Chapter 11 - The Birth Elena Could Not Remember
The attackers escaped through tunnels beneath the ballroom.
Three security officers were wounded. One assailant was captured but swallowed poison before he could be questioned.
Dr. Vale disappeared with the files.
By morning, Adrian had every tunnel exit under surveillance.
Elena sat beside Julian’s bed.
He had finally fallen asleep with one hand wrapped around her finger.
She should have felt complete.
Her son was alive. He knew her. Adrian had acknowledged the truth. Vanessa had lost control of the household.
But Vale’s words would not leave her.
Your son was never the only child taken from you.
She searched her memory of the birth.
Pain.
White lights.
A nurse telling her to push.
A baby crying.
Then something else.
A second cry.
Elena stood so quickly the chair scraped the floor.
Julian stirred.
She kissed his forehead and went to find Mateo.
He was awake in the guest room, reviewing old family photographs on his laptop.
“Do you remember visiting me after Gabriel was born?”
Mateo looked up.
“They did not let me see you until the next day.”
“What did they tell you?”
“That you had complications. Mom was furious because the doctors kept changing their explanation.”
“Did she say anything about twins?”
Mateo’s face changed.
“What?”
“Think.”
He closed the laptop.
“She said you looked larger than expected near the end.”
“That means nothing.”
“She also said the doctor stopped allowing her into appointments during your last month.”
Elena sat on the edge of the bed.
“I heard two babies.”
“You were drugged.”
“I heard two cries.”
Mateo reached for her hand.
“We need records.”
“The records are gone.”
“Not all of them.”
He turned the laptop around.
“I searched Mom’s old cloud storage. She uploaded files under recipe names.”
Elena stared at a folder titled Cinnamon Bread.
Inside were photographs of medical documents.
One was an ultrasound report from her thirty-fourth week of pregnancy.
Fetus A: male.
Fetus B: female.
Elena stopped breathing.
“No.”
Mateo opened another file.
A handwritten note from Rosa Marquez appeared.
Elena does not know. Doctor says one heartbeat may not survive. I do not trust them. I heard Vanessa Leland arguing with hospital administrator. She said the girl was promised elsewhere.
Elena pressed both hands to her mouth.
“I was carrying twins.”
Mateo’s eyes filled with tears.
“Mom knew.”
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“Maybe she was trying to prove it first.”
Another document showed two infant identification numbers.
One matched Julian’s record.
The other matched the sixth entry on the stolen list.
Status blank.
Elena ran to the library.
Adrian was speaking with Evelyn.
She placed the ultrasound report on the desk.
“I had a daughter.”
Adrian read it.
His face went white.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“You knew,” Elena said.
“I suspected.”
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“You knew I had twins and said nothing?”
“I had only fragments of information.”
“You always have fragments. Children disappear between your fragments.”
Adrian stepped between them.
“Mother, tell us everything.”
Evelyn’s composure cracked.
“The night Julian was taken, another infant was transported out of St. Catherine’s. A girl. The receiving family was not listed.”
“Was Richard involved?” Adrian asked.
“Yes.”
“Was Vanessa?”
“Yes.”
“Who bought her?”
“I never found out.”
Elena shoved the photograph of the six names toward Evelyn.
“The sixth child. Is that my daughter?”
Evelyn examined the number.
“I think so.”
“Where would Vale take her?”
“I don’t know.”
Adrian called his intelligence chief.
“Search every property linked to Samuel Vale. Every border record, medical license, shell company, and family account. Use the twin’s identification number.”
Elena stared at the ultrasound.
She had spent seven years grieving one child.
Now grief doubled, sharp and immediate.
A daughter existed somewhere.
She might be alive.
She might have grown up believing another woman was her mother.
Or she might be buried beneath another false name.
A video call appeared on Adrian’s secure screen.
Unknown sender.
He answered.
Dr. Vale appeared in a dim room.
Behind him stood a young girl wearing a white dress.
Only the back of her head was visible.
“Elena,” Vale said. “You have learned about Isabel.”
Elena stepped closer.
“Turn her around.”
“Not yet.”
“Let me see her face.”
“Bring me Evelyn Blackthorn.”
Evelyn stiffened.
Vale smiled.
“She knows where the original registry is hidden. Without it, none of you can prove how many children were stolen.”
Adrian moved beside Elena.
“If you hurt the girl, there is nowhere on earth you can hide.”
Vale’s expression did not change.
“I protected her.”
“From whom?” Elena demanded.
“From the people inside your house.”
The girl in the background turned slightly.
Elena saw her profile.
Dark hair.
A small scar near her eyebrow.
The same scar Elena’s mother had carried.
“Isabel,” Elena whispered.
The girl looked toward the screen.
Vale ended the call.
A message appeared immediately afterward.
MIDNIGHT. THE BLACKTHORN FAMILY MAUSOLEUM. EVELYN ALONE.
Elena turned to Evelyn.
“You’re going.”
Adrian shook his head.
“It is another trap.”
Evelyn looked at the blank screen.
“No.”
She removed a chain from beneath her blouse.
A small silver key hung from it.
“He is telling the truth about the registry.”
“What does that key open?” Elena asked.
May you like
Evelyn closed her hand around it.
“The coffin in Elena’s grave.”
