Chapter 12 - THE WOMAN WHO SHARED MY FACE
The first time I met my twin sister, she was sitting in a hospital bed wearing a pale blue gown.
Her dark hair was shorter than mine.
A faint scar crossed her left eyebrow.
But when she looked up, it was like staring into a mirror that remembered a different life.
"Avery?"
Her voice trembled.
I stopped breathing.
"Amelia?"
She began crying.
I crossed the room.
We embraced.
Twenty-seven years disappeared in one moment.
For the first time, I understood what I'd lost without ever knowing it existed.
A sister.
Someone who shared my birthday.
My face.
My childhood beginning.
And perhaps a thousand little habits nobody else would understand.
Amelia held me tightly.
"I'm sorry."
I pulled back.
"For what?"
"For not finding you sooner."
Tears filled my eyes.
I shook my head.
"You didn't know where I was."
She laughed through tears.
"Neither did you."
We sat together.
And slowly, the story emerged.
Amelia had grown up with a family connected to Vittorio's private medical network.
She was told her birth mother had died.
Her identity records were altered.
And whenever she asked questions, adults changed the subject.
At twenty-three, she discovered inconsistencies in her paperwork.
She began investigating.
That's how she found Elena.
And eventually, our mother.
For years, she'd been searching for us.
But Vittorio's people were watching.
Amelia believed approaching me directly could put me in danger.
So she stayed away.
Until Elena disappeared.
Then she helped protect Leo.
I listened with tears streaming down my face.
"You were there when he was little?"
She nodded.
"I held him every night."
I smiled sadly.
"That's why he reaches for me."
Amelia laughed through tears.
"Poor baby. He thinks you're me."
I looked down.
"He calls me Mama."
Her eyes filled.
"I know."
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then I asked:
"Where is Elena?"
Amelia's expression changed.
"I don't know."
My stomach tightened.
She continued.
"She was taken before I was."
"By whom?"
Amelia swallowed.
"Someone from Luca's household."
I leaned forward.
"Who?"
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
"Dominic Russo."
My heart stopped.
Luca's security chief.
The man who brought us photographs.
Who helped arrange searches.
Who stood beside Luca at Aurelia.
The man everyone trusted.
I stared.
"Are you sure?"
Amelia nodded.
"I saw him."
The room became silent.
I thought about every conversation.
Every document.
Every discovery.
Dominic had been present for almost all of them.
He knew what we were investigating.
Where we were searching.
And who we trusted.
My stomach turned.
I contacted Sarah immediately.
The investigators began reviewing Dominic's communications and financial records.
Several suspicious transfers emerged.
Security footage showed him entering Vittorio's property.
And one message connected him to the disappearance of Elena.
Luca received the news in silence.
For years, Dominic had protected him.
Or so he'd believed.
Now he understood how betrayal could hide behind loyalty.
He cooperated fully with investigators.
Dominic was detained and questioned.
Then he agreed to provide information.
But what he said stunned everyone.
He claimed Elena was still alive.
And he knew where she was being held.
Luca leaned forward.
"Where?"
Dominic looked down.
Then whispered:
"At the old Moretti estate."
Luca went completely still.
"My father's house?"
Dominic nodded.
"Yes."
I felt cold.
That estate had been empty for years.
Or so everyone believed.
May you like
Then Dominic added:
"Elena is there because she refused to tell Vittorio where she'd hidden the newborn girl."
