Chapter 11 - Linda raised the syringe.I screamed.
Ryan moved first.
He grabbed her wrist.
The syringe fell.
It shattered.
Linda scratched his face.
"Get off me!"
Ryan shoved her away.
Dad's men burst through the door.
Linda froze.
Dad entered behind them.
"Step away from my daughter."
Linda stared at him.
Then smiled.
"You're too late."
Dad glanced at me.
"I'm here."
Linda laughed.
"You don't understand, Vincent."
She pointed to the ceiling.
"Everything is already recorded."
Dad looked up.
A red light blinked.
"Let them watch."
He stepped closer.
"They'll see you die."
Linda's smile vanished.
One of Dad's men handcuffed her.
She didn't resist.
That was strange.
Too easy.
Dad noticed.
"Search her."
They found three phones.
Two fake IDs.
A keycard.
And a small envelope.
Dad opened it.
Inside was a birth certificate.
I stared.
My name was printed on it.
Mother: Emily Moretti.
Father: Luca Moretti.
Child: Lily Moretti.
But the date was five years ago.
I looked at Linda.
"You registered her."
Linda nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because your mother forced me."
My mother.
Dad turned.
"You knew?"
My mother looked away.
Linda continued:
"Your mother wasn't held prisoner because she knew too much."
She looked at me.
"She was held because she knew the truth about your first child."
I stared at my mother.
"What truth?"
My mother whispered:
"Lily was not the only baby."
I couldn't breathe.
"What?"
She began crying.
"There were twins."
Silence.
Dad looked at her.
"No."
My mother nodded.
"One was Lily."
She looked at my stomach.
"The other was taken."
My hands shook.
"Taken where?"
Linda answered:
"Your current pregnancy is not your first surviving child."
I stared at her.
"What are you saying?"
Linda smiled.
"You're carrying your second daughter."
Dad's face went blank.
My mother collapsed into the chair.
Luca stepped forward.
"Where is the first?"
Linda said nothing.
Dad grabbed her.
"WHERE?"
She laughed.
"You'll find her."
"Where?"
"Where you first buried the truth."
I felt dizzy.
The hidden room.
The hospital.
The charity gala.
The old family estate.
Then I remembered.
A nursery.
There had been a room in my childhood home that Dad never let me enter.
I hadn't thought about it in years.
A room with blue wallpaper.
A locked white door.
A nursery that was supposedly used before I was born.
I whispered:
"The old house."
Dad looked at me.
"Why?"
"Because that's where they took me."
My mother stared.
"No."
I stood.
"I remember now."
Memory returned.
A baby crying.
A woman carrying me.
My mother's voice shouting.
Then my father's voice.
"Take her away."
I looked at Dad.
"Did you know?"
Dad began to cry.
"I thought I was saving you."
I shook my head.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
The floor suddenly vibrated.
A deep rumbling sound came from somewhere beneath the hospital.
Dad looked at his men.
"What was that?"
An alarm began ringing.
Then the lights went red.
A security officer shouted from the hallway:
"Sir! Someone has breached the building!"
Dad reached for his weapon.
Luca looked at Ryan.
Ryan looked at me.
Then the hospital announcement system crackled.
A child's voice came through.
"Mommy."
Everyone froze.
Lily's voice.
"Mommy, please come find me."
Then another child's voice followed.
Younger.
"Mommy..."
My blood turned to ice.
There were two voices.
Two girls.
May you like
And one of them whispered:
"I'm your other daughter."
