Chapter 4 - Richard Vale Told Us Who Stole Sophia’s Baby—Then a Shot Fired From Inside the Hospital Changed EverythingRichard Vale arrived under armed escort.
He was older than his photographs.
Gray hair.
Expensive suit.
Tired eyes.
Dominic hated him.
I could see it.
They sat across from each other in a private conference room.
“Talk,” Dominic said.
Richard smiled.
“You've changed.”
“Get to the point.”
Richard looked at me.
“And this is the nurse.”
“She stays.”
Richard nodded.
“That explains a lot.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?”
“She sees what other people miss.”
I stayed silent.
Richard continued.
“Your father created the trust.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“He created a contingency.”
“For what?”
“For the possibility that the Moretti family would collapse.”
Richard explained that years earlier, Dominic's father had built a secret network.
Money.
Property.
Hidden identities.
Children.
He had believed the family would eventually be targeted.
Mara was the final heir to the trust.
But the trust couldn't be activated until she turned eighteen.
“Why hide her?”
“To protect her.”
“From whom?”
Richard looked at Dominic.
“Your uncle.”
“Stefan.”
“Yes.”
Dominic's fists tightened.
“Stefan has been running the family from the shadows.”
“How?”
“Through you.”
“What?”
Richard smiled.
“He created enemies for you.”
“He created crises.”
“He made you stronger.”
“But he wanted you dependent on violence.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“What did he want?”
“The trust.”
“And Mara?”
“Her death would activate a different clause.”
I felt sick.
“What clause?”
“If the heir dies, control transfers to Stefan.”
Dominic went still.
Richard looked at me.
“He needed the baby alive until the paperwork was complete.”
“And then?”
“He would kill her.”
Silence.
My stomach turned.
Dominic stood.
“Where is Stefan?”
Richard smiled.
“In this hospital.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He has been running security.”
Dominic's face became cold.
“How long?”
“Three years.”
That explained everything.
The security breaches.
The missing records.
The hidden cameras.
The threats.
Stefan had been inside the hospital the entire time.
Then the lights went out.
A gunshot.
Richard fell.
Dominic tackled me.
Security returned fire.
Someone ran.
I crawled toward Richard.
He was bleeding.
He whispered,
“Third floor.”
“What?”
“Old archive.”
Then he died.
Dominic looked at me.
“Third floor.”
We ran.
The old archive was locked.
I knew the hospital layout.
There was a maintenance corridor.
I found the panel.
Opened it.
Behind the wall was a hidden room.
Computers.
Files.
Photographs.
And a live feed.
Mara's hospital room.
My blood ran cold.
Someone was watching her.
Dominic grabbed the screen.
“When?”
“Now.”
He ran.
I followed.
We reached the pediatric floor.
A guard lay unconscious.
Mara's room was empty.
Sophia was still there.
Frantically searching.
“Where's my daughter?”
Dominic looked at the hall.
Then at me.
I saw the terror in his face.
We searched the entire floor.
Nothing.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED.
Another.
COME TO THE PIER ALONE.
A photograph.
Mara.
And beside her—
Stefan.
Dominic read it.
“You're not going.”
I looked at him.
“She has my trust.”
“No.”
“She has mine.”
He looked at me.
“You're staying here.”
“I won't.”
“You're not a soldier.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“But I know how to save sick people.”
His eyes softened.
“That may be exactly why I love you.”
I froze.
He had said it without thinking.
Neither of us moved.
Then he whispered,
“Claire.”
I touched his face.
May you like
“We'll get her back.”
Together, we went to the pier.
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