Chapter 10 - THE FATHER WHO NEVER DIED|
Aleandro had attended his father's funeral four years earlier.
The coffin had been closed, the service had been brief, and the family lawyer had cited medical privacy as the reason for withholding the full report. Richard Moretti's death had been recorded as a cardiac event following years of declining health.
Aleandro had never questioned it.
Nico had.
Now the photograph suggested that Richard had been alive at least six months after the funeral.
Aleandro stared at the image until his eyes hurt.
"If this is real, somebody buried the wrong man."
Valentina nodded.
"My father's accounts show monthly payments to the Connecticut clinic. They stopped only six months ago."
Sophia held Emma closer.
"Was Nico there too?"
"The records suggest so."
Aleandro turned toward Marcus.
"Find the clinic. Secure the property records and contact the local authorities. No private raid, no threats. I want a lawful search."
Marcus nodded.
Sophia studied Aleandro.
"You're changing."
He looked at her.
"I should have changed years ago."
"Why didn't you?"
He took a slow breath.
"Because I believed that if I admitted my family had done terrible things, I would lose control. I thought the only way to protect everyone was to keep the secrets buried."
"And now?"
"Now I see who paid the price."
Emma reached for the photograph.
"Daddy?"
Sophia gently moved it out of her reach.
"That's a picture of your father, sweetheart."
Emma looked at it carefully.
"He looks tired."
Aleandro's throat tightened.
"Yes. He does."
The next morning, investigators located the clinic. It had been converted into a private rehabilitation center under a new corporate name, but several medical records were still stored in an underground archive.
A search warrant was obtained.
Inside, investigators found evidence of payments, forged death certificates, and patient transfers connected to the Moretti family. One file contained a photograph of Nico with a date written beneath it.
The previous week.
Sophia sat down when Aleandro showed her the image.
"He's alive."
"We believe so."
"Then why hasn't he come home?"
Aleandro looked at the medical record.
"His file says he suffered memory loss after the explosion. It also says he was transferred to another facility after a dispute with the attending physician."
"Who signed the transfer?"
Aleandro turned the page.
The signature belonged to Valentina's father.
Valentina stared at the document.
"He died two years ago."
"Then someone used his identity," Marcus replied. "Or the date is false."
They reviewed the remaining records.
One patient had been transferred to a rural medical center under the name Daniel Ross. His photograph had been removed, but the notes described a distinctive scar near the left shoulder and a tendency to hum a family melody.
Sophia began to cry.
"That's him."
Aleandro closed his eyes.
For three years, he had mourned his brother, believing the explosion had taken him forever.
Now he had a chance to bring Nico home.
But the record contained one final instruction.
Patient must not be informed of surviving family members until the identity of the child has been verified.
Sophia looked up.
"Why would they keep him from us?"
May you like
Marcus pointed to the signature authorizing the order.
Adrian Cross.
