Chapter 7: My Twin Sister Was Engaged to My Killer
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
The photograph on Marco's phone showed a woman wearing a diamond necklace and an expensive black evening gown.
She had my eyes.
My nose.
My face.
Even the small crescent-shaped birthmark behind her left ear.
But there was something different about her expression.
She looked at the camera like someone who had never been told no.
"That's Victoria?"" I whispered.
Marco nodded.
"Victoria Kane. Twenty-three years old. She's been publicly recognized as Vincent's only daughter since childhood.""
I looked at Adrian.
"How can she be my twin if she's twenty-three?""
Adrian stared at the adoption certificate.
"Because the documents say she was adopted eleven years ago. Someone gave her a new identity.""
I swallowed.
"She knew about me.""
"Apparently," Adrian replied.
"She knew I was alive, Adrian. She saw me three weeks ago.""
His expression changed.
"What exactly happened?""
I described the afternoon outside the restaurant.
I'd been sitting beside a subway entrance, trying to keep warm beneath my old coat.
A black limousine had stopped near the curb.
Victoria had stepped out with two women.
She'd been laughing until she noticed me.
Then she'd stopped.
She stared at my face for a long time before walking closer.
"Are you hungry?"" she'd asked.
I'd nodded.
She handed me a hundred-dollar bill.
Then she leaned down and whispered, "Enjoy your last few days, Isabella.""
I remembered the way she'd smiled.
Not kindly.
Not cruelly.
Almost sadly.
As if she were apologizing for something she had already decided to do.
Adrian's fists clenched.
"She threatened you?""
"I didn't understand what she meant.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I didn't know her name.""
He turned to Marco.
"Find out everything about her engagement.""
Marco checked his phone.
"Her fiancé is Dominic Vale. He's a private security contractor with connections to Vincent's organization.""
"Was he one of the men who attacked me?""
"One of the vehicles from last night's attack is registered to a company owned by Vale.""
Adrian let out a humorless laugh.
"So Vincent arranged the attack and gave his daughter a front-row seat.""
I looked again at Victoria's photograph.
"Why would she want me dead? If we're twins, shouldn't she want to know me?""
Adrian didn't answer.
Instead, he opened the adoption certificate and studied the date.
Then he noticed something.
"Marco, look at this.""
The certificate had been issued eleven years ago.
But the signature belonged to a woman named Elena Kane.
My mother.
"Mother signed the adoption?""
Marco examined the document.
"It appears so.""
Adrian shook his head.
"That makes no sense. She told us Vincent arranged everything.""
I looked at the signature.
It was familiar.
I'd seen the same handwriting inside my locket.
"Maybe she was forced.""
Adrian looked at me.
"Or maybe she knows more than she's telling us.""
Before I could respond, his phone rang.
Elena.
He answered immediately.
"Mother, where are you?""
Her voice sounded frightened.
"Adrian, listen carefully. You need to bring Isabella home.""
"We found the adoption papers.""
A long silence followed.
Then Elena whispered, "You found Victoria.""
"Why didn't you tell us?""
"Because I was afraid.""
"Afraid of what?""
"That one day, one daughter would kill the other.""
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Adrian looked at me.
"Mother, what are you talking about?""
Elena began crying.
"Your grandfather made a terrible decision. He believed only one granddaughter could inherit the Kane fortune. He arranged for the girls to be separated.""
"Why?""
"Because Vincent convinced him that having two heirs would create a war inside the family.""
Adrian paced the basement.
"That doesn't explain why Victoria is engaged to Dominic Vale.""
Elena's voice dropped.
"Because Vincent wants the two remaining heirs under his control. If Isabella returns, Victoria becomes his greatest weapon.""
I stepped toward the phone.
"Does Victoria know we're twins?""
Elena went quiet.
Then she answered.
"She knows everything.""
My chest tightened.
"Does she remember me?""
"She remembers you better than you remember her.""
I closed my eyes.
The little girl in the yellow dress.
The hand holding mine.
The promise that we'd never be separated.
Then Elena said something that made me open my eyes.
"Isabella, your sister wasn't the child Vincent wanted to replace you with.""
I frowned.
"What?""
"Victoria was supposed to be the backup heir. Vincent wanted you gone because you were the original beneficiary.""
Adrian stopped walking.
"Mother, what aren't you telling us?""
A sudden noise came through Elena's phone.
A door slamming.
Then a man's voice.
"End the call, Elena.""
She screamed.
"ADRIAN!""
The line went dead.
Adrian immediately called her back.
No answer.
Marco drew his weapon.
"Sir, we need to move.""
Adrian looked at me.
"Someone has taken our mother.""
I stared at the adoption certificate.
Then I noticed a handwritten note in the corner.
A location.
May you like
And beneath it, two words.
*VICTORIA KNOWS.*
