Chapter 9 - TWO CHILDREN, ONE SECRET

I spent the next ten minutes refusing to believe him.

Because some truths were too impossible to accept.

Maya was my daughter.

I knew that.

I carried her.

I raised her.

I loved her more than my own life.

Nobody could change that.

But Adrian wasn’t saying she wasn’t mine.

He was saying someone had hidden something about her.

“What exactly are you telling me?”

My voice shook.

“That Maya was connected to Leo’s birth?”

Adrian nodded slowly.

“Yes.”

“No.”

I stepped back.

“No, that doesn’t make sense.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you saying it?”

“Because I have proof.”

Those words hurt.

Proof.

Not rumors.

Not guesses.

Proof.

Adrian handed me a file.

Inside were medical documents.

Old records.

Names.

Dates.

I looked through them.

Then I saw it.

A signature.

A doctor’s name.

The same doctor who handled Leo’s delivery.

My hands went cold.

“How?”

Adrian watched me.

“The doctor disappeared three years ago.”

“Why?”

“Because he knew the truth.”

I looked up.

“What truth?”

Adrian’s expression became darker.

“That my son was never the only target.”

A silence followed.

Then Maya woke up.

“Mommy?”

I immediately closed the file.

“I’m here.”

She looked at Adrian.

Then at Leo.

“They’re brothers?”

The question shocked both of us.

“What?”

Maya pointed at them.

“They look the same.”

I stared.

Children noticed things adults ignored.

Adrian slowly looked at Leo.

Then at Maya.

For the first time…

He looked afraid.

Not because of enemies.

Not because of power.

Because maybe…

The impossible was true.

Before anyone could speak, one of Adrian’s men rushed inside.

“Boss.”

Adrian turned.

“What?”

“We found the person who changed the records.”

My heart raced.

“Who?”

The man hesitated.

Then looked at me.

“It was someone close to you.”

My blood ran cold.

“Who?”

The bodyguard answered:

“Your husband.”

I felt the world tilt.

“No.”

Adrian watched my reaction.

“He knew?”

“I don’t understand.”

The bodyguard handed Adrian another file.

“He paid the hospital.”

“For what?”

Adrian opened it.

His face became expressionless.

Then he gave it to me.

I read the first line.

And my knees almost collapsed.

PATERNITY RECORD ALTERATION REQUEST.

My name.

Maya’s name.

Mark’s signature.

And one sentence written underneath:

THE CHILD MUST NEVER KNOW WHO SHE REALLY IS.

I looked at Adrian.

A thousand questions filled my mind.

Why did Mark change my daughter’s records?

Why was he connected to Leo’s birth?

Why did he want me away from the truth?

Then my phone buzzed.

A message.

Unknown number.

I opened it.

One sentence.

One picture.

The picture was of Maya.

Taken moments ago.

Sleeping beside me.

The message said:

IF YOU WANT YOUR DAUGHTER TO STAY ALIVE, STOP ASKING QUESTIONS.

My blood turned cold.

Adrian saw the message.

And something inside him snapped.

The calm disappeared.

The patience disappeared.

The mafia boss returned.

He looked at his men.

“Find whoever sent this.”

Then he looked at me.

His voice was low.

“From this moment on…”

A pause.

“You and your daughter are under my protection.”

I stared at him.

“You don’t even know me.”

His eyes met mine.

“No.”

He looked toward Leo.

“But I know what it feels like to almost lose a child.”

Outside the airport, a car engine started.

Someone was watching us.

Someone who knew our secrets.

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TO BE CONTINUED…