Chapter 1 - THE BABY THEY WANTED TO DISAPPEAR
Marcus Falcone had seen grown men tremble in his presence, but nothing frightened him more than the tiny newborn struggling to breathe in an eight-year-old girl's arms.
And Isabella Cross had just made one mistake.
She looked terrified of the hospital bracelet.
"Give me the baby," Marcus said.
Lucia Reyes hesitated.
Not because she wanted to disobey him, but because she had wrapped her little arms so carefully around the infant that she was afraid to let go.
"He's very cold, sir."
Marcus's expression changed.
He removed his suit jacket and gently covered the child while Marisol helped transfer him into his arms.
"Call the doctor," Marcus ordered.
His security chief, Dominic Russo, immediately reached for his phone.
"And nobody leaves this property."
Isabella stepped forward.
"Marcus, this is becoming ridiculous."
He turned.
"Ridiculous?"
"You're allowing a child to create panic over a baby who could belong to anyone."
Marcus looked down at the infant.
A tiny face.
Dark hair.
A familiar birthmark near his right ear.
His chest tightened.
He knew that birthmark.
His father had possessed it.
So had he.
Marcus carefully examined the hospital bracelet.
The printed name was partially covered by dirt.
But the information was unmistakable.
Baby Boy Falcone.
St. Agnes Private Hospital.
Mother: Elena Moretti.
For one terrible moment, the dining room disappeared.
Elena Moretti.
The woman Marcus had loved for nearly three years.
The woman who had disappeared two months before her due date.
The woman Isabella claimed had abandoned him for another man.
Marcus stared at the bracelet.
"Where is Elena?"
Isabella's expression tightened.
"Marcus, we discussed this."
"Answer me."
"She left you."
His voice became dangerously quiet.
"Then why is her newborn son inside my mansion?"
Nobody moved.
Lucia tugged gently at Marisol's sleeve.
"Mommy?"
Marisol looked down.
"What, sweetheart?"
Lucia pointed toward Isabella.
"That lady was in the kitchen before I found him."
Isabella snapped toward her.
"That's enough!"
The child flinched.
Marcus's eyes hardened.
"Don't raise your voice at her."
Isabella swallowed.
"Marcus, I'm only trying to help."
"Then tell me where Elena is."
Silence.
A physician arrived twenty minutes later.
Dr. Samuel Pierce examined the baby in a warm guest room.
The child was dangerously cold and dehydrated, but still responsive.
He needed urgent hospital care.
Marcus insisted on accompanying him.
As medical personnel prepared transport, Lucia stood near the doorway.
"Sir?"
Marcus turned.
"Yes, Lucia?"
The little girl held out something small.
A silver button.
"I found this beside the trash bin."
Marcus accepted it.
The button bore the Falcone family crest.
A black falcon beneath a silver crown.
Only senior household employees wore uniforms with that emblem.
Marcus turned it over.
A tiny thread of emerald-green fabric remained attached.
He knew exactly who wore emerald-green silk that evening.
Isabella Cross.
But before he could speak, Lucia whispered something else.
"Sir, the lady wasn't alone."
Marcus crouched.
"What do you mean?"
Lucia looked toward the hallway.
"I saw a man helping her."
"Which man?"
She hesitated.
Then pointed toward Dominic Russo.
Marcus slowly straightened.
His most trusted security chief stood motionless.
May you like
And Lucia whispered:
"He was the one carrying the baby before they put him in the trash."
