Chapter 6 - The Daughter They Tried to Hide
The old hospital looked exactly like a place that had been abandoned by time.
The paint on the walls was faded.
The windows were cracked.
The halls were empty.
But my hands were shaking because this was the place where everything began.
The place where Lily was born.
The place where someone had hidden the truth from me.
Dominic drove faster than I had ever seen him drive.
Neither of us spoke.
The message kept flashing on his phone.
Mommy, come alone.
Those four words were all I could think about.
Not the danger.
Not the secrets.
Not even Dominic’s lies.
Only Lily.
My little girl was somewhere inside that building.
Waiting for me.
“I’m coming with you.”
Dominic’s voice broke the silence.
I looked at him.
“No.”
His expression hardened.
“Elena.”
“She asked for me.”
“She’s three years old.”
“And she’s scared.”
My voice cracked.
“She doesn’t need a mafia boss right now. She needs her mother.”
For a moment, he didn’t respond.
Then he looked away.
Because he knew I was right.
But I also knew Dominic Moretti.
He wasn’t the kind of man who stood back when someone he cared about was in danger.
Especially not now.
“I’ll stay close,” he finally said.
“No.”
“Elena.”
“You’ve hidden things from me.”
The words hit him.
Good.
Because I needed him to understand.
“I don’t know who to trust anymore.”
His eyes softened.
“I know.”
That answer surprised me.
No excuses.
No anger.
Just acceptance.
And somehow, that hurt more.
Because I could see regret in his face.
Real regret.
We reached the hospital fifteen minutes later.
The security team stayed outside.
Dominic wanted more people inside.
I refused.
Not because I trusted the situation.
Because I knew whoever took Lily wanted something.
And if they saw a crowd coming…
They might disappear.
Dominic followed several steps behind me.
Not beside me.
Not in front.
Giving me what I asked for.
The entrance doors opened with a loud creak.
My heart raced.
“Lily?”
My voice echoed through the empty hallway.
No answer.
I walked deeper inside.
Every step brought back memories.
The smell.
The walls.
The room numbers.
I remembered holding Lily for the first time.
I remembered the doctor telling me she was healthy.
I remembered crying because I thought my life was finally complete.
I never knew that moment was connected to a secret.
A secret everyone else knew except me.
“Mommy?”
I stopped.
My entire body froze.
That voice.
“Lily?”
I ran.
At the end of the hallway was an old maternity room.
The door was slightly open.
And inside…
She was sitting on the floor.
Holding her stuffed rabbit.
“Lily!”
She looked up.
Then ran into my arms.
I dropped to my knees and held her so tightly she laughed.
“Mommy, you came.”
I cried.
I didn’t care who saw.
I didn’t care about anything.
“You scared me.”
“I’m sorry.”
I pulled back.
“Who brought you here?”
She looked behind me.
Then whispered:
“Uncle Adrian.”
The room became silent.
Dominic appeared in the doorway.
And for the first time…
He and Adrian stood in the same room.
Alive.
Together.
The two brothers stared at each other.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
Then Adrian smiled.
But there was no happiness in it.
“You got older.”
Dominic’s expression turned cold.
“You died.”
Adrian looked down.
“Everyone thought so.”
“Because you wanted them to.”
“No.”
Adrian looked at Lily.
“Because our father wanted me gone.”
I felt confused.
I stood up slowly.
“You’re the man who followed us.”
Adrian looked at me.
“Yes.”
My anger rose.
“You scared my daughter.”
His expression changed.
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I was protecting her.”
I almost laughed.
“Protecting her?”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
Silence.
Then Adrian walked toward an old cabinet.
He opened it.
Inside were files.
Photographs.
Medical records.
He removed one folder.
And handed it to me.
I didn’t want to take it.
But I did.
The first page made my fingers go numb.
It was Lily’s birth record.
But there was something different.
A section I had never seen.
A section that had been covered.
I looked at Dominic.
“What is this?”
Neither brother answered.
I turned the page.
And read the hidden information.
My breath disappeared.
Because Lily’s original record had another name listed.
Not as the father.
Not as a relative.
As the person who authorized the emergency procedure that saved her life.
Adrian Moretti.
I looked at him.
“Why?”
He took a breath.
“Because your daughter wasn’t supposed to survive that night.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
He looked at Dominic.
“Our father ordered the doctor to let her die.”
The room went silent.
I felt dizzy.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“That’s not possible.”
Adrian looked at him.
“You were there.”
Dominic froze.
“What?”
“You remember.”
I looked between them.
“What happened?”
Dominic said nothing.
And that scared me more than anything.
Because Dominic Moretti was never speechless.
Adrian continued.
“Your father believed Lily was evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
Adrian looked at me.
“The truth about Elena’s family.”
My hands tightened around the folder.
“My family?”
“Yes.”
I shook my head.
“My mother was a nurse.”
Adrian nodded.
“She was.”
“Then why was she connected to you?”
His eyes became sad.
“Because your mother was the only person who knew what our father had done.”
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What did he do?”
Adrian looked toward Dominic.
And Dominic finally spoke.
“My father destroyed people who threatened him.”
The room became heavier.
“My mother?”
Dominic looked down.
“I don’t know.”
That answer hurt.
Because it meant he had spent years searching too.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Your mother found documents proving our father was involved in illegal operations.”
“And?”
“She tried to expose him.”
My voice became quiet.
“What happened?”
Adrian looked at Lily.
“She disappeared.”
I held Lily closer.
“No.”
“She didn’t disappear because she ran.”
He paused.
“She disappeared because someone wanted her silent.”
The truth felt impossible.
Too big.
Too painful.
I looked at Dominic.
“You knew?”
He didn’t answer.
That was enough.
“You knew.”
“I knew pieces.”
“And you still hired me?”
His eyes filled with regret.
“I hired you because I was trying to protect you.”
“You watched me.”
“Yes.”
“You investigated me.”
“Yes.”
I stepped back.
The betrayal hurt more because I had started trusting him.
“I thought you were helping me.”
“I was.”
“But you were also hiding the truth.”
He had no defense.
Because there wasn’t one.
Suddenly, Adrian’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He answered.
Nobody spoke.
Then Adrian’s face went pale.
“What do you mean?”
Dominic immediately noticed.
“What happened?”
Adrian slowly lowered the phone.
“He found us.”
The lights in the hospital flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then every screen in the hallway turned on.
A security camera feed appeared.
The image showed the hospital entrance.
A man was walking inside.
Slowly.
Confidently.
Like he owned the place.
Dominic stared at the screen.
I looked at him.
“Who is that?”
He didn’t answer.
Because he already knew.
The man stopped in front of the camera.
Then looked directly into the lens.
And smiled.
Dominic whispered one name:
“Father.”
The hospital doors behind us suddenly locked automatically.
May you like
And from the speaker above our heads, a voice said:
“Dominic, bring me the girl…”
