Chapter 4 - The Hospital Basement and the Missing TwinSt. Matthew's Medical Center had been closed for eight years.
The upper floors were abandoned.
The lower levels were sealed.
Vincent entered through a service door with Charlotte beside him.
He hated bringing her.
But leaving her behind felt worse.
Marco led the team.
“Basement is clear.”
Vincent nodded.
Charlotte held the recorder.
It seemed heavier now.
As if Dominic had left more secrets inside it than they knew how to uncover.
They reached the old maternity ward.
Dust covered everything.
Old wheelchairs.
Broken monitors.
Empty rooms.
Charlotte stopped in the hallway.
“I've been here.”
Vincent turned.
“How?”
“I don't know.”
She touched the wall.
“I remember this.”
They followed her.
Room 214.
Inside was an old cabinet.
Charlotte opened it.
Nothing.
Then she noticed scratches beneath the bottom shelf.
Vincent crouched.
They moved the cabinet.
A small metal door appeared.
Behind it was a staircase.
The basement smelled like disinfectant.
Charlotte shivered.
“I don't want to go.”
Vincent looked at her.
“You don't have to.”
She shook her head.
“My mother came here.”
They descended.
At the bottom was a hidden medical room.
There were old files.
Baby bracelets.
Photographs.
Records.
Vincent's security team began searching.
Then Marco shouted.
“Boss.”
He found a video archive.
They played the first file.
Dominic appeared younger.
He stood beside Elena.
Two babies were in bassinets.
Charlotte began crying.
“That's me.”
Dominic looked into the camera.
“Tonight, we move the twins.”
Elena shook her head.
“They're children.”
“They're targets.”
“Then we hide them.”
“We can't hide both.”
“We have to.”
Dominic looked at her.
“If we separate them, one survives.”
Elena's face broke.
“No.”
Dominic whispered:
“It's the only way.”
Charlotte watched.
She looked at Vincent.
“Which one was me?”
The video continued.
A man entered.
Victor Moretti.
Vincent's father.
He looked at the babies.
“The girl.”
Dominic stepped in front of him.
“No.”
Victor pulled a gun.
“Move.”
Elena grabbed Charlotte.
Another man entered.
Edward Vale.
“Victor.”
Vale looked at the babies.
“The boy is worth more.”
Charlotte covered her mouth.
Vincent's blood ran cold.
“The boy.”
Vale wanted the boy.
Why?
The video ended.
A second file began.
Elena was crying.
Dominic was holding one baby.
Charlotte's mother looked into the camera.
“If Charlotte ever sees this, tell her…”
She stopped.
Then looked away.
“Tell her I never abandoned her.”
The screen went black.
Charlotte fell to her knees.
Vincent knelt beside her.
“Your mother tried to protect you.”
“But my brother?”
“We'll find him.”
A voice came from the darkness.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
Edward Vale stepped out.
He had a gun.
Four armed men followed him.
Vale smiled.
“Your brother has already been found.”
Vincent raised his weapon.
Vale laughed.
“You really think this is about a child?”
“What is it about?”
“Blood.”
Charlotte's hand went to her shoulder.
“The mark.”
Vale nodded.
“Yes.”
He looked at her with something close to fascination.
“Your bloodline unlocks the Moretti trust.”
Vincent frowned.
“My trust?”
“Your father's hidden fortune.”
“You're lying.”
“No.”
Vale smiled.
“Your father hid billions inside an offshore trust that could only be accessed through descendants carrying a rare genetic marker.”
Charlotte understood.
“They chose me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your brother had the same marker.”
Vincent stared.
“And they lost him.”
Vale laughed.
“No.”
“We sold him.”
Vincent's face became murderous.
“Where?”
Vale raised his gun.
“Come closer.”
Vincent moved.
Charlotte whispered:
“Don't.”
Vale fired.
The bullet hit Vincent's shoulder.
He stumbled.
His men returned fire.
Vale escaped through a side tunnel.
The fight ended in seconds.
Vincent pressed his hand against his shoulder.
Charlotte stared at the blood.
“You're hurt.”
“I've had worse.”
She tore a strip from her sleeve.
“Sit.”
“Charlotte—”
“Sit.”
He obeyed.
She wrapped his shoulder.
For a mafia boss, he seemed strangely comfortable letting a frightened child take care of him.
Then Marco returned.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We found another video.”
Vincent watched.
A young Elena held the missing baby.
A man stood beside her.
Daniel Hayes.
Charlotte's father.
He whispered:
“Take our son.”
Elena cried.
“Where?”
“Anywhere.”
The man looked into the camera.
“Tell Charlotte someday that I died trying.”
The video ended.
Charlotte stared.
“My father was alive.”
Vincent nodded.
“Apparently.”
Then the recorder came alive.
Dominic's voice filled the room.
“If you're hearing this, then Charlotte has found the basement.”
Static.
“Vincent, listen carefully.”
A pause.
“The boy is not dead.”
Charlotte stopped breathing.
Dominic continued:
“He was raised by the one family you were taught to hate.”
Vincent's face changed.
The recorder crackled.
“Your brother.”
The recording stopped.
Charlotte looked at Vincent.
“Who is my brother?”
Vincent didn't answer.
Then he heard footsteps.
A man appeared at the top of the staircase.
Dark hair.
Sharp eyes.
A scar across his cheek.
He looked at Charlotte.
May you like
And smiled.
“Hello, sister.”
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