Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Knew About My Baby Before I Did
Vivienne Falco was supposed to be dead.
That was the first thing Adrien told me.
The second was that his father's second wife had spent twenty years collecting reasons to hate him.
She had never accepted that Adrien inherited the business.
She believed the empire should have gone to her son.
Except her son was dead.
His name was Luca.
He had died at nineteen.
The same age as Adrien's brother.
But Luca wasn't Adrien's brother.
He was Adrien's older half-brother.
And his death had been ruled an accident.
“Was it?” I asked.
Adrien looked toward the rain-soaked window.
“No.”
“Who killed him?”
“We never proved it.”
“Do you think it was your father?”
“No.”
“Vivienne?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why is she back?”
“To take what she believes belongs to her.”
I folded my arms.
“And that's my baby?”
Adrien nodded.
“Or the power attached to your baby.”
“What power?”
He hesitated.
Then he told me the part nobody had explained.
Falco Logistics had been built through legitimate operations after decades of criminal business.
But Adrien's father had created a secret succession structure.
The person who inherited the controlling shares also inherited access to an international network of contracts, trusts, shipping rights, and private assets.
Whoever controlled that system could influence thousands of workers and billions in legal business.
My pregnancy changed everything.
Because the inheritance clause didn't say the heir had to be male.
It simply said:
The first legitimate child of Adrien Falco shall hold controlling authority upon reaching adulthood.
I stared at the document.
“This is insane.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was hoping the past would stay dead.”
“Clearly it didn't.”
“No.”
The next morning, we were attacked.
Not directly.
The protected residence lost power.
Then the backup generator failed.
The alarms went off.
I heard glass break.
Adrien grabbed my hand.
“Stay behind me.”
“Where are we going?”
“Basement.”
“What about the guards?”
“They're handling it.”
We moved quickly.
My heart pounded.
Then a voice came through the security system.
“Adrien.”
He stopped.
Vivienne.
“You can't protect her forever.”
Adrien answered:
“You should know better.”
She laughed.
“We have eyes inside your house.”
He looked at me.
Then the lights came back.
No attackers.
No bodies.
Just one envelope sitting on the stairs.
Adrien picked it up.
Inside was an ultrasound photograph.
My baby's ultrasound.
Taken that morning.
My blood froze.
Someone had been with my doctor.
Adrien crushed the photograph in his hand.
“Get Dr. Harris.”
The doctor arrived under escort.
He looked terrified.
“I didn't give anyone your records.”
“Then someone stole them.”
Dr. Harris lowered his voice.
“There was a woman asking questions yesterday.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Describe her.”
He hesitated.
“Blonde. Expensive coat. Gray eyes.”
Adrien's face changed.
“Vivienne.”
The doctor nodded.
“She knew about the pregnancy.”
“How?”
“She knew the exact date.”
I felt sick.
“What does she want?”
Dr. Harris looked at me.
“She said the child would settle an old debt.”
That sentence stayed with me.
What debt?
Later that evening, Adrien took me to his father's study.
I had never been allowed inside.
The room smelled like old leather and cedar.
He opened a hidden drawer.
Inside were photographs.
Adrien as a boy.
His father.
Vivienne.
Luca.
And a fourth person.
A young woman.
I recognized her.
My aunt.
She had died before I started working at Falco Logistics.
“Why is she here?”
Adrien stared.
“She was my father's private secretary.”
“What happened to her?”
“She disappeared.”
“Was she involved?”
“We never knew.”
He placed one photograph on the desk.
The young woman was holding Luca.
On the back was written:
To the family that will inherit everything.
I looked at Adrien.
“What does that mean?”
“I don't know.”
At that moment, the door opened.
Gabriel entered.
“We found the source of the data leak.”
“Who?”
He looked directly at me.
“Your landlord.”
I stared.
“My landlord?”
“He sold copies of your tenant file.”
“To whom?”
“Vivienne.”
My blood ran cold.
“How long?”
“Six months.”
That meant she'd known where I lived.
What I earned.
When my lease ended.
When I went to work.
Everything.
Adrien's jaw tightened.
“Find her.”
“We already have.”
Silence.
“Where?”
Gabriel handed him a photograph.
An old church in South Philadelphia.
Adrien looked at it.
Then he turned toward me.
“You're staying here.”
“No.”
“Norah.”
“I'm coming.”
“This isn't negotiable.”
“Yes, it is.”
He stared.
I held his gaze.
“This concerns my child.”
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then he nodded.
“Fine.”
The church was empty.
But underneath it was an old meeting room.
On the wall was a single symbol.
A falcon.
Adrien touched it.
“My father's mark.”
Then we heard footsteps.
A woman stepped from the shadows.
Vivienne.
She was elegant.
Older than I expected.
And completely calm.
She looked at me first.
Then at Adrien.
“So you're Norah.”
My stomach tightened.
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“You have no idea what you've inherited.”
Adrien stepped between us.
“Don't.”
Vivienne laughed softly.
“You still think this is about money.”
“Then tell me what it's about.”
She looked at me.
“Blood.”
She reached into her purse.
Pulled out a photograph.
A newborn baby.
And the date.
Twenty-eight years earlier.
I stared.
The baby was Adrien.
But beside him was a woman I had never seen before.
Vivienne said:
“Your child has the same bloodline.”
Adrien's face changed.
“Whose?”
Vivienne looked at him.
“Your mother's.”
I froze.
Adrien had never told me his mother was alive.
He stepped forward.
“My mother died before I was born.”
Vivienne smiled.
“No.”
“She died.”
“No.”
May you like
She leaned closer.
“She vanished.”
