Chapter 7 - Someone Inside the House
I couldn't breathe.
“What do you mean?”
Dominic looked at Leo.
Then at me.
“There was another baby.”
I stared.
“Another baby?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“She disappeared.”
“Where?”
“We never found her.”
I looked at Leo.
Five years old.
Healthy.
Loved.
And suddenly there was another child somewhere in the story.
“Who was the other baby?”
Dominic shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“My wife gave birth to twins.”
The words landed like a blow.
“Twins?”
“Yes.”
“And one disappeared?”
“Yes.”
I felt sick.
“Why didn't you tell anyone?”
“Because the hospital records were destroyed.”
“Destroyed?”
“By someone inside the hospital.”
“Who?”
“I never found out.”
I stared at him.
“You've spent five years looking for a child.”
“Yes.”
“And now someone is using that secret against you.”
“Yes.”
A guard entered.
“Boss, we found Calvin.”
Dominic turned.
“Where?”
“In the old carriage house.”
We rushed there.
Calvin was sitting on the floor.
His hands were tied.
His shirt was torn.
He looked exhausted.
Dominic approached.
“Who did this?”
Calvin looked at me.
Then at Dominic.
“I tried to warn you.”
Dominic grabbed his collar.
“About what?”
“Your house.”
“What about it?”
Calvin swallowed.
“Someone has been controlling your security for years.”
Dominic released him.
“Who?”
Calvin shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“Then why did you have the safe corridor access?”
“Because I was told to keep it open.”
“By whom?”
Calvin looked at me.
“By someone Beatrice trusts.”
My stomach dropped.
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
Dominic's gun appeared in his hand.
“Calvin.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because they'll kill my daughter.”
Silence.
I stepped forward.
“Who has your daughter?”
Calvin looked at me.
“The woman who took Leo.”
Dominic's expression changed.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“Who is she?”
Calvin whispered:
“She calls herself Elena.”
Dominic went still.
“Elena?”
Calvin nodded.
“Your wife.”
Dominic looked like he'd been punched.
“She died.”
Calvin shook his head.
“No.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph.
It showed Elena standing beside a woman.
The woman was younger.
Holding two newborn babies.
Dominic stared.
“Who is that?”
Calvin's eyes filled with fear.
“The woman who raised the missing twin.”
I stepped closer.
The photograph blurred in my vision.
Because the younger woman looked familiar.
Very familiar.
I had seen her before.
Not in a photograph.
In the mansion.
At breakfast.
Standing beside Dominic.
I whispered:
“That's Mrs. Russo.”
Dominic looked at me.
“What?”
I pointed.
“The woman in the photograph.”
Then the door behind us slammed shut.
A voice came through the intercom.
May you like
“You finally remembered me.”
And every guard in the carriage house reached for his weapon at the same time...
