Chapter 5 - A Birth Certificate That Should Not Exist
Isabella touched the carved letters.
The grooves were old, darkened with age.
“My name was here before I ever entered this house.”
Elena nodded.
“I found it while cleaning after your wedding.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I did not know whether you were safe.”
“And now?”
“Now I know you are not.”
Elena led her through the service corridor behind the kitchen. They moved quickly, avoiding the security cameras Margaret had installed throughout the main halls.
At the laundry room, Elena unlocked a narrow cabinet.
Inside were staff records, old schedules, and a metal document box.
“I found this in Catherine’s room two years ago,” she said. “I was afraid to open it until last month.”
Isabella stared at the box.
“What changed last month?”
“You became pregnant enough to look like her.”
Elena removed a folded certificate.
It was a hospital record from Saint Aurelia’s Maternity Center.
Mother: Catherine Vale.
Infant: Isabella Catherine Vale.
Status: Transferred.
Isabella read the document twice.
Then a third time.
“This is impossible.”
Elena said nothing.
“My mother’s name was Laura Bennett.”
“That may have been the woman who raised you.”
“My mother gave birth to me.”
“Did you ever see your original birth certificate?”
“I saw copies.”
“Did you see the hospital record?”
Isabella shook her head.
Her mother had died when Isabella was nineteen. Her father had died four years later. There was no one left to ask.
She looked back at the certificate.
“Adrian said Catherine’s baby was a boy.”
“That is what Mrs. Vale told everyone.”
“Why would she lie?”
Elena’s face tightened.
“Because the Vale inheritance passed through Catherine’s child under her father’s will.”
“Catherine’s father?”
“Sebastian Vale. Adrian’s grandfather.”
Isabella tried to follow.
“If Catherine had a living child, that child would have inherited?”
“A controlling share of the family trust.”
“And if the child died?”
“The share passed to Adrian’s father, then eventually to Adrian.”
Isabella’s hand tightened around the paper.
“So if this document is real, Adrian’s fortune belongs to me.”
“Part of it.”
The laundry room door opened.
Elena grabbed the document, but it was too late.
Margaret stood in the doorway.
Behind her was Dr. Mercer.
Margaret’s eyes moved to the certificate.
“I wondered when you would find that.”
Isabella backed away.
“You knew.”
“Of course I knew.”
“Catherine was my mother?”
Margaret stepped into the room.
“Catherine was unstable.”
“That is not an answer.”
“She became obsessed with a man who wanted access to our family. When she became pregnant, she refused to identify him. My father intended to place the company in the hands of her child.”
“My hands.”
“You were an infant.”
“And you stole me.”
“I saved the family.”
“You told everyone I was dead.”
“I arranged for you to be raised far away.”
“With people who loved me.”
“Then perhaps you should be grateful.”
Isabella stared at her in disbelief.
“You killed Catherine.”
Margaret did not blink.
“She fell.”
“Like you plan for me to fall?”
Dr. Mercer moved closer.
“We need to calm her.”
Elena stepped between him and Isabella.
“Do not touch her.”
Margaret’s attention shifted toward the maid.
“You have worked in this house for eleven years. Do not throw your life away for someone who will abandon you when she no longer needs you.”
Elena lifted her chin.
“I worked here because my mother worked here.”
Margaret’s face changed slightly.
“Your mother was careless.”
“My mother witnessed Catherine’s death.”
Silence filled the small room.
Elena continued.
“She left a statement before she disappeared.”
Margaret’s voice became almost inaudible.
“Where is it?”
“Somewhere you will never find.”
Dr. Mercer lunged toward Elena.
Isabella grabbed a metal laundry basket and struck his arm. Elena shoved the door closed against Margaret, and the two women ran through the opposite passage.
Behind them, Margaret shouted for security.
Elena led Isabella down a stairwell and into the old wine cellar.
They locked the door.
Isabella struggled to breathe.
“We have to call Adrian.”
Elena caught her wrist.
“You cannot.”
“He needs to know.”
“Adrian already knew part of it.”
“What part?”
“That you were Catherine’s daughter.”
Isabella stared at her.
“No.”
“He knew before he married you.”
May you like
The phone in Isabella’s pocket began to ring.
Adrian’s name appeared on the screen.
