Chapter 5: The Signature That Should Not Exist
“The name of the person who signed your daughter’s original birth certificate.””
Alessandro’s words landed like a stone dropped into still water.
I stared at him.
Waiting for him to say something else.
Waiting for him to tell me I misunderstood.
But he didn’t.
He just stood there, holding the phone in his hand, looking at me like he had discovered a truth neither of us was ready to face.
“What name?”” I asked.
My voice sounded smaller than I wanted.
Alessandro didn’t answer immediately.
That frightened me more than the words themselves.
Because Alessandro Duca was never silent when he had power.
He was silent when he was searching for the right way to say something painful.
“Elena…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“No, tell me.””
Mia stirred against my shoulder.
Her tiny fingers held onto my sweater.
The same sweater I had worn during countless nights when I stayed awake beside her crib.
The same sweater she grabbed when she was scared.
I looked at my daughter.
Then back at Alessandro.
“Who signed it?””
His eyes moved toward the paper Victor had placed on the table.
Then back to me.
“Your name is not the only one on the original certificate.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
Victor stepped closer.
“Birth records can be amended. Names can be changed. Information can disappear.””
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Like he had spent years living with impossible secrets.
“But the original documents remain.””
I looked at him.
“What are you saying?””
Victor took a breath.
“I’m saying someone registered Mia before you did.””
A cold feeling moved through my body.
“That’s impossible.””
“You gave birth to her.””
“Yes.””
“Then you know who was there.””
I swallowed.
The memory came back instantly.
The hospital room.
The bright lights.
The sound of rain against the windows.
The moment they placed my baby in my arms.
No father.
No family.
No one else.
Only me.
“I was alone,” I whispered.
Alessandro looked at me.
“Are you sure?””
The question hurt.
Not because he asked.
Because I suddenly hated that I wasn’t completely sure.
“I remember the doctor.””
My voice shook.
“The nurse.””
I closed my eyes.
“I remember holding Mia.””
“What about before?””
“What?””
“Before you held her.””
I looked at him.
“What are you asking?””
Alessandro’s expression softened.
“Everything.””
I hated that he was right.
Because memory was not a perfect thing.
Especially not from the worst day of your life.
I had been exhausted.
Terrified.
Bleeding.
Alone.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
Victor opened another document.
“This is the signature.””
He placed the paper on the table.
I didn’t want to look.
Something inside me already knew.
But I forced myself.
My eyes moved down the page.
And there it was.
A signature.
A name.
A name that made my fingers go numb.
Because I knew it.
I knew it better than anyone.
“No.””
The word escaped before I could stop it.
Alessandro looked at me.
“Elena?””
I couldn’t breathe.
The signature blurred.
I blinked.
Still there.
Still impossible.
“No.””
I stepped backward.
“That can’t be real.””
“Who is it?”” Alessandro asked.
I looked at him.
My mouth opened.
But no sound came out.
Victor answered.
“Daniel Rossi.””
The room went silent.
My husband’s name.
My daughter’s supposed father.
The man who disappeared before Mia was born.
The man who had promised me he would come back.
The man who had left me with hospital bills, unpaid rent, and a newborn baby.
Daniel.
My hands started shaking.
“He’s dead.””
Nobody moved.
I whispered it again.
“He’s dead.””
Alessandro looked at me.
“You’re sure?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
My throat tightened.
“Because I saw the report.””
“What report?””
“The accident report.””
The memories came back.
The phone call.
The police officer.
The stranger’s voice telling me Daniel had been killed overseas.
I remembered sitting on my apartment floor, holding my pregnant stomach, trying to understand how I could lose the father of my child before she was even born.
“I buried him.””
Victor’s expression changed.
“You buried him?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
I frowned.
“What does that matter?””
“Where, Elena?””
I told him.
And the second the words left my mouth, Victor and Alessandro exchanged a look.
A look that terrified me.
“What?””
Neither answered.
“What?””
Alessandro stepped forward.
“Daniel Rossi wasn’t dead.””
The room tilted.
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was impossible.
“That’s not true.””
“Elena—”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You don’t understand.””
My voice grew louder.
“I saw the documents.””
“Someone wanted you to see those documents.””
“No.””
I looked at Alessandro.
“You’re wrong.””
His face remained serious.
And somehow that made it worse.
“You have to be wrong.””
Victor slowly picked up his phone.
“I checked before coming here.””
He tapped the screen.
“Daniel Rossi has no death certificate.””
My blood ran cold.
“What?””
“No official record.””
“That’s impossible.””
“Yes.””
Victor looked at me.
“That’s the problem.””
I felt Mia move.
Her little hand touched my face.
A reminder that I had to stay standing.
I had to stay strong.
For her.
But my entire life suddenly felt like it had been built on missing pieces.
The apartment.
The marriage.
The pregnancy.
The birth.
Everything.
“Why?”” I whispered.
Nobody answered.
“Why would someone fake his death?””
Alessandro looked at the birth certificate.
Then at Mia.
Then at me.
And I saw something in his expression.
A terrible possibility.
“Because Daniel Rossi may have known who Mia really was.””
I froze.
“What?””
Victor nodded slowly.
“Think about it.””
“No.””
“The hospital records were changed.””
“No.””
“Someone hid Alessandro’s daughter.””
“No.””
“Someone convinced you that your husband was dead.””
“Stop.””
My voice cracked.
But Victor continued.
“Someone made sure nobody looked for the truth.””
I covered my ears.
Not literally.
But I wanted to.
Because the truth was becoming something too heavy to carry.
Then Alessandro said something quietly.
“Daniel knew Isabella.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
His eyes were fixed on the documents.
“Before Isabella disappeared, she contacted someone.””
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
Victor answered.
“But we found one connection.””
My stomach twisted.
“Daniel.””
I stared.
“No.””
Alessandro looked at me.
“Elena.””
I stepped away.
“No.””
Because if Daniel was alive…
If he knew…
Then every moment of my daughter’s life had been surrounded by lies.
And I couldn’t accept that.
I couldn’t.
My phone suddenly rang.
Everyone turned.
The screen showed an unknown number.
My first instinct was not to answer.
But then the message preview appeared.
And my entire body went cold.
Because the text contained only four words.
*I KNOW YOU FOUND HER.*
My hand trembled.
Alessandro noticed.
“What is it?””
I didn’t answer.
Another message arrived.
This time with a photo.
I opened it.
And immediately dropped my phone.
Because the picture showed Mia.
Sleeping.
Inside the laundry room.
Taken from outside the penthouse.
Taken yesterday.
A sound escaped my throat.
“No…”
Alessandro grabbed the phone.
His expression changed as he looked at the image.
Victor moved closer.
“What is it?””
Alessandro didn’t answer.
He just stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
One sentence.
One warning.
And it was addressed to me.
*You should have left the baby hidden.*
The room went silent.
Alessandro slowly lifted his eyes.
Not at Victor.
Not at the phone.
At me.
Because suddenly, this was no longer about discovering the past.
Someone was still watching.
Someone was still controlling the story.
And they had just made their first move.
Then Alessandro’s security alarm started screaming.
The lights in the penthouse turned red.
A voice came through the intercom.
“Mr. Duca.””
Everyone froze.
“Someone has entered the private elevator.””
Alessandro’s hand closed into a fist.
“Who?””
The security officer hesitated.
Then answered:
“We don’t know.””
A pause.
“But the elevator is locked on this floor.””
My heart stopped.
Because there was only one person who could enter Alessandro Duca’s penthouse without permission.
Someone who knew every security system.
Someone who had access before.
The intercom crackled again.
And the security officer whispered:
“Mr. Duca…”
“The person inside is using your old access code.””
Alessandro looked toward the elevator doors.
And for the first time, he looked genuinely afraid.
Because someone from his past had just walked back into his home.
And this time…
May you like
They weren’t coming for him.
They were coming for Mia.
