Chapter 3 - THE DAUGHTER THEY STOLE FROM US
I had ordered men into dangerous situations without blinking.
I'd negotiated with violent rivals while guns rested beneath the table.
I'd built an empire from fear.
But nothing prepared me for the moment Rebecca showed me the medical record bearing my wife's name.
Newborn female.
Elena Hale.
Transferred.
Alive.
I stared until the letters blurred.
"That can't be right."
Elena sat beside me.
Her face had gone pale.
"That's what I said."
Rebecca spoke carefully.
"The document raises serious questions, but it doesn't establish that Elena delivered a living child. We need to verify its origin and determine whether the record was created correctly."
I forced myself to breathe.
"Then verify it."
Elena looked toward me.
"Marcus."
I turned.
"Don't turn this into another war."
I nodded.
"I'm trying not to."
Her eyes softened for a second.
Then the distance returned.
Over the following week, Rebecca gathered records through authorized requests.
The hospital confirmed several discrepancies.
The original physician was no longer practicing.
A private contractor had managed parts of Ashford's record system.
And several entries had been edited after Elena's hospitalization.
That last discovery frightened me.
Someone had accessed the records after Elena went home.
Someone with privileged credentials.
Then Rebecca identified the account used for the edits.
SLaurent_Admin.
Sophia Laurent.
I stared at the report.
"She altered my wife's medical records."
"An account associated with her was used," Rebecca replied. "Investigators still need to establish who made the changes."
For the first time, I appreciated someone refusing to tell me what I wanted to hear.
Truth mattered more than anger.
That evening, Elena and I sat in the gallery after closing.
She was restoring an old landscape painting.
I watched her hands move carefully over the canvas.
For years, I'd bought her expensive jewelry.
Cars.
Vacations.
But I'd never understood how much peace she found in painting.
"Why did you stop?" I asked.
She looked up.
"Stop what?"
"Painting."
Elena smiled sadly.
"I didn't stop."
I frowned.
She continued.
"I just stopped showing you."
The words hurt.
I deserved them.
For a long time, neither spoke.
Then she asked, "What if the baby is alive?"
My chest tightened.
"I don't know."
"What if someone took her?"
I looked down.
"I don't know."
Elena set down her brush.
"That's the first honest answer you've given me without pretending you can fix everything."
I swallowed.
Then my phone vibrated.
Gabriel Conti, my security chief.
He'd been reviewing old corporate records with Rebecca's team.
"Boss, there's something you need to see."
I stepped into the hallway.
"What?"
"A payment from the Moretti-Hale Foundation to Ashford Medical."
My stomach tightened.
"How much?"
"Two million dollars."
"When?"
"The morning after Elena was admitted."
I stared.
"Who authorized it?"
Gabriel hesitated.
Then answered:
"Your signature is on the transfer."
My blood ran cold.
I hadn't authorized anything.
May you like
Then Gabriel added something even worse.
"The account receiving the money was controlled by Sophia's father."
