Chapter 14 - WHAT THE YEARS TOOK FROM HER|
The hospital room was quiet except for the monitor beside Laura's bed.
A physician explained that her body showed signs of long-term malnutrition, untreated injuries, and repeated exposure to sedatives. She would need weeks of monitoring and months of rehabilitation.
“Will I recover?” Laura asked.
“Yes,” the physician said carefully. “But recovery won't be immediate. Your body has been under enormous stress.”
Laura looked at the window.
“And my memory?”
“Some of the medication can affect concentration. We will run more tests.”
“Will I be able to take care of my daughter?”
The physician smiled gently.
“That is something we will work toward.”
When the doctor left, Laura closed her eyes.
She could still hear the tunnel. The doors. The footsteps. She could still feel the cold bed beneath her and remember the terrible silence after the doctor told her the baby was dead.
A knock came.
Marco was not there. Dominic had been told not to enter without permission.
It was Elena.
Laura opened her eyes.
“Why are you here?”
“To tell you the truth.”
“You've had three years.”
“I know.”
Elena sat in the chair near the door, leaving distance between them.
“I have a copy of the original birth record. I found it in the chapel storage room.”
“Where is it?”
“With the federal agents.”
“Then why come here?”
“Because there is something on it you need to know.”
Laura waited.
Elena took a breath.
“Grace was born with a heart condition. It was minor, but she needed follow-up treatment. Dr. Bell changed the record so the condition wouldn't be connected to your family.”
Laura stared at her.
“Does she still have it?”
“Margaret took her to a pediatric cardiologist. She has been monitored. The doctor says she's doing well.”
Laura's shoulders lowered slightly.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because Marco wanted the child to remain dependent on the people he controlled. He believed that if she needed ongoing treatment, Margaret would never risk moving her.”
Laura looked at Elena with disgust.
“You're telling me my daughter's health was part of a plan.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew?”
“I learned it recently.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No. I expect you to check the records yourself.”
Elena placed a folder on the table.
Laura did not touch it.
“Did Dominic know about the condition?”
“No.”
“Did he know anything?”
“He knew nothing about the trust or the transfer. He believed the baby had died.”
Laura looked down.
“He didn't look for me.”
Elena's voice softened.
“He did.”
“When?”
“For three months after you disappeared. He searched every hospital, every property, every private clinic. Marco gave him false leads. Then he found the engagement announcement in the papers and believed you had chosen to leave.”
Laura turned sharply.
“Why would he believe that?”
“Because Marco showed him a letter with your signature.”
Laura felt cold.
“I never wrote a letter.”
“I know.”
“Did Dominic believe it?”
Elena hesitated.
“Yes.”
Laura looked toward the window.
“So he stopped looking.”
“He never stopped completely.”
“But he married his grief to another woman.”
Elena lowered her head.
“I can't defend that.”
“Good.”
The door opened. Dominic stood outside, holding a small paper bag.
He did not enter.
“Margaret called,” he said. “Grace wants to see you.”
Laura's breath caught.
“Is she here?”
“Downstairs. With a nurse.”
Laura began to sit up, but pain pulled at her side.
Dominic moved forward instinctively, then stopped when she looked at him.
“I can help if you want.”
She considered it.
Then she nodded.
He adjusted the pillows and stepped back.
A few minutes later, Grace entered holding Margaret's hand. She wore a yellow cardigan and carried a stuffed rabbit.
Laura stared at her.
The little girl stopped beside the bed.
“Are you my mommy?”
Laura's face crumpled.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
Grace looked at the tubes and the bandage on her arm.
“Were you sick?”
“I was lost for a long time.”
“Did Daddy find you?”
Laura glanced at Dominic.
“He did.”
Grace climbed carefully onto the chair beside the bed.
“Can I sit with you?”
Laura opened her arms.
Grace leaned into her, small and warm and real.
For the first time in three years, Laura held her daughter.
But as she kissed Grace's hair, the child whispered something that made her pull back.
“Mommy, the man who visited me at Margaret's house said you weren't coming back.”
Laura looked at Dominic.
“What man?”
Grace pointed toward the door.
“The one who said he was my uncle.”
Dominic went still.
May you like
Because Marco had been in custody for less than a day.
And someone else had been using his name.
