Chapter 12: The Man Wearing My Brother's Face
We reached the mansion forty minutes later.
Ricardo had called every trusted man he had left. The entrance was surrounded by armed guards, and the main gates were locked.
Leo was with Sarah in the medical room, protected by two women who had worked for the family for years.
Isabella remained with Helena.
I walked beside Ricardo, holding the inheritance documents.
“Who is Adrian?”” I asked.
Ricardo checked his weapon.
“Apparently, my father's greatest secret.””
“Your biological father's twin brother.””
“Which means he may have spent his entire life waiting for an opportunity to take control.””
We entered the security room.
Dante stood in front of a wall of monitors.
“Boss, look.””
The main screen showed a man sitting in Ricardo's office.
He wore Ricardo's suit.
Ricardo's watch.
Even Ricardo's expression.
The resemblance was terrifying.
The man picked up a glass of whiskey and looked directly into the security camera.
Then he smiled.
“Hello, little brother.””
Ricardo leaned toward the monitor.
“Adrian.””
The man laughed.
“I was beginning to think you'd never come home.””
“What do you want?””
“Everything Vincent stole from my family.””
Ricardo glanced at me.
“Clara isn't part of this.””
Adrian smiled.
“Oh, but she is. She's the only reason I haven't burned this entire place to the ground.””
He placed a document on the desk.
“Come to the office. Bring your sister. And bring the original inheritance papers.””
The screen went black.
Dante turned toward Ricardo.
“We can enter through the service corridor.””
Ricardo shook his head.
“No. He knows every entrance.””
“Then what do we do?””
Ricardo looked at me.
“We give him what he wants.””
I frowned.
“You're going to hand over the inheritance?””
“No.””
He held up the silver pendant.
“We're going to make him believe he has it.””
I opened the folder.
“There's another copy of the will.””
Ricardo nodded.
“And the real one?””
I looked at the two halves of the pendant.
“Still hidden beneath the chapel.””
He smiled faintly.
“Good.””
We entered the mansion through the eastern corridor.
Adrian's men immediately surrounded us.
They took our weapons and escorted us into the office.
Adrian stood behind Ricardo's desk.
He looked at me with an unsettling familiarity.
“So this is Clara.””
I said nothing.
He circled me.
“Your mother has your eyes.””
“Which mother?””
He laughed.
“Both, apparently.””
Ricardo stepped between us.
“Don't touch her.””
Adrian raised his hands.
“Relax. I'm not interested in hurting my niece.””
He placed a folder on the desk.
“I'm interested in correcting a family injustice.””
He opened it.
Inside were bank statements, property deeds, and a document bearing Vincent's signature.
“My brother Gabriel was supposed to inherit the family business,” Adrian explained.
“Vincent stole it. Then he murdered Gabriel and raised Ricardo as his own.””
Ricardo's expression remained cold.
“And you want revenge?””
“I want justice.””
“You kidnapped a three-year-old.””
Adrian shrugged.
“Collateral damage.””
I stepped forward.
“Where is your brother?””
Adrian looked at me.
“Dead.””
“Then why are you pretending to be him?””
His smile faded.
For the first time, I saw anger in his eyes.
“Because Vincent erased Gabriel from history. He erased my brother, his children, and everything he ever built.””
I studied him.
“You're not here to avenge Gabriel.””
Adrian tilted his head.
“Really?””
“You're here because you want what Vincent left behind.””
He laughed.
“Smart girl.””
Then he placed a small photograph on the desk.
It showed a woman holding a newborn baby.
I recognized her immediately.
It was Margaret.
But the baby in her arms wasn't me.
It was Leo.
Adrian tapped the photograph.
“There's another secret in your family, Clara.””
I felt my heart race.
“What secret?””
“Leo's DNA report was correct. Antonio is his biological father.””
Ricardo's jaw tightened.
Adrian continued.
“But Antonio isn't the person who arranged the hospital records.””
He looked directly at me.
“Your adoptive mother did.””
I shook my head.
“Margaret?””
Adrian nodded.
“She switched the babies at birth.””
Ricardo grabbed the photograph.
“Why?””
Adrian smiled.
“Because the child Margaret gave birth to wasn't supposed to survive.””
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
“Margaret gave birth to Leo?””
“No. Margaret gave birth to a baby girl twenty-seven years ago. She was supposed to be Vincent's firstborn granddaughter.””
My head spun.
“Then where is she?””
Adrian leaned closer.
“That's what I've been trying to tell you.””
He pointed toward the photograph.
“The baby in Margaret's arms wasn't Leo.””
He pulled another document from the folder.
A birth certificate.
The name printed across the top made my blood freeze.
*CLARA VANCE.*
I looked at Ricardo.
Then at Adrian.
“That's impossible. I was born to Isabella.””
Adrian nodded slowly.
“You were.””
He paused.
“But the baby Isabella gave birth to died three hours after delivery.””
I felt the floor shift beneath me.
“Then who am I?””
Adrian smiled.
“You're Margaret's biological daughter. The child she secretly exchanged with Isabella's baby.””
Ricardo grabbed his collar.
“Stop lying!””
Adrian didn't resist.
“Check the original hospital records.””
He turned toward the security camera.
“Margaret has been lying to you since the day you were born.””
Then he whispered something that made Ricardo release him.
“Because Clara isn't Vincent's heir.””
He pointed toward the hallway.
“Leo is.””
At that exact moment, my phone rang.
Sarah.
I answered.
“Sarah?””
Her voice was frantic.
“Clara, listen carefully. Someone has taken Leo.””
I stopped breathing.
“What?””
“Your mother just confessed everything.””
“Which mother?””
Sarah began sobbing.
“Margaret.””
Then I heard a door slam.
Sarah screamed.
And a man's voice said:
“Tell Clara the truth before it's too late.””
The call ended.
Ricardo stared at me.
I looked at the two men who had been fighting over our family for decades.
And suddenly understood something terrifying.
Neither of them had been trying to protect the Moretti heir.
May you like
They had been trying to find the one child everyone had spent twenty-seven years hiding.
And that child was Leo.
