloth pouch.
Inside was the second bracelet.
Lorenzo stared at the engraved letter.
“C.”
His phone rang.
Vanessa's name appeared on the screen.
He answered.
Her voice shook.
“I know where your sister is.”
“Tell me.”
“Meet me alone.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“Because Matteo just sent me a photograph of a little girl.”
Lorenzo went still.
Vanessa whispered, “She's wearing the bracelet marked N.”
Then she added five words that made his blood turn cold.
May you like
“Your sister isn't the only twin.”
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