Chapter 12 - The Third Name
The name was Elena.
Serena stared.
“Who is Elena?”
Her mother covered her face.
Roman answered.
“Your father's first wife.”
Serena felt dizzy.
“She had another child?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
Roman looked at Viktor.
“Dead.”
Viktor shook his head.
“Not dead.”
Everyone turned.
He smiled.
“Missing.”
Serena's mother whispered:
“She was taken before the twins were born.”
Roman explained.
Elena had discovered Antonio's ledger.
She tried to expose him.
Viktor kidnapped her.
But before disappearing, she hid evidence proving the corruption.
That evidence was never found.
Until now.
Sofia opened the second ledger.
A folded document fell out.
A hospital record.
Three birth certificates.
Serena stared.
“Three?”
Her mother nodded.
“There were three girls.”
The room went silent.
The third baby had been born minutes before the twins.
Her name was Elena.
She had been taken.
Serena looked at Roman.
“You knew?”
“I knew there was a third child.”
“But you didn't know who?”
“No.”
Viktor laughed.
“She has been watching you for years.”
Serena's skin prickled.
“Who?”
Viktor leaned closer.
“Someone you already know.”
Roman's phone rang.
He answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Roman.”
His face changed.
Serena recognized the voice.
It belonged to the woman who had called her mother from the clinic.
Her mother heard it too.
“No.”
Roman put the phone on speaker.
The woman said:
“Come to the old theater.”
Then the call ended.
Serena looked at her mother.
“Who was that?”
Her mother whispered one word.
“Elena.”
They arrived at the theater before dawn.
The stage was empty.
Rows of abandoned seats stretched into darkness.
Roman held Serena's hand.
This time he didn't let go.
A woman stepped onto the stage.
She had Serena's eyes.
Sofia's smile.
And the same scar.
She looked at the three women.
Then she said:
“I've been waiting for my family.”
Serena stepped forward.
May you like
The woman smiled.
Then she called Serena by the childhood name only her mother should have known...
