Chapter 13: The Child Everyone Wanted
“Where is my son?””
Ricardo grabbed Adrian by the throat and slammed him against the office wall.
Adrian's guards immediately raised their weapons.
“Boss!”” Dante shouted.
Ricardo didn't move.
“I asked you a question. Where is Leo?””
Adrian struggled to breathe.
“You're making a mistake.””
Ricardo pressed harder.
“Then correct it.””
Adrian finally pointed toward the desk.
“Your phone.””
Ricardo released him and grabbed the device.
A video was waiting.
He opened it.
Leo sat in the back of a black car, clutching his stuffed bear. Beside him was Margaret.
She was holding his little hand.
“Daddy?”” Leo whispered.
Ricardo's face changed.
“Leo, sweetheart, I'm coming.””
Margaret leaned toward the camera.
“Ricardo, you have thirty minutes. Bring the original inheritance papers to the old family estate. Come alone, or the boy disappears.””
The video ended.
Ricardo immediately called Sarah.
No answer.
He tried again.
Nothing.
I turned toward Adrian.
“Who took him?””
Adrian straightened his jacket.
“Margaret.””
“Why?””
“Because she finally realized the child she gave birth to twenty-seven years ago is the key to everything.””
I shook my head.
“Stop speaking in riddles.””
Adrian opened the bottom drawer of Ricardo's desk and removed an old medical file.
“Your adoptive mother gave birth to a girl on the same night Isabella delivered twins. One of Isabella's babies died shortly after birth. The other survived.””
He placed three birth records on the desk.
“Margaret switched the hospital identification bracelets. She wanted to protect her daughter from Vincent. But Vincent discovered the exchange.””
I stared at the records.
“So I was Margaret's biological daughter?””
“Yes.””
“And Leo?””
Adrian's expression darkened.
“Leo is the child Vincent intended to make his successor. His DNA carries a rare genetic marker that connects him to the original Moretti bloodline.””
Ricardo shook his head.
“That's nonsense. A genetic marker doesn't give anyone the right to own a child.””
Adrian smiled.
“Tell that to Vincent.””
I looked at the documents again.
Something didn't make sense.
“Why would Margaret steal Isabella's baby if her own daughter was alive?””
Adrian's smile disappeared.
“Because she was told her daughter had died.””
“Who told her?””
“Vincent.””
I felt sick.
“So she spent twenty-seven years raising someone else's child while believing her own was dead?””
Adrian nodded.
“And when she discovered the truth, she became obsessed with getting Leo.””
Ricardo grabbed his coat.
“We're going to the estate.””
Adrian stepped in front of him.
“You need me.””
“I don't need anything from you.””
“Margaret won't surrender Leo unless she sees the original will.””
I looked at Adrian.
“You said you wanted justice for your brother. Help us get Leo back, and you'll have the chance to expose everything.””
Adrian studied me.
Then he slowly nodded.
“Agreed.””
We left with Dante and four men.
On the drive, Ricardo sat beside me, staring at the photograph of Leo.
“I should have told him the truth about his mother,” he whispered.
I looked at him.
“He's three years old. He doesn't need to understand the lies adults created.””
Ricardo swallowed.
“I promised Sarah I'd keep him safe.””
“You can still do that.””
He looked at me.
“Clara, if anything happens—”
“Don't.””
“I need you to understand something. You're my sister. Whatever those documents say, whatever our parents did, that doesn't change.””
I squeezed his hand.
“And you're Leo's father. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.””
The estate stood beyond a long driveway, surrounded by bare trees and high stone walls.
We entered through the front gate.
Margaret was waiting in the grand hall.
She wore a dark dress and held Leo's hand.
My little nephew ran toward us.
“Daddy!””
Ricardo rushed forward.
But Margaret pulled Leo behind her.
“Not another step.””
Ricardo stopped.
“Let him go.””
Margaret looked at me.
“Clara, sweetheart. Come here.””
I remained beside Ricardo.
“Why did you take him?””
“Because he's my grandson.””
“He's not your property.””
Margaret's face tightened.
“You don't understand. I lost my daughter once. I won't lose another child.””
I looked at her.
“Then why did you let me grow up believing you were my mother while keeping the truth from me?””
Tears filled her eyes.
“Because I loved you.””
“You could have loved me and told me the truth.””
She looked away.
Then she turned toward Ricardo.
“Give me the inheritance papers.””
Ricardo held up the folder.
“First, Leo.””
Margaret shook her head.
“You don't understand what you're holding.””
She opened a small wooden box.
Inside was a hospital bracelet.
The name printed on it was not Leo's.
It read:
*BABY GIRL — MARGARET VANCE.*
My breath caught.
Margaret looked directly at me.
“This was the bracelet placed on my daughter the night she was born.””
She reached into the box and removed another photograph.
A newborn baby wrapped in a pink blanket.
On the back was a handwritten name.
*ELIZABETH.*
Then Margaret said something that made the entire room fall silent.
“Clara, I know who your real mother is.””
She pointed toward the staircase.
“And she's been living in this house for the last twenty-seven years.””
A door opened upstairs.
Sarah appeared.
Beside her stood a woman I'd never seen before.
And the woman was holding a second child.
May you like
A little girl.
Who looked exactly like me.
