Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Claimed His Son

# Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Claimed His Son

The most disturbing thing about the medical document wasn't the signature claiming Sloane Barrett had given birth to Dominic Moretti's child.

It was the date.

October 14.

Six years earlier.

The same day Elena Rossi had delivered five premature boys in a hospital surrounded by people she believed were trying to save their lives.

Dominic sat motionless in the study of his Seabrook estate, staring at the document on his phone.

MATERNAL NAME: SLOANE BARRETT

PATERNAL NAME: DOMINIC VITTORIO MORETTI

INFANT IDENTIFICATION: BABY D

PATERNITY VERIFIED

Every line felt more impossible than the last.

He had never slept with Sloane.

He hadn't even known her personally when the children were born.

Their first meaningful conversation had taken place nearly three years later, at a charity gala hosted by the Barrett Foundation.

He remembered that evening clearly.

Sloane had approached him with a glass of champagne and introduced herself as though they were strangers.

She had smiled.

He had offered his hand.

And now he wondered whether she had already known everything about him.

Including the existence of a child he had never met.

Dominic enlarged the document again.

The signature looked authentic.

The hospital stamp appeared legitimate.

Even the identification numbers matched the older medical records Evelyn Hart had brought.

But the central claim was impossible.

Someone had fabricated a biological relationship.

The question was why.

And why had that fabrication required a child to be placed in Elena's arms?

A soft knock interrupted his thoughts.

Marco entered.

"Boss, the perimeter is clear."

Dominic didn't look up.

"Any sign of the intruder?"

"Nothing beyond the terrace. Whoever entered knew which camera to disable and exactly when the patrol would be on the opposite side of the property."

"An inside job?"

"Someone supplied information. Whether they were physically involved, I can't say."

Dominic finally raised his eyes.

"Find out who accessed the security schedule."

"Already working on it."

He handed Marco the phone.

"Look at this."

Marco studied the document.

His expression gradually darkened.

"Is this real?"

"That's what I intend to find out."

Marco reached the paternal information.

Then he looked up.

"Boss..."

"I know."

"But you and Miss Barrett—"

"Never."

Marco nodded.

He knew Dominic well enough not to question him.

"Could be forged."

"Possibly. Or somebody used real medical records to build a lie."

Dominic took back the phone.

"And if the latter is true, I want to know whose child they actually transferred."

At 2:34 a.m., Elena found Dominic in the study.

She had finally persuaded the boys to sleep, although Luca insisted that their bedroom door remain open.

Matteo had refused to let go of his stuffed dinosaur.

And Nico had asked whether the woman who entered their room was coming back.

Elena had promised she wouldn't.

Now she was terrified that she had made a promise she couldn't keep.

"Marco told me you found something," she said.

Dominic rose from his chair.

"Sit down."

Her expression immediately changed.

"Don't."

"Elena—"

"Every time someone tells me to sit down tonight, another piece of my life disappears."

He remained silent.

She approached the desk.

"What is it?"

Dominic handed her the phone.

Elena read the document.

Once.

Then again.

Her face became unreadable.

"Sloane Barrett?"

"Yes."

"Your fiancée?"

"Former fiancée."

She ignored the correction.

"She signed a document claiming Matteo was her son?"

"Apparently."

Elena scrolled down.

Then stopped.

Her gaze fixed on Dominic's name.

She looked up slowly.

"Is this true?"

The question hurt more than he expected.

"No."

"Dominic."

"I never had a relationship with Sloane before we met three years ago. And I have never been intimate with her."

Elena searched his face.

Six years earlier, she would have believed him without hesitation.

Now everything between them was complicated by secrets, forged records, and a family that seemed capable of anything.

Finally, she said, "Then someone is lying."

"Yes."

"Or someone wants us to believe a lie."

"Exactly."

Elena looked toward the staircase.

"Matteo almost got taken tonight."

Dominic's expression hardened.

"I know."

"And now somebody sends us a document saying another woman is his mother."

"I know."

She placed the phone on the desk.

"No more."

Dominic studied her.

"What?"

"No more letting strangers tell us who our children are."

Her voice grew stronger.

"I gave birth to five babies. I raised four boys. I buried the memory of another. And tonight, people I've never met are deciding which of those children belongs to me."

She stepped closer.

"I want independent tests. Real records. Doctors who don't work for your family. Lawyers who don't owe Richard anything."

Dominic nodded.

"Agreed."

"And until we know the truth, nobody tells Matteo that he might have been switched."

"Agreed."

Elena's expression softened slightly.

Then she whispered, "I'm afraid, Dominic."

He reached for her hand.

"So am I."

That surprised her.

Dominic Moretti rarely admitted fear.

But tonight he had discovered something more terrifying than losing his life.

He could lose his children before they ever learned to trust him.

At 3:08 a.m., Evelyn Hart examined the document.

Her reaction was immediate.

"Where did you get this?"

"Anonymous message," Dominic answered.

Evelyn adjusted her glasses.

"This isn't the version I saw."

"You've seen another?"

"Not this exact form. But I saw a reference to a maternal consent authorization connected to Baby D."

"Whose name was on it?"

"It was redacted."

Dominic leaned forward.

"Look carefully at the hospital stamp."

Evelyn studied it.

"The stamp is consistent with the hospital's former administrative office."

"And the signature?"

"I can't authenticate it."

"What about the claim of paternity?"

She looked at him.

"That requires underlying laboratory records. A typed statement doesn't establish biological parentage."

Dominic nodded.

It was the first sensible thing anyone had said about the document.

Evelyn continued.

"There is something else."

She pointed at a line near the bottom.

TRANSFER CLASSIFICATION: RESTRICTED GUARDIANSHIP REASSIGNMENT

"That's not a normal clinical transfer designation," she said.

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know what it meant in their internal system. But it suggests that the document concerns legal custody as much as medical care."

Elena crossed her arms.

"So someone could have altered the identity records without physically switching a baby?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you tell us one of my boys wasn't biologically mine?"

Evelyn lowered her eyes.

"Because I found evidence that a different infant's specimen identifier was attached to Baby D's medical file. I believed there had been a physical substitution."

"You believed," Elena repeated.

"Yes."

"And now?"

"Now I think the scheme may have involved several layers. A medical record can be altered, but that doesn't tell us which child was physically moved."

Dominic watched the doctor carefully.

"There's something you're not telling us."

Evelyn looked toward the window.

He continued.

"You arrived tonight with enough information to destroy my family. But every time we ask where the information came from, you give us half an answer."

Her face tightened.

"I spent years trying to expose what happened."

"Then tell us what happened."

"I don't know all of it."

"Tell us what you do know."

Evelyn remained silent.

Elena stepped forward.

"Dr. Hart, Matteo was almost abducted tonight."

The older woman's expression changed.

"The child is safe?"

"For now."

Evelyn sat down heavily.

Then she whispered, "I thought they had stopped looking for him."

Dominic went still.

"Who?"

She closed her eyes.

"The people who paid to have Baby D registered under another mother's name."

The silence lasted several seconds.

Dominic pulled out a chair.

"Who paid?"

Evelyn looked at him.

"I never identified the person who provided the money."

"How much?"

"Two million dollars."

Elena stared.

"What?"

"According to the financial records I recovered, a payment of two million dollars was transferred through a Bellwether Foundation account shortly after the delivery."

Dominic leaned forward.

"To whom?"

"A medical administration company. It dissolved four months later."

"What was the payment described as?"

"Specialized neonatal transport and confidentiality services."

Dominic gave a humorless laugh.

"Two million dollars to transport a newborn?"

"That's why I began investigating."

"Who authorized it?"

"Richard Moretti."

Of course.

Richard again.

Every path led toward the same man.

But Dominic knew enough about financial conspiracies to recognize the danger of an answer that seemed too convenient.

Someone wanted him focused on Richard.

Perhaps Richard was responsible.

Perhaps he was only one part of something larger.

"Do you have the transaction records?" Dominic asked.

Evelyn nodded.

"Not with me. I stored copies somewhere secure."

"Where?"

She hesitated.

Dominic's patience thinned.

"Evelyn."

"If I tell you, will you promise not to confront Richard until you've examined them?"

"I won't promise that."

"Then I can't tell you."

Dominic stood.

"You came into my house and told Elena one of her children might not be hers. You brought records connecting my uncle to a missing baby. And now you're withholding evidence?"

Evelyn rose too.

"Because people have died over those records."

The words stopped him.

Elena stared.

"What people?"

Evelyn looked toward her.

"Thomas Mercer."

Dominic felt a chill.

The former Moretti accountant.

Daniel Mercer's older brother.

The man dismissed after supposedly stealing confidential financial information.

"What happened to Thomas?" Dominic asked.

Evelyn swallowed.

"He was murdered."

At 3:41 a.m., Adrian Cole confirmed part of Evelyn's account.

"Thomas Mercer died in a vehicle fire five years ago," he explained over the phone.

Dominic stood beside his desk.

"I remember the accident."

"It was ruled accidental. The official report attributed the crash to excessive speed and mechanical failure."

"Was it?"

"I've found no public determination of homicide. But there's an interesting detail."

"What?"

"Mercer had scheduled a meeting with federal investigators two days before he died."

Dominic's expression hardened.

"About what?"

"Financial irregularities involving charitable medical trusts."

"Bellwether."

"That's my suspicion."

Dominic looked at Evelyn.

She was sitting beside Elena.

For the first time, the doctor seemed less like an unreliable stranger and more like someone who had spent years running from a dangerous truth.

"Find Daniel Mercer," Dominic ordered.

"I'm trying."

"Find him before Richard does."

Adrian hesitated.

"Dominic, there's something you should know about Daniel."

"What?"

"He hasn't practiced law for almost a year."

"Why?"

"His license is currently suspended."

Dominic frowned.

"On what grounds?"

"Alleged misuse of client funds."

Elena immediately looked up.

"That's impossible."

Adrian continued.

"The complaint was submitted by a former client."

"Who?"

A pause.

"An entity controlled by Bellwether."

Dominic closed his eyes.

Another destroyed professional reputation.

Another person who had questioned the foundation.

"Send me the disciplinary file."

"Already on its way."

At 5:12 a.m., Sloane Barrett finally answered Dominic's call.

He had tried her number seven times since the interrupted conversation at the conservatory.

Each attempt had gone straight to voicemail.

Now, as pale morning light appeared over the Atlantic, her voice came through.

"Dominic."

He stood immediately.

"Where are you?"

"Somewhere safe."

"Richard attacked you."

"No."

"I heard the struggle."

"Richard took my phone."

"Did he hurt you?"

A pause.

"Not physically."

Dominic looked toward the closed study door.

"Then tell me what happened."

Sloane exhaled shakily.

"He found out I'd copied the trust documents."

"How?"

"I don't know."

"Where is he now?"

"At his house, probably."

"Did you send me the medical consent document?"

Silence.

Dominic repeated the question.

"Sloane."

"What document?"

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not."

He described the form.

Her signature.

Matteo's identification.

The claim that Dominic was the child's father.

Sloane said nothing for so long that he thought the connection had dropped.

Then she whispered, "They found it."

Dominic went still.

"Found what?"

"The original."

"You knew about it?"

"Dominic, listen carefully. That document was supposed to have been destroyed."

"Why?"

"Because it's fraudulent."

"Who created it?"

"I don't know."

"Your signature is on it."

"I know."

His anger rose.

"Explain."

Sloane's voice trembled.

"Six years ago, my father asked me to sign several documents connected to a private medical guardianship arrangement."

Dominic stared.

"You signed away a child?"

"No."

"Then what did you sign?"

"I was twenty-four. I was working for the family foundation. He told me the documents were required to establish legal protection for a child whose parents couldn't be identified."

"Did you read them?"

"Not all of them."

Dominic closed his eyes.

Sloane continued quickly.

"I know how that sounds. I trusted my father. I thought I was signing as a foundation representative."

"Then why does the document name you as the biological mother?"

"I didn't know it did."

"Are you saying someone altered the document after you signed it?"

"Yes."

"Can you prove that?"

"I have a copy of the original packet."

Dominic became still.

"Where?"

Sloane hesitated.

"I can bring it."

"Bring it where?"

"Somewhere public."

"No."

"Dominic—"

"You're going to tell me where you are, and my investigator will arrange a safe exchange."

Sloane's breathing quickened.

"You don't understand."

"Then make me understand."

"My father knows I've been helping you."

Dominic looked toward the window.

"Sloane, how long have you known about Gabriel?"

Another silence.

"Three years."

Dominic felt as though someone had struck him.

Three years.

She had known while attending dinners at his home.

While vacationing with his family.

While discussing their future.

While accepting a ring he had never wanted to buy.

"You knew I had a son."

"Yes."

"And you said nothing."

"I was told you knew."

Dominic's voice became dangerously quiet.

"Who told you?"

"Richard."

He closed his eyes.

Of course.

"He said Gabriel's mother had surrendered custody. He said you wanted the matter kept private."

"And you believed him?"

"I wanted to."

The confession surprised him.

Sloane continued.

"At first, I thought you were simply another powerful man hiding an inconvenient child. Then I met Gabriel."

Dominic's breath caught.

"You met him?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Last spring."

"How was he?"

Sloane's voice softened.

"Quiet. Intelligent. He loves astronomy."

Dominic gripped the edge of his desk.

A real detail.

Something beyond medical records and threats.

His son loved stars.

"He asked me whether the moon looked the same from every country," Sloane said.

Dominic swallowed.

"What did you tell him?"

"That people everywhere see the same moon, even when they're far apart."

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Sloane added, "He asked whether his mother could see it too."

Dominic shut his eyes.

Somewhere upstairs, Elena was sleeping beside four boys.

And another child was wondering whether his mother looked at the same moon.

"Where is he?" Dominic whispered.

"I don't know where they moved him."

"Moved?"

"Richard ordered the transfer yesterday."

Dominic went cold.

"The photograph was taken three days ago."

"I know."

"Then where did they take him?"

"I don't know."

Sloane sounded close to tears.

"But Dominic, there's something else you have to understand."

"What?"

"Gabriel isn't being kept there only because of the trust."

"Then why?"

"Because his medical records contain something Richard can't afford to let anyone examine."

Before Dominic could ask another question, Sloane abruptly ended the call.

At 6:03 a.m., Dominic found Elena in the kitchen.

She was preparing breakfast despite having slept barely an hour.

Four bowls stood on the counter.

Four spoons.

Four glasses of milk.

Dominic stopped in the doorway.

For six years, this had been her life.

Breakfast.

School.

Laundry.

Doctor appointments.

Birthdays.

Four children demanding different things at exactly the same time.

And no one beside her.

Elena looked up.

"Coffee?"

He nodded.

She poured a cup.

For a moment, they moved around each other with the easy familiarity of people who had once shared a home.

Then Elena noticed his expression.

"What happened?"

"I spoke to Sloane."

She stopped pouring.

"And?"

"She says the document was altered after she signed it."

"Do you believe her?"

"I believe parts of it."

Elena considered that.

"Did she know about Gabriel?"

"Yes."

Her face fell.

"For how long?"

"Three years."

Elena placed the coffee pot down.

"Three years?"

Dominic nodded.

"And she never told you?"

"No."

Elena laughed bitterly.

"Your family has an extraordinary talent for keeping secrets."

Dominic accepted the accusation without protest.

Then he said, "She met Gabriel."

Elena froze.

"What?"

"Last spring."

Her hands began trembling.

"She saw him?"

"Yes."

"Did she say what he looked like?"

Dominic swallowed.

"He loves astronomy."

Elena pressed a hand against her chest.

For a moment, she couldn't speak.

Then she whispered, "I used to read books about stars when I was pregnant."

Dominic looked at her.

"I remember."

"You do?"

"You said you wanted our children to know there was more to the universe than money and family expectations."

Her eyes filled.

"I never got to read those books to Gabriel."

Dominic reached for her hand.

"Maybe you still will."

She looked at him.

There was hope in her expression.

But this time, it was accompanied by something harder.

Determination.

"I want to see him, Dominic."

"I know."

"No more waiting for Richard. No more listening to people who say they'll explain everything later."

He nodded.

"Agreed."

"And I want to know the truth about Matteo."

"So do I."

Elena looked toward the staircase.

"Whatever those documents say, he's my son."

Dominic squeezed her hand.

"I know."

At 7:24 a.m., Adrian arrived at Seabrook carrying a laptop and two sealed evidence bags.

He placed them on the study table.

"I've found something important."

Dominic, Elena, and Evelyn gathered around him.

Adrian opened the first bag.

Inside was a photocopy of an old hospital laboratory report.

"This is a historical screening record obtained from an archived medical billing file. I can't authenticate the biological identifiers yet, but the document matches several details in Evelyn's records."

Dominic leaned forward.

"What does it show?"

"Five infants were assigned separate laboratory specimen numbers. Four were later linked to Elena Rossi's insurance records."

"And the fifth?"

"Transferred to Bellwether."

"We know that."

Adrian shook his head.

"There's another problem."

He enlarged a section of the report.

"Baby D's screening number was reassigned after the initial collection. But the original number didn't disappear."

"Where did it go?"

"Into a file associated with another infant."

Elena stiffened.

"Gabriel Barrett?"

"No."

Adrian turned the laptop toward them.

The second infant's record carried a different name.

INFANT MALE — JONATHAN B.

Dominic frowned.

"Who is Jonathan B.?"

Adrian opened another document.

"A child registered through a private neonatal guardianship program. The file lists Sloane Barrett as the prospective guardian."

Evelyn leaned closer.

"Prospective guardian?"

Adrian nodded.

"Not biological mother."

Dominic looked at Elena.

That distinction mattered.

It supported Sloane's claim that her signature had originally been connected to guardianship rather than childbirth.

But it raised another question.

"Where is Jonathan now?" Dominic asked.

Adrian's expression changed.

"That's what I can't establish."

"Was he discharged?"

"There's no reliable discharge record in the material I found."

"Transferred?"

"Possibly."

Elena crossed her arms.

"Could Jonathan be Matteo?"

Adrian hesitated.

"The documents aren't enough to establish that."

Dominic studied the screen.

"Then we test all five boys against Elena and me, using an independent accredited laboratory, and preserve the chain of custody."

Evelyn nodded.

"That's the only reliable way to resolve biological parentage."

Elena looked at Dominic.

"Gabriel isn't here."

"I know."

"And Richard won't let us test him."

Dominic's expression hardened.

"Then we'll obtain lawful access to his records and an independent medical assessment."

Adrian closed the file.

"Before that, there's one more thing."

He opened the second evidence bag.

Inside was a small silver key.

Dominic frowned.

"What's that?"

"Daniel Mercer left it with a colleague before he disappeared."

"Where does it go?"

"A private safe-deposit box."

"What's inside?"

"I haven't opened it."

Dominic looked up.

"Why?"

"Because the box is registered under a name you're going to recognize."

Adrian slid a document across the table.

Dominic read the name.

VITTORIO MORETTI

His father.

By 9:10 a.m., Dominic had made three decisions.

First, his sons would remain at Seabrook under strengthened security until a safer arrangement was established.

Second, Adrian would arrange independent genetic testing and begin legal steps to obtain Gabriel's authentic records.

Third, Dominic would personally confront Sloane Barrett.

But not before he understood what his father had hidden.

He looked at the safe-deposit authorization Adrian had brought.

The account had been opened seven years earlier.

One year before Elena gave birth.

And its most recent access date was startling.

October 8.

Two days ago.

Dominic stared.

"Someone opened my father's box after his death."

Adrian nodded.

"Twice this month, according to the access log."

"Who?"

"The bank's records list an authorized representative."

"Name?"

Adrian pointed.

EVELYN M. HART

The room went silent.

Dominic slowly looked up.

Evelyn had stopped moving.

Elena stared at her former obstetrician.

"Dr. Hart?"

The older woman's face lost its color.

Dominic stood.

"You told me you hadn't seen my father since the hospital."

Evelyn swallowed.

"That was true."

"Then why did he give you access to his safe-deposit box?"

She said nothing.

Dominic stepped closer.

"Why were you there two days ago?"

Evelyn looked at Elena.

Tears gathered in her eyes.

"Because someone finally told me it was time."

Dominic's jaw tightened.

"Who?"

Evelyn shook her head.

"I can't tell you."

"People have tried to abduct my son. Another son has been hidden from us for six years. And you're still keeping secrets?"

Her voice broke.

"I was trying to protect them."

"From whom?"

She looked toward the staircase.

"From the person who started all of this."

Dominic leaned forward.

"Richard?"

Evelyn slowly shook her head.

"No."

The answer struck him harder than he expected.

"Then who?"

Evelyn opened her purse.

She removed an old photograph and placed it on the table.

It showed Vittorio Moretti standing outside a hospital beside another man.

Richard wasn't in the picture.

The second man was younger, elegantly dressed, with silver-framed glasses and a familiar smile.

Dominic recognized him immediately.

Charles Barrett.

Sloane's father.

The man who had invested millions in Moretti businesses.

The man who had encouraged Dominic's engagement.

And the man whose foundation had helped finance Gabriel's captivity.

On the back of the photograph was a handwritten note.

The agreement was made before the children existed.

Dominic looked up.

"What agreement?"

Evelyn began crying.

"The agreement to produce an heir."

At 9:38 a.m., Dominic demanded an explanation.

Evelyn sat opposite him, clutching a tissue.

"Seven years ago, the Moretti and Barrett families were negotiating a complicated inheritance arrangement."

"Why would a medical foundation be involved?" Dominic asked.

"Because the arrangement included genetic verification of a future beneficiary."

Elena frowned.

"What does that have to do with my pregnancy?"

Evelyn looked at her.

"Your pregnancy became part of the arrangement after Vittorio discovered you were expecting."

Dominic's face hardened.

"Are you saying my father planned to use my children before they were born?"

"I'm saying he agreed to a legal structure that treated a future descendant as a beneficiary. Whether he understood what Charles and Richard intended afterward, I don't know."

"Why five babies?"

Evelyn hesitated.

"I don't know why the number mattered. But I found evidence of multiple medical identity files prepared before the delivery."

Dominic felt a chill.

Prepared.

Before the babies were born.

Someone had anticipated the need to assign them different identities.

"Who prepared the files?"

"Bellwether's legal department."

"Under Charles Barrett?"

"Yes."

Dominic turned toward Adrian.

"Get me the foundation's incorporation documents, board resolutions, and every amendment involving the Moretti trust."

Adrian nodded.

Then Evelyn spoke again.

"There's something else."

Dominic closed his eyes briefly.

"What now?"

"The photograph you received of Gabriel in the wheelchair."

Elena immediately looked up.

"What about it?"

Evelyn swallowed.

"I recognized the medical equipment."

Dominic frowned.

"Meaning?"

"The wheelchair is a specialized pediatric model often used by children with mobility limitations. But there was also a monitoring device attached to its frame."

"Heart monitor?"

"Not exactly. I couldn't identify it from the photograph."

Elena's face tightened.

"Is he seriously ill?"

"I don't know."

"Then why bring it up?"

"Because the medical residence has been registered to provide care for children participating in neurological research."

Dominic stared.

"Research?"

Evelyn nodded.

"And some of its former staff have alleged that parents weren't always told what their children were enrolled in."

The room became silent.

Dominic thought about Gabriel.

Six years old.

Thin.

Pale.

Sitting in a wheelchair behind iron gates.

He had assumed the boy was receiving specialized care.

Now he wondered whether the medical condition Richard described had been used to justify keeping him there.

Or whether the facility itself had harmed him.

"Adrian," Dominic said quietly.

"Yes?"

"Contact an attorney experienced in child protection and medical misconduct. I want this handled lawfully, with independent medical experts."

Adrian nodded.

"Understood."

Dominic looked at Evelyn.

"And you are going to tell that attorney everything. No omissions."

She lowered her head.

"All right."

At 10:16 a.m., Sloane Barrett arrived at a small private office Adrian had arranged in downtown Boston.

Dominic entered through a rear entrance.

Two independent security officers remained outside the conference room.

Sloane was standing beside the window.

She wore black trousers, a cream blouse, and an oversized gray coat.

Her usually immaculate hair was loosely tied back.

There was a faint bruise around her wrist.

Dominic noticed it immediately.

"Richard?"

She pulled down her sleeve.

"It's nothing."

"Don't lie."

Sloane sighed.

"He grabbed me when I tried to take my phone."

Dominic sat opposite her.

"Why are you here?"

"Because I owe you the truth."

"You've owed me that for three years."

She looked away.

"I know."

Dominic placed the forged maternal consent document on the table.

"Is that your signature?"

"Yes."

"Did you give birth to Matteo?"

"No."

"Did you have a child six years ago?"

Sloane stared at him.

Then she said quietly, "Yes."

Dominic stopped.

Elena's words echoed in his mind.

Someone is lying.

Sloane's hands trembled.

"I had a son. But he wasn't yours."

Dominic leaned forward.

"Then whose was he?"

Sloane shook her head.

"That isn't what matters right now."

"It matters to me."

"Dominic, please."

"You signed a document that identifies you as the biological mother of a child placed with Elena. My son was almost abducted last night. Your name is all over the records. Don't tell me what matters."

Sloane closed her eyes.

Then she whispered, "My son was born at the same hospital."

Dominic went still.

"When?"

"October fourteenth."

"The same day?"

She nodded.

He stared.

"And what happened to him?"

Sloane's eyes filled.

"I was told he died."

Dominic felt the blood drain from his face.

Another mother.

Another baby.

Another reported death.

All in the same hospital.

Sloane continued.

"My father arranged everything. He said the pregnancy would destroy the family's reputation. I was unmarried. I was twenty-four. I trusted him."

"Who was the father?"

She looked at Dominic.

For a moment, he thought she wouldn't answer.

Then she whispered, "Daniel Mercer."

Dominic froze.

Elena's lawyer.

The man who had helped trace the secret payments.

The man whose brother had died while investigating Bellwether.

Sloane wiped her cheeks.

"Daniel and I were together before he left Boston. My father hated him. He said Daniel was trying to use me to get access to family money."

"Did Daniel know you were pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Did he know what happened to the baby?"

Sloane shook her head.

"I told him the baby died."

Dominic stared at her.

"And you believed that?"

"For years."

"When did you start doubting it?"

"Three years ago, when I met Gabriel."

Dominic felt a chill.

"Why?"

"Because I saw a photograph of him as a newborn. There were two identification bands on the incubator."

"Baby E and another name?"

Sloane nodded.

"The second band belonged to my son."

Dominic leaned back slowly.

The identities of Gabriel, Matteo, and Sloane's missing child had all been entangled.

But the evidence didn't prove which baby had been physically moved.

Only that someone had manipulated their records.

"Why did you agree to marry me?" Dominic asked.

Sloane looked down.

"At first, because our families wanted it."

"And later?"

"Because I thought being close to you would help me find out what happened."

Dominic stared.

"So I was your way into the Moretti records."

She flinched.

"Partly."

"And the rest?"

Sloane's eyes filled.

"I did care about you, Dominic. Not in the way you loved Elena, perhaps. But I cared."

He looked away.

The confession didn't erase the deception.

It made it more complicated.

Then Sloane opened her handbag.

"I brought something."

She placed a small flash drive on the table.

"What is it?"

"A copy of the original guardianship packet. Hospital correspondence. Financial records. And one video."

Dominic looked up.

"What video?"

Sloane swallowed.

"Security footage from the neonatal unit. October fourteenth, six years ago."

He went still.

"You have footage from the delivery?"

"Not the operating room. The corridor outside neonatal intensive care."

Dominic reached for the drive.

Sloane caught his wrist.

"Before you watch it, understand something."

"What?"

"The person you see carrying the baby may not be the person who planned the transfer."

Dominic looked at her.

"Who is it?"

She released his wrist.

"Watch."

At 10:49 a.m., Dominic opened the video on an isolated laptop.

The footage was grainy.

Black and white.

A timestamp appeared in the corner.

OCT 14 — 11:42 PM

A hospital corridor.

Two nurses passed a set of double doors.

A minute later, a man appeared.

He wore a dark overcoat.

His face was partly obscured.

He approached a nurse carrying a small transport incubator.

The nurse stopped.

They spoke briefly.

Then the man handed her an envelope.

Dominic leaned closer.

The man bent toward the incubator.

For several seconds, he appeared to look at the infant inside.

Then he removed a small object from his pocket.

A silver bracelet.

He placed it beside the baby.

Dominic's breath caught.

The man turned toward the camera.

The image briefly sharpened.

Vittorio Moretti.

His father.

Dominic sat motionless.

Sloane watched him.

"There's more."

The footage continued.

Vittorio stepped away.

Another man entered the corridor.

Richard.

He approached the incubator.

The nurse hesitated.

Richard handed her a second envelope.

Then he gestured toward a side exit.

The nurse pushed the incubator away.

Richard followed.

Vittorio remained behind.

For several seconds, he stood alone in the corridor.

Then he pulled out his phone.

His expression was tense.

He appeared to argue with someone.

Suddenly, he turned toward the camera.

And for a brief instant, Dominic could see the fear on his father's face.

The recording ended.

Dominic stared at the blank screen.

His father had been there.

Richard had been there.

A baby had been moved.

But nothing in the footage proved which infant was inside the incubator.

"Can you identify the nurse?" Dominic asked.

Sloane nodded.

"Her name was Margaret Bell."

"Where is she?"

"She died four years ago."

"How?"

"Officially, a medication overdose."

Dominic closed his eyes.

Another dead witness.

Another missing answer.

Sloane continued.

"But before she died, Margaret left a recording."

Dominic looked up.

"Where?"

"On the drive."

Sloane selected an audio file.

A woman's frightened voice filled the room.

"I was told the transfer had legal authorization. They said the mother had consented. I didn't know the records had been changed."

The woman paused.

Then continued.

"When Mr. Moretti arrived, he looked furious. He kept saying they had taken the wrong infant."

Dominic went still.

The wrong infant.

Margaret's voice trembled.

"I asked him which baby was supposed to go."

A long pause followed.

Then she whispered:

"He said the boy in the fifth incubator was supposed to disappear. But the child they moved first wasn't Baby E."

Dominic leaned forward.

The recording continued.

"It was Baby D."

Matteo.

Sloane covered her mouth.

Margaret spoke again.

"And when I realized what had happened, Mr. Moretti told me to keep quiet. He said there was no safe way to reverse it."

The recording ended.

Dominic stared at the screen.

If Margaret's statement was true, someone had moved Baby D.

But it still didn't explain whether the children had been physically exchanged, whether Baby D had been returned, or whether the labels had been swapped afterward.

Sloane looked at him.

"That's why I needed you to know."

Dominic slowly stood.

"Who else has this recording?"

"My father. Richard. Possibly Evelyn."

"Evelyn Hart?"

Sloane nodded.

"She was one of the people who tried to get Margaret to testify."

Dominic felt his anger sharpen.

Evelyn had withheld another crucial fact.

Before he could respond, his phone rang.

Marco.

Dominic answered immediately.

"Yes?"

"Boss, we've got a problem at Seabrook."

His stomach tightened.

"The boys?"

"They're safe."

"Elena?"

"Safe."

"Then what?"

Marco hesitated.

"Someone delivered a package."

"What kind?"

"A sealed medical transport container."

Dominic felt a chill.

"From where?"

"Bellwether."

"What was inside?"

Marco's voice changed.

"Boss, there was a child's identification bracelet."

Dominic closed his eyes.

"Whose?"

"Gabriel's."

Silence.

Then Marco added, "And a message."

Dominic gripped the phone.

"Read it."

Marco hesitated.

"It says, 'You have seventy-two hours to choose which child you want returned.'"

Dominic stopped breathing.

Seventy-two hours.

Two children whose identities had been manipulated.

One living with Elena.

One held somewhere by Bellwether.

And someone intended to make Dominic choose between them.

"There's more," Marco said quietly.

Dominic's voice became deadly calm.

"What?"

"The container also held a recent photograph of Gabriel."

Dominic felt his pulse hammer.

"Is he alive?"

"Yes."

"How do you know it's recent?"

Marco swallowed.

"Because he's holding today's newspaper."

Dominic closed his eyes.

Then Marco delivered the final piece.

"In the photograph, Gabriel is holding a handwritten sign."

"What does it say?"

Marco hesitated.

"Boss..."

"Read it."

The security chief's voice lowered.

"It says, 'Daddy, please don't send Matteo back. They told me what happens to boys who come here.'"

Dominic stood frozen.

Behind him, Sloane began to cry.

And for the first time, Dominic understood that Gabriel might not simply be a prisoner.

He might have been watching.

He might know exactly who Matteo was.

And he might already have witnessed what Bellwether did to children who were no longer useful.