Chapter 9: The Child Who Was Erased
The words stayed on the screen.
*SECOND CHILD: UNKNOWN.*
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
It was as if the entire penthouse had become frozen in time.
Two newborn girls.
Two missing children.
One was Mia.
The other was a mystery.
A child who had been erased.
I looked down at my daughter.
Her small fingers were wrapped around mine.
She was warm.
Real.
Safe.
At least for that moment.
But suddenly, I understood something.
Mia had never been the only secret.
She had never been the only thing someone wanted hidden.
“Two babies,” I whispered.
Victor nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
Alessandro stared at the message.
“Explain.””
Victor looked uncomfortable.
“The hospital records were incomplete.””
“That’s not an explanation.””
“No.””
Victor took a breath.
“It’s the result of someone intentionally destroying information.””
Alessandro’s voice became dangerous.
“Who?””
Nobody answered.
Then Isabella spoke.
“My father.””
Everyone turned toward her.
She looked exhausted.
Like she had been carrying the truth alone for years.
“My father knew about the babies.””
Alessandro stepped closer.
“You said he ordered someone to take Mia.””
“I said he was involved.””
“Same thing.””
“No.””
Her voice cracked.
“You don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
Isabella looked at Mia.
Then at me.
“The night she was born, there was another baby in that hospital.””
I held my breath.
“Whose baby?””
She looked away.
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
“No.””
Alessandro’s patience disappeared.
“You expect me to believe you don’t know?””
“I was unconscious.””
A silence followed.
That stopped him.
“What?””
Isabella swallowed.
“When I woke up, Mia was gone.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I thought she was dead.””
I looked at her.
For the first time, I didn’t see the woman who disappeared.
I saw a mother who had been broken.
“When did you find out she was alive?””
She looked at me.
“Eight months ago.””
My heart tightened.
“After she was born?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
“Because someone sent me a picture.””
“What picture?””
“A picture of Elena holding her outside the hospital.””
I froze.
“What?””
Isabella nodded.
“Someone wanted me to know she survived.””
“Why?””
Her voice became quiet.
“Because they wanted me to suffer.””
The answer chilled me.
Alessandro looked at Victor.
“Who sent it?””
Victor shook his head.
“We don’t know.””
Then my phone vibrated.
Everyone looked at it.
Another message.
Unknown number.
My hands went cold before I even opened it.
*YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE WRONG CHILD.*
I stared.
Then another message arrived.
*MIA WAS NEVER THE TARGET.*
My heart pounded.
Alessandro took the phone from me.
“What does it mean?””
Nobody answered.
Then a third message appeared.
A photo.
Not of Mia.
Not of me.
A baby.
A newborn.
Wrapped in a hospital blanket.
And beneath the picture:
*SHE WAS THE ONE THEY WANTED.*
My breathing stopped.
“Who is that?””
Victor moved closer.
“I don’t know.””
Isabella looked at the photo.
Then suddenly covered her mouth.
“What?””
Everyone turned.
She stared at the image.
“No.””
Alessandro looked at her.
“You recognize her.””
Isabella’s eyes filled with fear.
“I recognize the blanket.””
The room went silent.
“What blanket?”” I asked.
She pointed at the screen.
“The hospital blanket.””
My stomach tightened.
“So?””
“That blanket was not from the maternity ward.””
Nobody spoke.
Isabella continued:
“It belonged to the private room.””
Alessandro frowned.
“Whose private room?””
Her face went pale.
“My father’s.””
A cold wave moved through the room.
“The baby was with your father?””
“No.””
Isabella shook her head.
“My father was visiting someone.””
“Who?””
She looked at Alessandro.
Then at me.
“The woman who knew everything.””
I swallowed.
“Who?””
Isabella whispered:
“Your mother.””
My body went numb.
“No.””
Everyone looked at me.
“No.””
I stepped backward.
“My mother wasn’t involved.””
Isabella’s eyes softened.
“Elena…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“She protected me.””
“Yes.””
“She raised me.””
“Yes.””
“She loved Mia.””
“I believe she did.””
“Then stop saying her name like she’s guilty.””
Nobody spoke.
Because even Isabella didn’t want to hurt me.
Then Alessandro quietly said:
“Loving someone doesn’t mean they didn’t hide something.””
I looked at him.
The words hurt.
Because they were true.
My mother had hidden things.
Everyone had.
But there was one thing I refused to believe.
“She would never hurt a child.””
“No one said she did.””
I turned.
Victor was looking at the photograph.
“She may have been protecting one.””
The sentence made no sense.
“What?””
Victor pointed at the image.
“The message says Mia was never the target.””
He looked at Isabella.
“Your father wasn’t trying to take one baby.””
A pause.
“He was trying to find the other.””
The room became silent.
Then Alessandro’s phone rang.
He answered immediately.
“What?””
A voice spoke.
His face changed.
“What do you mean she escaped?””
My heart tightened.
“Who?””
He looked at me.
“The woman who called earlier.””
“My mother?””
He didn’t answer.
That was enough.
I stepped closer.
“What happened?””
The voice on the phone continued.
Alessandro listened.
Then his expression darkened.
“She left a message?””
A pause.
“Play it.””
A few seconds later, a recording came through.
My mother’s voice filled the room.
“Elena, if you’re hearing this, I failed.””
My eyes burned instantly.
“Your entire life, I tried to protect you from the truth.””
A shaky breath.
“But there is something you need to know.””
The recording continued.
“The night Mia was born, Daniel did not come to the hospital to take her.””
I froze.
“He came to save her.””
I looked at Alessandro.
At Isabella.
At Victor.
The world tilted.
My mother’s voice continued.
“And the baby everyone was searching for…”
A pause.
A sound like crying.
“Was not Mia.””
My hands covered my mouth.
“No.””
The recording continued.
“The other baby belonged to someone who could destroy the entire Duca family.””
Silence.
Then my mother whispered:
“Elena…”
“If you find the second child, you will understand why everyone lied.””
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Alessandro looked at Isabella.
“Who was the second baby?””
Isabella shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
But she looked like she was lying.
Alessandro noticed too.
“Isabella.””
She closed her eyes.
“I know one thing.””
“What?””
She looked at Mia.
“When my father found out there were two babies…”
Her voice trembled.
“He didn’t ask which one was yours.””
The room went cold.
“What did he ask?””
She looked at Alessandro.
“He asked…”
A tear fell down her face.
“Which one was his.””
Nobody moved.
Because suddenly the question was not who Mia belonged to.
The question was much worse.
Who was the other child?
And why had someone spent eight years making sure nobody found her?
Then Victor’s phone buzzed.
He checked the screen.
His face changed.
“What?””
Alessandro stepped closer.
“What is it?””
Victor slowly turned the phone around.
A new hospital record had appeared.
A recovered file.
A name.
A mother.
A child.
And one sentence at the bottom.
*PATERNITY CONFIRMED.*
Alessandro stared.
“Impossible.””
I looked at the screen.
And my entire body went cold.
Because the father listed on the record was not Alessandro.
It was not Daniel.
It was someone else.
Someone standing in the room with us.
Someone who had been helping us uncover the truth.
Someone who had known more than he admitted.
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The name on the document was:
*VICTOR HALE.*
