Chapter 14 - THE SECRET BENEATH MY MOTHER'S MEDICAL RECORDS|
I had spent my entire life believing I was an ordinary woman who had been forced into an extraordinary marriage.
Now my name was appearing in the same files that had destroyed Luca's family.
Luca ordered an immediate investigation into my mother's medical history.
I hated that he did it without asking me.
When I confronted him, he listened quietly.
“I know you want to protect me,” I said. “But I need to be part of this.”
“You are part of this.”
“Then stop making decisions about my life without me.”
He looked down.
“You're right.”
We visited my mother together.
She was sitting by the window, reading a magazine. Her treatment had improved her condition, and she looked stronger than she had in months.
When I showed her the document, she went pale.
“Where did you get this?”
“Northstar.”
She closed the magazine.
“I wondered when this would happen.”
My heart began pounding.
“Mom, what does it mean?”
She looked at Luca.
“Can we speak privately?”
I glanced at him.
He nodded and stepped outside.
My mother took my hand.
“Before you were born, I worked at Saint Catherine's Hospital. A research coordinator approached me about a medical study. They said it would help families with inherited conditions.”
“Did you participate?”
“Yes.”
“Did I?”
“You were a baby.”
I stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was promised the records would remain confidential. Then, years later, a man came to our apartment. He said the study had been purchased by a private company. He wanted to know whether your father had any unusual medical history.”
“Who was he?”
“I didn't know his name. But he wore a Varenna company badge.”
My stomach tightened.
“Did Dad know?”
My mother nodded.
“He refused to answer their questions. A few weeks later, he disappeared.”
I felt as if the room had become smaller.
“You told me he died.”
“I thought he had. I was afraid someone would come after you.”
“Why would they care about my family?”
My mother looked toward the door.
“Your father had a rare blood disorder in his family. It wasn't dangerous, but Northstar was interested in how it might be inherited.”
“Was I part of their research?”
My mother began crying.
“They collected your blood when you were born. I didn't understand what they were doing.”
I felt sick.
“Did they tell you why?”
“No. But Isabella Varenna came to me years later. She said the company had found something unusual in your family's records.”
“What?”
My mother shook her head.
“She didn't tell me.”
Luca returned to the room.
My mother looked at him.
“Your family has been keeping records on Evelyn since before she met you.”
Luca's face darkened.
“Why?”
My mother took a breath.
“Because Evelyn's father wasn't an ordinary man.”
I turned toward her.
“What are you saying?”
She looked directly at me.
“Your father was the original scientist who helped establish Northstar's genetic research program.”
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Then she whispered:
“And he didn't disappear because he wanted to leave us. He disappeared because he tried to destroy the company.”
