Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN IN THE HOSPITAL PHOTOGRAPH|
Dominic carried the photograph into his office and placed it beneath the desk lamp.
His father looked younger, less severe. He wore a plain dark sweater rather than the tailored suits he had favored in later years. Claire Donovan stood beside him, holding the newborn child with an expression that mixed exhaustion and fierce tenderness.
It wasn't the look of a frightened employee posing with her employer.
It was the look of a woman who trusted the man beside her.
Dominic sat down slowly.
“Why didn't you tell me?” he whispered to the photograph.
His father had always spoken about family as though it were a fortress. Blood was loyalty. Loyalty was survival. Survival was the only thing that mattered.
Yet he had concealed a son, allowed a child to disappear, and left his family to inherit the consequences.
A knock sounded at the door.
Robert entered carrying a thick folder.
“I found something.”
Dominic gestured toward the chair.
“Tell me what you know about Claire Donovan.”
Robert sat.
“She worked as a nurse at a private clinic used by several members of the family. Your father became close to her after your mother died.”
Dominic looked up.
“My mother died when I was twelve. The baby was born five years later.”
“Yes.”
“Was Noah my father's son?”
Robert nodded.
“According to the medical records, yes.”
Dominic leaned back.
“Why was he hidden?”
“Your father believed Anthony would use the child as leverage. Anthony had become increasingly violent, and the Black Wolf Circle wanted access to the Vitale businesses.”
“Then my father should have protected him.”
“He tried. Claire and the baby were moved between safe houses. Eventually, someone discovered their location.”
“Who?”
Robert opened the folder.
“Elias Whitmore.”
Dominic stared at him.
“Serena's father?”
“Elias was working with Anthony at the time. He warned him where Claire was staying. Your father discovered the betrayal and arranged for the baby to be moved before Anthony could reach him.”
“Where did he send Noah?”
Robert's voice softened.
“Your father never told me the final destination. He said only that the boy would grow up somewhere he could choose his own life.”
Dominic felt a painful mixture of anger and relief.
At least his father had tried to save the child.
But trying was not the same as succeeding.
“Do we know if Noah survived?”
“The hospital records suggest he was transferred to a private guardian. The name was deliberately removed from the official documents.”
Dominic looked at the photograph again.
“Then we find the guardian.”
Robert opened another page.
“I already started. The records lead to a small town outside Milwaukee. A couple named the Carters adopted a boy matching the description.”
“Do they still live there?”
“Mrs. Carter does. Her husband died several years ago.”
Dominic stood.
“Prepare the car.”
Robert hesitated.
“Dominic, this could be a trap.”
“Everything is a trap until proven otherwise.”
He glanced toward the hallway, where Rose was sleeping.
“I'm not going to let another child disappear because the adults around him are afraid of the truth.”
The trip to Wisconsin took less than two hours.
Mrs. Carter lived in a modest brick house with a white porch and a garden full of late-season flowers. She answered the door with a cautious expression, then grew visibly distressed when Dominic showed her the photograph.
“I wondered when someone would come,” she said.
Dominic felt his heart pound.
“You know who I am?”
“I know who your father was.”
She invited them inside and brought out a small wooden box.
“My husband and I adopted Noah when he was six months old. We were told his birth family had died in a fire.”
“Who told you that?”
“A man named Elias Whitmore.”
Dominic exchanged a glance with Marcus.
“Did Noah know he was adopted?”
“Yes. We told him when he was old enough to understand. He never wanted to search for his biological family. He said he was happy with us.”
“Where is he now?”
Mrs. Carter's eyes filled with tears.
“He left three years ago. He works in Chicago.”
Dominic stood abruptly.
“Does he have a different name?”
She opened the wooden box and removed a photograph of a young man standing beside a motorcycle.
“His name is Daniel Carter now.”
Dominic looked at the photograph.
The same dark hair.
The same eyes.
The same man in the necklace photograph beside Serena.
Daniel Vale was Noah.
Serena's missing brother was Dominic's half-brother.
And if Anthony had discovered the connection, then the conspiracy was much closer to home than Dominic had imagined.
Mrs. Carter reached into the box again and produced a sealed letter.
“Noah left this with me. He said I should give it to a Vitale if one ever came looking.”
Dominic opened it.
May you like
Inside was a single sentence.
If you want to know who betrayed Emily, ask the woman who has been pretending to be dead.
