Chapter 8 - TWO BABIES AND ONE STOLEN INHERITANCE
Elena stared at the two names.
For one terrifying moment, she wondered if her entire identity had been stolen.
"Are you telling me Victoria and I were switched at birth?"
Marco shook his head.
"There's no evidence of that."
Dante examined the photograph more closely.
"Look at the date."
October 17, 1999.
Elena's eighth birthday was still years away.
No.
Her birth date.
And Victoria's.
Elena blinked.
"We were born on the same day?"
"At the same clinic," Marco said.
"Then what does the note mean?"
Dante placed another document on the table.
"Your mother was working for a charitable foundation that funded the clinic. The Belandis controlled its administration."
Elena remembered Sophia's journal.
The stolen money.
The forged signatures.
The secret trust.
"Someone was stealing from the foundation even then."
Marco nodded.
"Vincent Moretti was a major donor. Margaret Belandi managed the finances. Sophia discovered irregularities years before the warehouse fire."
Dante opened a second file.
Inside was an inheritance agreement belonging to an elderly Boston philanthropist named Eleanor Whitcomb.
She had left valuable waterfront property to a foundation supporting children whose families couldn't afford medical care.
The Belandis had been appointed trustees.
But instead of preserving the charity, they had quietly transferred its assets into private companies.
Elena read the document.
"Victoria inherited money meant for sick children?"
"Her family did," Dante said. "And they've been protecting it ever since."
Then Elena found a signature.
Sophia Marlo.
She had witnessed the original agreement.
"That's why they couldn't let her disappear quietly," Elena whispered. "She knew where the money came from."
Dante nodded.
"And when my mother discovered the same fraud, both women became targets."
Elena turned toward him.
"How much did your family know?"
The question landed harder than an accusation.
Dante looked at her without defensiveness.
"I inherited an empire built by a man I loved and feared. I can't promise every part of it was clean."
"Then why should I trust you?"
"Because I'll show you the records, even if they destroy my family's reputation."
Elena searched his face.
For the first time, she believed him.
Not because he was powerful.
Because he was willing to lose something.
Later that night, Adrian arrived with an urgent update.
He had traced Sophia's recent hospital transfers.
Her final recorded destination was Ravenswood Recovery Center, a private facility outside the city.
The facility had been closed for renovations six weeks earlier.
But utility records showed that electricity and water were still running.
Dante immediately ordered Marco to investigate.
Elena stood.
"I'm going."
Dante opened his mouth.
She raised a finger.
"Don't start."
He studied her for a moment.
Then picked up his coat.
"Stay close to me."
Elena almost smiled.
"That's better."
They were halfway to the door when Dante's house phone rang.
The night receptionist sounded frightened.
"Mr. Moretti, there's a woman downstairs claiming she knows Miss Marlo."
"Who?"
"She won't give her name."
A pause.
"She says she was Sophia's nurse."
Dante and Elena exchanged a look.
Then the receptionist spoke again.
"Sir, she says there's one thing you need to know before going to Ravenswood."
"What?"
"She says Sophia isn't the patient they're hiding."
Dante went still.
"Then who is?"
The receptionist swallowed.
"Your mother, sir."
May you like
Elena watched Dante's face lose its color.
Because Isabella Moretti had supposedly died five years earlier.
