Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN WHO DISAPPEARED
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Eleanor Voss had lived under three different names since leaving Chicago.
She had changed her hair, abandoned her old apartment, and stopped speaking to anyone connected to St. Helena. For six years, she had convinced herself that distance could become a substitute for forgiveness.
Then a black SUV appeared outside her house in Milwaukee.
Dominic Russo stepped onto the porch.
“Ms. Voss?”
She slammed the door.
Dominic knocked again.
“I know what happened at St. Helena. Mr. Moretti wants to speak with you.”
“I have nothing to say to him.”
“You have a great deal to say. The question is whether you want to say it here or in front of investigators.”
Eleanor's face appeared behind the curtain.
“Tell him I did what I had to do.”
Dominic waited.
Finally, the door opened.
Eleanor was sixty-two, with tired eyes and hands that trembled whenever someone mentioned the hospital. She agreed to accompany Dominic only after he promised that she would not be harmed.
At the mansion, Rocco received her in his study.
“Where is my son?”
Eleanor stared at him.
“You should have asked that question six years ago.”
The words struck harder than any threat.
“I was told he died.”
“You were told what your wife wanted you to believe.”
Rocco placed the photograph of the twins on the desk.
“Explain everything.”
Eleanor sat down.
“Valentina had discovered that your enemies were planning to target your heirs. She believed separating the boys would protect at least one of them. At first, the arrangement was supposed to be temporary.”
“Then why was one child declared dead?”
“Because the plan changed. Valentina wanted control over the succession. If both boys remained alive and publicly recognized, neither she nor her family could easily control your estate.”
Rocco's expression became murderous.
“Who helped her?”
“Her father, Victor Sterling. He arranged the documents and paid the doctors. I was instructed to take one infant to a private clinic, where he would be placed with a carefully selected family.”
“Selected by whom?”
“Victor.”
“Did they know the child's identity?”
“No. They were told the boy had been abandoned.”
Rocco's fists tightened.
“Where did they take him?”
“I don't know the family's current address. But I kept a copy of the original adoption referral.”
Eleanor opened her purse and removed a folded document.
It listed a temporary placement agency and the name Gabriel Moretti, later changed to Gabriel Bennett.
Rocco stared at the page.
“Why bring this to me now?”
“Because the baby you found is not the child we separated six years ago.”
The room went silent.
Eleanor explained that the newborn was the surviving child of another confidential case connected to St. Helena. Valentina had arranged for him to be abandoned because his biological mother had threatened to expose a larger scheme.
The bracelet linked him to a falsified record, not necessarily to Rocco's family.
Rocco's face hardened.
“Then why did the number match Matteo's file?”
“Because the same person altered both records.”
“Who?”
Eleanor looked toward the closed door.
“Your wife's father.”
At that moment, a guard entered and whispered something to Dominic.
Dominic's expression changed.
“Boss, we have a problem.”
“What?”
“The hospital records were accessed again ten minutes ago.”
“By whom?”
Dominic hesitated.
“The login belongs to Dr. Reed.”
Rocco turned toward Eleanor.
“Who is the baby really?”
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
“I can tell you who he belongs to.”
May you like
She leaned forward.
“But if I tell you his mother's name, your entire family will come apart.”
