Chapter 7 - The Doctor in the Red RoomMatteo moved first.
He knocked the knife from Vivian's hand.
She collapsed against the wall.
Liana could barely hear anything.
The words repeated in her head.
Nico is Gabriel.
Her dead son.
The baby she buried.
The baby she kissed goodbye.
The baby she believed was gone.
“No,” she whispered.
Vivian looked at her.
“Yes.”
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
“Then who did I bury?”
Vivian closed her eyes.
“Another infant.”
Liana stumbled backward.
“Why?”
“Because your child was worth more alive.”
Matteo grabbed Vivian by the shoulders.
“Who took him?”
She stared at him.
“You did.”
Matteo's expression hardened.
“I never took any child.”
“Not knowingly.”
“What does that mean?”
“You paid for a private medical transfer.”
Matteo's face changed.
Nine months earlier, Sofia had told him Nico needed treatment after birth.
Matteo had arranged everything.
The private transport.
The specialists.
The security.
He had never questioned the paperwork.
He thought he was protecting his family.
Vivian continued.
“Your money created the perfect cover.”
“For what?”
“For the exchange.”
Liana stared at Matteo.
“You unknowingly paid to move my baby.”
Matteo looked devastated.
“I didn't know.”
“I believe you.”
Vivian's eyes filled with tears.
“But somebody did.”
“Who?”
“Dr. Bell.”
They found him two hours later.
Or rather, they found his office.
The doctor was gone.
The room had been emptied.
Computers removed.
Files burned.
Only one thing remained.
A red metal door at the back.
Liana stared at it.
“Why is it locked?”
Matteo pulled the handle.
Nothing.
He stepped back.
One of his men forced it open.
Behind the door was a small room.
Red walls.
One chair.
One camera.
One television.
And a child's drawing taped to the wall.
A house.
A mother.
A baby.
Two crooked figures standing outside.
Liana approached slowly.
At the bottom was a child's handwriting.
MOM DON'T LET THEM TAKE ME.
Her knees weakened.
“Gabriel…”
Matteo removed the drawing.
Behind it was a hidden compartment.
Inside sat a flash drive.
The investigator inserted it into a laptop.
A video appeared.
Nine months earlier.
Dr. Bell stood in a hospital room.
A newborn lay in a bassinet.
Liana recognized him.
Gabriel.
Her breath vanished.
Then the video showed another man entering.
Matteo.
Liana stared.
But Matteo on the screen looked younger.
Desperate.
He was talking to someone outside the camera range.
“Can you guarantee he'll survive?”
A voice replied.
“Yes.”
Then Sofia entered the room.
She was crying.
“What are you doing?”
Matteo turned.
The video ended.
Liana looked at Matteo.
“You were there.”
“I don't remember that room.”
“You were holding Gabriel.”
“I was told Nico had complications.”
“And Sofia knew?”
“I don't know.”
The laptop beeped.
Another file appeared.
A transcript.
Title:
PROJECT SEVENTEEN.
The first line read:
SUBJECT B-17-04: Gabriel Graves.
Second line:
SUBJECT B-17-05: Nico Varric.
Then a final sentence.
IDENTITY TRANSFER SUCCESSFUL.
Liana whispered,
“They stole my son.”
Matteo looked at the screen.
“No.”
He pointed to the timestamp.
“Look.”
The transfer had happened thirty-six hours after birth.
But the timestamp beneath it had been altered.
The investigator frowned.
“These metadata files are corrupted.”
Matteo stared.
“Can they be recovered?”
“Maybe.”
“How long?”
“An hour.”
Suddenly the lights went out.
Every door in the corridor slammed shut.
The computer screen flickered.
A new message appeared.
YOU FOUND THE BOY.
Liana froze.
May you like
Then another line appeared.
NOW FIND HIS BROTHER.
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