Chapter 9: The Baby Nobody Was Allowed to Remember
Lucas stood in the middle of his study, holding the phone against his ear long after the call had ended.
The fourth baby.
He looked again at the photograph.
Four bassinets.
Four tiny bodies.
Four hospital bracelets.
He had spent three years mourning a family that had never been allowed to exist.
And now he was learning that even the truth had been edited.
Evelyn sat across from him.
Her face was pale.
“Where did you get that photograph?””
“Margaret.””
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Then she knows.””
“Knows what?””
“That the fourth baby survived.””
Lucas stepped closer.
“Who is the child?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“You raised me. You lived in this house. You watched Isabella give birth. Don't tell me you know nothing.””
Evelyn looked up.
“Your father told me the fourth baby was stillborn.””
Lucas stared.
“Did you see the body?””
“No.””
“Did you attend the burial?””
“No.””
“Then how do you know the child died?””
Evelyn lowered her head.
“Because Anthony told me.””
Lucas laughed bitterly.
“That's what everyone says. Anthony told me. Victor told me.
Margaret told me. And now my entire family is built on a dead man's instructions.””
He walked toward the window.
“I'm done believing what people tell me.””
Evelyn looked at him.
“Then believe what Isabella wrote.””
She opened her handbag and removed a folded piece of paper.
Lucas recognized the handwriting immediately.
It was another letter from Isabella.
This one was addressed to him.
He unfolded it.
*Lucas,*
*There are things I never told you because I was afraid that knowing them would put you in danger.*
*The fourth baby was born very small. The doctors said she might not survive the night. Your father ordered the hospital to record her death. He believed that a child who was never officially born could never inherit anything.*
*But she survived.*
*I heard her cry. I held her hand. I know she was alive.*
*Someone took her before I could leave the hospital.*
*If you find her, remember this: she is not a secret to be buried. She is our daughter.*
*Isabella.*
Lucas lowered the letter.
“Why didn't you show me this?””
Evelyn's eyes filled.
“Because I didn't know it existed.””
Lucas stared at her.
“Who took the baby?””
Evelyn hesitated.
Then she whispered:
“Your father's sister.””
Lucas frowned.
“Margaret?””
“No. Margaret was only the nurse.””
“Then who?””
Evelyn looked toward the family portrait.
“Your aunt. Eleanor Moretti.””
Lucas remembered the name.
Eleanor had been his father's older sister.
She had disappeared from the family long before Lucas was born.
Officially, she had moved to Europe.
Unofficially, people said she had been involved in a financial scandal.
Lucas had never met her.
“Where is she?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Lucas picked up his phone.
“Elias.””
“Yes, boss?””
“Find Eleanor Moretti.””
A pause followed.
“Lucas, she died twelve years ago.””
Lucas looked at the photograph.
“Then find out who inherited her estate.””
At the same time, Daniel was sitting in the family room with Lily and Sophie.
The three children had become strangely comfortable together.
Lily had given Sophie a pink hair clip.
Daniel was teaching them how to fold paper airplanes.
“Mine flies the farthest,” he announced.
Sophie smiled.
“That's because you threw it too hard.””
Lily giggled.
Daniel looked toward the door.
“Do you think Mommy is coming home?””
Lily shrugged.
“My mommy always says she'll come back.””
Sophie looked down.
“Mine said that too.””
The room became quiet.
Then Lily reached across the sofa and took her hand.
“We have the same mommy.””
Sophie nodded.
“And the same daddy.””
Daniel smiled.
“Then we're a team.””
He placed his paper airplane on the table.
“We should have a team name.””
Lily thought carefully.
“The Pink Pajama Team.””
Daniel laughed.
“That's silly.””
Sophie looked at Lily's pajamas.
“I like it.””
They all smiled.
But the moment was interrupted when a woman appeared in the doorway.
She wore a dark green coat and carried a small leather handbag.
Her hair was silver.
Her face was unfamiliar.
Yet she seemed to know the children.
“Hello, Daniel.””
The boy froze.
“Who are you?””
The woman smiled.
“My name is Eleanor.””
Sophie stood up.
“Grandma said you were dead.””
The woman's smile disappeared.
“Your grandmother was mistaken.””
She looked at Lily.
Then at Daniel.
Then she whispered:
“Which one of you remembers the hospital?””
Lucas arrived in the family room seconds later.
He found the woman standing beside the sofa.
Eleanor Moretti.
Alive.
He stopped in the doorway.
“You're supposed to be dead.””
Eleanor smiled.
“So is your father, apparently.””
Lucas looked at the children.
“Get them upstairs.””
The guards immediately escorted them away.
Daniel resisted.
“Daddy, who is she?””
Lucas knelt.
“Someone I need to talk to.””
“Is she bad?””
Lucas looked at Eleanor.
“I don't know yet.””
When the children were gone, Lucas closed the door.
“You have a lot of explaining to do.””
Eleanor removed her gloves.
“Your father was a very ambitious man.””
Lucas laughed.
“I'm beginning to notice.””
“He believed the family needed a perfect heir. Someone who could inherit everything without questioning the way the empire operated.””
“And he thought four children were inconvenient?””
“He thought one child was enough.””
Lucas stared at her.
“Why take the fourth baby?””
Eleanor walked toward the fireplace.
“Because she was different.””
Lucas frowned.
“Different how?””
“She was born with a condition that required expensive medical treatment. Your father believed she would be a liability.””
Lucas's expression hardened.
“So he ordered her death?””
“He ordered her removal.””
“And you agreed?””
Eleanor looked at him.
“I saved her.””
Lucas went still.
“What?””
“I took her from the hospital. I arranged treatment. I raised her away from the family.””
Lucas stepped closer.
“Where is she?””
Eleanor looked toward the staircase.
“She has been closer to you than you realize.””
Lucas stared.
“Who?””
Eleanor took a photograph from her handbag.
It showed a young woman in her early twenties.
She had brown hair, gray-blue eyes, and a familiar smile.
Lucas looked at the picture.
Then his expression changed.
He knew her.
He had seen her every day.
She was the young woman who worked in the mansion's library.
The quiet assistant who had helped organize Isabella's old music collection.
Her name was Emily.
Lucas slowly raised his eyes.
“Emily?””
Eleanor nodded.
“Your fourth daughter.””
Lucas felt his knees weaken.
“She works in my house?””
“For two years.””
“Why?””
“Because she wanted to know her family.””
Lucas stared at the photograph.
“Does she know?””
Eleanor shook her head.
“Not everything.””
Lucas looked toward the door.
“Where is she now?””
Eleanor's expression changed.
“She left this morning.””
“Where?””
“I don't know.””
Lucas grabbed his phone.
“Elias!””
The security chief answered immediately.
“Boss?””
“Find Emily. She's my daughter.””
There was a pause.
“Understood.””
Lucas turned toward Eleanor.
“Why tell me now?””
Eleanor looked at him.
“Because Victor has found her.””
Lucas felt his stomach drop.
“What?””
“He knows the fourth child survived. He wants her before you can find her.””
Lucas moved toward the door.
“Then why didn't you tell me sooner?””
Eleanor's voice cracked.
“Because I was afraid.””
Lucas stopped.
“Everyone in this family seems to be afraid.””
Eleanor looked at him.
“Your father didn't simply want to control the children. He wanted to control what they would become.””
Lucas turned slowly.
“What does that mean?””
Eleanor opened her handbag and removed a small black notebook.
Inside were pages of handwritten notes.
Names.
Dates.
Bank accounts.
And a list of four children.
Daniel Moretti.
Charlotte Moretti.
Sophie Moretti.
Emily Moretti.
Beside each name was a different instruction.
Daniel: successor.
Charlotte: guardian placement.
Sophie: permanent separation.
Emily: medical disposal.
Lucas stared at the final line.
“Medical disposal?””
Eleanor nodded.
“Your father believed Emily would die before adulthood. He didn't want the family to carry the cost of keeping her alive.””
Lucas looked at her.
“That's why you took her.””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I didn't trust you.””
The words struck him.
Lucas looked at the woman who had once attended his wedding and kissed his cheek.
“Why?””
Eleanor's eyes filled.
“Because when you were younger, you became exactly like your father.””
Lucas said nothing.
She continued.
“You had his temper. His ambition. His ability to make people obey. I was afraid you would protect the family before you protected your children.””
Lucas looked down.
He couldn't deny it.
For years, he had believed that being a Moretti meant being untouchable.
He had built walls around himself and called them protection.
And those walls had become a prison for the people he loved.
At 8:30 a.m., Elias called.
“Boss, we found Emily.””
“Where?””
“Queens. She's at the old music school.””
Lucas grabbed his jacket.
“Is Victor there?””
“Not yet.””
“Then keep her safe.””
“There's a problem.””
Lucas stopped.
“What?””
“She isn't alone.””
“Who is with her?””
Elias lowered his voice.
“Isabella.””
Lucas froze.
“Bella?””
“Yes.””
Lucas turned toward Eleanor.
His aunt's expression changed.
“What's wrong?””
Lucas looked at her.
“Isabella is with Emily.””
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“Then it's already happening.””
“What?””
She whispered:
“Emily is the only one who knows where the fourth baby's original medical records are.””
Lucas stared.
“Why?””
“Because she found them.””
“Where?””
Eleanor looked toward the window.
“Inside the piano Isabella used to play.””
Lucas immediately left.
At the old music school, Isabella stood beside Emily.
The young woman was holding a thick envelope.
Inside were hospital records, photographs, and a small silver bracelet.
Isabella looked exhausted.
Emily looked frightened.
“Are you sure Lucas knows?””
Isabella nodded.
“He's coming.””
Emily swallowed.
“What if he doesn't believe me?””
Isabella reached for her hand.
“He will.””
A car door slammed outside.
Both women turned.
Emily looked through the window.
A black SUV had stopped near the entrance.
Isabella's face went pale.
“That's not Lucas.””
The front door opened.
A man stepped inside.
He wore a black suit and carried a small briefcase.
Victor Romano.
He smiled.
“Good morning, ladies.””
Isabella immediately moved in front of Emily.
“Stay behind me.””
Victor looked at the young woman.
“Hello, Emily.””
She gripped the envelope.
“Get out.””
Victor sighed.
“I'm afraid I can't do that.””
Isabella raised her voice.
“You've already destroyed enough lives.””
Victor smiled.
“Not quite.””
He opened the briefcase.
Inside was a photograph.
A newborn baby.
A hospital bracelet.
And a document signed by Anthony Moretti.
Victor placed it on the table.
Then he looked at Isabella.
“There's one final secret you haven't told Lucas.””
Isabella stared at him.
“What?””
Victor smiled.
“The fourth baby wasn't the last child born that night.””
Emily went pale.
Victor leaned closer.
“There were five.””
And before Isabella could react, the lights went out.
Lucas's SUV turned onto Bell Street at full speed.
His phone rang.
It was Elias.
“Boss!””
“What?””
“Victor is at the music school!””
Lucas looked ahead.
“I'm two minutes away.””
Elias's voice became urgent.
“There's another problem.””
Lucas gripped the phone.
“What now?””
“We checked the hospital records. There were five birth registrations, not four.””
Lucas felt the blood drain from his face.
“Five?””
“Yes.””
“Who is the fifth child?””
Elias hesitated.
Then he said the name.
“Victor Romano.””
Lucas stared at the road.
For a moment, he couldn't breathe.
His father's oldest secret had just become the most dangerous truth of all.
Victor wasn't simply his trusted lieutenant.
He was his brother.
And the man who had spent three years destroying Lucas's family was part of it.
The call ended.
Lucas looked toward the music school.
Smoke was beginning to rise from the second-floor windows.
He shouted at the driver.
May you like
“MOVE!””
And somewhere inside the burning building, Isabella screamed his name.
