Chapter 7 - THE BABY WAS THE KEY
Elena couldn't speak.
Her father's face changed.
Ruiz immediately moved closer.
“What did he say?”
Daniel repeated:
“The baby is the key.”
Elena's hand instinctively moved toward her stomach.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel's voice trembled.
“The original trust has a bloodline clause.”
Her father closed his eyes.
Daniel continued.
“Your child is the first direct descendant of two branches of the family.”
Elena frowned.
“What two branches?”
“Your mother's family and mine.”
She looked at her father.
He nodded slowly.
“That means the trust doesn't belong to Richard.”
Daniel whispered:
“Not unless he can prove the baby isn't legally yours.”
Elena understood.
That was why the documents had been forged.
That was why someone had tried to manipulate her medical records.
They needed to create doubt about the child's identity.
They needed to make Elena appear unstable.
And they needed control over the child.
Suddenly Vanessa's behavior made sense.
She wasn't simply jealous.
She had been promised something.
Daniel said:
“Vanessa knows where the original birth records are.”
“Where?”
“In the hospital archive.”
Elena stared at him.
“You knew all this?”
“I found out too late.”
“Then why did you participate?”
Daniel was silent.
“Because I was afraid.”
Elena laughed bitterly.
“You were afraid, so you destroyed my life?”
“I thought Richard would kill everyone.”
Her father stepped forward.
“Where are you?”
Daniel answered:
“Warehouse seventeen.”
Ruiz looked at Elena.
“That location is near the river.”
They left immediately.
But when they arrived, Daniel was gone.
Only his phone remained.
And beside it was an envelope.
Elena opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
A hospital nursery.
A newborn baby.
And a handwritten note.
YOU WERE NEVER THE TARGET.
Elena's hands shook.
“What does that mean?”
Her father took the photograph.
His face went pale.
“This isn't your baby.”
Elena stared at him.
“What?”
He turned the photograph over.
A hospital identification number was written on the back.
The date was fifteen years ago.
Her father whispered:
“Richard has been preparing this plan for years.”
Elena suddenly understood.
The scheme wasn't designed after she married Daniel.
It had started long before.
The Howards had been waiting for a child who could legally connect the two bloodlines.
And now that child was hers.
Ruiz received a message.
He looked at the screen.
“Vanessa was arrested.”
Elena frowned.
“Where?”
“At the airport.”
“She was leaving?”
“No.”
Ruiz looked at her.
“She was carrying a file addressed to you.”
Elena's stomach tightened.
“What file?”
Ruiz opened the evidence photograph.
The label read:
ELENA'S ORIGINAL FAMILY RECORDS.
Elena stared at it.
Her father whispered:
“Those records could prove everything.”
But before they could retrieve them, Ruiz's phone rang.
His expression changed.
“What happened?”
He listened.
Then said:
“Lock down the hospital.”
Elena stepped closer.
“Why?”
Ruiz looked at her.
“Someone just accessed your maternity records.”
Her heart stopped.
May you like
The baby was still inside her.
But someone had already begun changing the story of who that child would become.
