Chapter 9 - THE TWIN TAKEN FROM THE HOSPITAL
Impossible.
Gabriel had been present at Leo's birth.
Or thought he had.
Sofia suffered an emergency C-section.
Complications.
Gabriel was pushed from the operating area for almost an hour.
He was later shown Leo.
One baby.
Medical records listed singleton delivery.
But records had been altered.
An original surgical log had two neonatal IDs.
Male A.
Male B.
Two boys.
Twins.
Why take one?
Sofia's diary supplied the answer.
She discovered late in pregnancy that Marco was preparing to challenge Gabriel's future leadership.
A male heir strengthened Gabriel's position under old Rossi family structures.
Two heirs made it nearly impossible for Marco to gain control if Gabriel died.
So Marco arranged something monstrous.
Baby B was declared stillborn in falsified records.
But he was alive.
Sofia learned months later.
She began searching.
That's why her final year contained unexplained trips.
Not only to meet Catherine.
To find her stolen son.
“Did she tell anyone?” I asked.
Gabriel stared at the diary.
“No.”
She feared whoever helped Marco was inside the estate.
If she told Gabriel too early, Marco might kill the child.
Then Sofia found him.
Last diary entry before her death:
I know where Matteo is.
Matteo.
Gabriel had a second son.
Alive at least three years ago.
Current age:
Six.
Same as Leo.
Then we found a photograph in Marco's safe.
Two boys.
Leo at a charity event.
Another boy several feet away, being held by a woman.
Same gray eyes.
Same ears.
Same face.
Twins.
On the back:
M.R. ACCOUNT CLOSED AFTER SEVENTH BIRTHDAY.
Leo and Matteo would turn seven in four months.
Account closed.
Meaning what?
Mara believed it could refer to trust payments.
I feared something worse.
We traced the woman in the photograph.
Dr. Evelyn Shaw.
Pediatrician.
No children publicly.
Lives outside Burlington, Vermont.
Gabriel wanted to go immediately.
Mara made him wait for a warrant and child-welfare coordination.
He hated every second.
I was still recovering, so naturally I went too.
Against Dr. Feld's advice.
Against Gabriel's.
“I'm not leaving Leo's brother to be found by people he doesn't know.”
“He doesn't know you.”
“Neither did Leo when I covered him.”
Gabriel stopped arguing.
At Dr. Shaw's house, authorities found no child.
Rooms empty.
Recent departure.
But inside a desk, letters.
From Marco.
Payments.
Instructions.
Then one newer letter.
Take Matteo south. Gabriel is getting too close.
Another:
If Elena Hart survives, the timeline changes.
Again my name.
I wasn't merely a witness.
Marco feared me specifically.
Why?
Then Mara found a legal document hidden beneath the letters.
The Rossi succession trust.
Under an old clause, if both of Gabriel's biological sons survived to age seven, Marco permanently lost any claim to family voting control.
But there was another clause.
A blood relative of Sofia's could act as independent protector of minor heirs if Gabriel became compromised.
Sofia had legally designated me.
May you like
Before I ever knew the Rossis.
If Leo and Matteo survived until seven, I had authority Marco could not control.
