Chapter 13 - THE NAME MY MOTHER NEVER TOLD ME|
I refused to believe Victoria.
My father had loved my mother.
He had worked long hours, repaired our old apartment, and spent every Sunday morning making pancakes for Daniel and me.
He had never given me a reason to question his loyalty.
But the photograph was difficult to ignore.
Victoria left before Luca could question her further.
I remained in the library.
Daniel found me sitting on the floor beside the fireplace.
"Emma?"
I showed him the photograph.
He studied it.
"That's Dad."
"I know."
"Who's the woman?"
"Victoria's mother."
Daniel sat beside me.
"Maybe it's an old business photograph."
"Maybe."
But I didn't believe it.
Luca entered carrying a folder.
"I had the photograph examined."
I looked up.
"And?"
"It's genuine. But it was taken at a company event. There is no evidence of a relationship."
I exhaled.
"Thank you."
He sat opposite us.
"There's something else. Victoria's mother, Eleanor Sterling, died in a private clinic shortly after your father."
I looked at him.
"How?"
"Officially, complications from surgery."
"Unofficially?"
"Simon Hale signed the report."
The same doctor who had been involved in Sofia's death.
I felt the pieces connecting.
Luca opened the folder.
Inside was an old hospital record.
The document listed two newborns delivered at the same clinic on the same night.
One belonged to Eleanor Sterling.
The other belonged to my mother.
Daniel stared at the page.
"Twins?"
Luca nodded.
"According to the record, both women gave birth within twenty minutes of each other."
My hands began trembling.
"Why would Victoria say I don't know who I am?"
Luca looked at me.
"Because one of those records was altered."
The hospital had listed a baby girl under Eleanor Sterling's name.
But the original record showed a different surname.
Shaw.
My mother's surname.
The possibility was terrifying.
If the records were genuine, Victoria and I might have been connected in a way nobody had understood.
We arranged for independent DNA testing.
Three days later, the results arrived.
Victoria and I were half-sisters.
Our father was not the same man.
Our mothers had shared a biological connection through an egg donation program that had been arranged by the private clinic.
But the clinic had altered the records to conceal a financial scheme involving wealthy families.
Victoria had grown up believing her mother had chosen money over motherhood.
I had grown up believing my family was ordinary.
Neither of us had known the truth.
When Victoria returned to the mansion, she looked different.
Less confident.
More frightened.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
She stared at the DNA report.
"Because I didn't know."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then she began crying.
"My mother used to tell me that I had a sister somewhere."
I looked at her.
"She knew?"
"She never told me your name."
Luca stood near the doorway.
"Who altered the records?"
Victoria wiped her eyes.
"Anthony."
She reached into her handbag and removed a small memory card.
"My mother left this before she died."
She handed it to Luca.
"It contains recordings of Anthony and Simon Hale."
He examined the card.
Then his expression changed.
May you like
The first recording began with Anthony saying:
"Once Victor returns, Luca will be the first one we bury."
