Chapter 8 - The HelicopterThe helicopter approached the aircraft like a predator.
Maya buried her face against my stomach.
Luca cried.
Alessandro stood beside the window.
“It's not military.”
“No,” Isabella said.
“It has no identification.”
Alessandro nodded.
“Private.”
The helicopter matched our speed.
A red laser appeared on the fuselage.
A guard whispered:
“Sniper.”
Alessandro grabbed me.
“Down.”
A bullet struck the window.
The glass cracked.
Passengers screamed.
Another bullet hit.
The cabin exploded into panic.
Alessandro pushed us beneath the seats.
Then the plane shook.
A third bullet.
But this time it wasn't aimed at a person.
It struck the engine.
Smoke filled the cabin.
The captain screamed.
“Engine failure!”
Alessandro looked toward me.
“Emergency landing.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere.”
The aircraft descended.
I clutched the children.
My mind emptied.
There was only one thought.
Don't let Maya die.
Don't let Luca die.
Then I heard something.
A tiny electronic beep.
I looked down.
Luca's bracelet.
The inside wasn't blank anymore.
A green light blinked.
I touched it.
The bracelet projected a tiny digital signal.
A location.
Coordinates.
My mouth went dry.
Alessandro saw it.
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Isabella leaned in.
She recognized the numbers.
“St. Catherine's.”
My blood froze.
“My old hospital.”
“Yes.”
The aircraft began its emergency descent.
Alessandro looked at me.
“What is at St. Catherine's?”
I remembered the basement.
The neonatal wing.
The locked records room.
The archive nobody had been allowed to enter after a flood years earlier.
I had worked there.
I had heard rumors.
Missing files.
Incorrect birth dates.
Mothers told their babies had died.
Babies appearing on paperwork without mothers.
I had never believed them.
Now I did.
The aircraft landed hard on a private runway outside Rome.
The emergency doors opened.
Security vehicles surrounded us.
Not police.
Black SUVs.
Alessandro raised his weapon.
Then a man stepped out.
Older.
Gray hair.
Expensive suit.
No weapons visible.
He looked directly at Alessandro.
“Welcome home.”
Alessandro froze.
“Victor.”
The man smiled.
“Yes.”
Isabella stepped forward.
“You died.”
Victor looked at her.
“No.”
He glanced at the children.
“You just needed me to.”
Then he looked at me.
“Emma Carter.”
I stepped backward.
“How do you know my name?”
Victor smiled.
“Because I've been watching you since the day Maya was born.”
Alessandro raised his gun.
Victor didn't move.
“You can shoot me,” he said.
“But then you'll never know which child is yours.”
Alessandro lowered the weapon.
Victor's smile widened.
“Good.”
He pointed toward the waiting SUVs.
“Let's go see what your nurse has been hiding.”
My stomach twisted.
“I've been hiding nothing.”
Victor walked closer.
“That is why you're valuable.”
Then he whispered:
“You were never the nurse.”
I stared at him.
May you like
“What?”
“You were the mother they needed.”
