Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN IN ROOM 317
The moment Detective Mitchell told me my mother might be alive, the world stopped making sense.
For seven years, I'd visited her grave every birthday.
Every Christmas.
Every anniversary of the accident.
I'd placed flowers beneath a headstone bearing her name.
And now someone was telling me she might be breathing somewhere.
Dante sat beside me.
"Elena, we'll verify the records before we assume anything."
I shook my head.
"I need to know."
He nodded.
"I understand."
Investigators traced the payments to a private rehabilitation facility outside Albany.
The patient was registered as Catherine Morris.
But the date of birth matched my mother's.
So did the identifying details in her medical history.
A judge authorized the release of records relevant to the investigation.
The facility agreed to cooperate.
Two days later, Detective Mitchell called.
"We have confirmation."
My hands began shaking.
"Of what?"
"The patient is Catherine Vance."
I dropped into a chair.
"She's alive?"
"Yes."
I began crying.
Not quietly.
Not gracefully.
I cried like the frightened sixteen-year-old girl who'd stood beside a coffin and promised her little brother everything would be okay.
Dante knelt beside my chair.
"Elena."
I covered my face.
"Seven years."
He waited.
"Seven years, Dante."
"I know."
I looked at him.
"Can I see her?"
He nodded.
"The detective is arranging it."
The following morning, we arrived at the rehabilitation facility.
I walked down the hallway with my heart pounding.
Room 317.
The door was open.
A woman sat beside the window, wearing a pale yellow cardigan.
Her hair had turned silver at the temples.
She was thinner.
Older.
But I knew her.
I would have known her anywhere.
"Mom?"
She turned.
Her eyes widened.
"Elena?"
I couldn't move.
Then she began crying.
"My baby."
I crossed the room.
She stood unsteadily.
And suddenly I was in her arms.
The world disappeared.
I held her so tightly that a nurse gently reminded me to be careful.
Mom laughed through tears.
"I missed you."
I pressed my forehead against hers.
"I thought you were dead."
"They told me you were safe."
My heart twisted.
"Who?"
She looked frightened.
"Richard Vale."
I swallowed.
"What happened?"
"After the accident, I woke up in a private hospital. They told me I'd suffered serious brain injuries and needed long-term care."
She wiped her cheeks.
"Whenever I asked for you, they said contacting my family would put you in danger."
I held her hands.
"Why didn't you leave?"
"I tried. But they controlled my medication, visitors, and identity documents. I had nowhere to go."
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
"You're coming home."
She smiled.
"Then I have one more reason to get stronger."
Dante remained near the doorway.
When Mom noticed him, her face changed.
"Isabella's son?"
He nodded.
"Yes, ma'am."
She smiled faintly.
"Your mother was a good woman."
Dante lowered his eyes.
"Thank you."
Mom looked back at me.
"Where's Toby?"
My throat tightened.
"He's in the hospital."
Her face went pale.
"What happened?"
"He needs heart surgery."
Mom closed her eyes.
Then whispered something that made Dante step forward.
"No."
I stared at her.
"What?"
She gripped my hands.
"Elena, Toby's heart condition wasn't the first reason Richard Vale wanted him."
My stomach twisted.
"What do you mean?"
Mom looked directly at Dante.
"Because Toby isn't Adrian Vance's son."
May you like
Then she turned back to me.
"He's the biological son of Dante's father."
