Chapter 5 - The Daughter No One Knew ExistedDominic thought he had reached the limit of what one family could hide.
He was wrong.
Elena explained.
Sophia had not given birth to twins.
She had given birth to triplets.
Two girls.
One boy.
One child died shortly after birth.
Or so everyone believed.
Elena had always suspected the baby survived.
The hospital records had been altered.
The doctor disappeared.
A nurse was murdered.
And the baby vanished.
Dominic stared at the photograph.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“You have a name.”
“Sophia called her Grace.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
Three children had become four.
And someone had spent ten years hiding the fourth.
The medallion suddenly made sense.
Each child had one.
Four medallions.
Four heirs.
Dominic immediately searched the old family vault.
Three were accounted for.
Ethan.
Lily.
Luca.
The fourth was missing.
A hidden inscription appeared when the medallions were placed together.
THE FOURTH WILL RETURN WHEN THE HOUSE IS OPENED.
Dominic looked at Elena.
“What house?”
She answered:
“The Carter house.”
Sophia's childhood home had been abandoned for decades.
Dominic went there.
Inside, dust covered everything.
A broken piano.
Old books.
A nursery.
On the wall were four names.
Ethan.
Lily.
Grace.
Luca.
Dominic stared.
Luca had not been born when the names were written.
“How did Sophia know?”
Elena looked at the wall.
“She believed you were going to find them.”
Beneath the names was another sentence.
The children are safer together.
Dominic touched it.
A panel opened.
Inside was a small box.
A photograph of Sophia.
And a letter.
Dominic,
If you've reached this room, then you found the children.
His hands trembled.
I need you to know that leaving you was never my choice.
Your father threatened your life.
I believed disappearing was the only way to save you.
But when I learned I was carrying your children, I knew I had to protect them too.
Dominic sat on the floor.
Tears fell before he could stop them.
The letter continued.
There are three children you know about.
And one you don't.
Her name is Grace.
She was taken at birth.
If anyone tells you she died, do not believe them.
The final line made Dominic feel sick.
Your father knows where she is.
Vittorio was dead.
But his old accounts remained.
Dominic's people found a trust fund.
A payment every month.
For ten years.
To a private school in Connecticut.
Beneficiary:
Grace Carter.
Dominic stared.
“She survived.”
“Yes,” his security chief said.
“And someone has been paying for her.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
The answer was shocking.
“Matteo.”
Dominic remembered his uncle dying.
Maybe he had not been protecting the family.
Maybe he had been protecting Grace.
A car drove them to Connecticut.
The school was private.
Elite.
Heavily guarded.
Dominic entered.
A little girl sat at a piano.
She was nine.
Dark-haired.
Dark-eyed.
When she looked up, Dominic stopped.
She was Sophia's face.
Not resemblance.
Recognition.
Like looking at a photograph that could breathe.
“Who are you?”
Dominic sat.
“My name is Dominic.”
She frowned.
“You look like my mother.”
His heart shattered.
“She was beautiful.”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember her?”
Grace nodded.
“She used to sing.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“Do you know where she went?”
“She told me she'd come back.”
“When?”
“After the storm.”
Dominic swallowed.
“What storm?”
Grace pointed to a drawing.
A house.
Four children.
A woman.
And a man with a black mark over his face.
“Who is he?”
Grace whispered:
“The man who took my brother.”
Dominic froze.
“Which brother?”
She pointed to Ethan.
“How do you know Ethan?”
“I've seen him.”
“When?”
“In pictures.”
“Who showed you?”
“Uncle Matteo.”
Dominic stared.
“Where is Matteo?”
Grace's expression became frightened.
“He said he had to protect us from Blackwood.”
Dominic's blood ran cold.
Blackwood.
The lawyer.
The man who had been serving his father.
He was still alive.
And now Dominic understood.
Matteo had not been the mastermind.
He had been protecting Grace from Blackwood.
Grace reached into her pocket.
She took out a fourth medallion.
Dominic stared.
“Your mother gave me this.”
“When?”
“Before she died.”
“Why?”
“Because she said my father would come.”
Dominic couldn't speak.
Grace looked at him.
“Are you my father?”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
The little girl stared for several seconds.
Then she asked:
“Are Ethan and Lily here?”
“Not yet.”
“Will they be?”
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“Then I can finally go home.”
Dominic nearly broke.
He gathered her into his arms.
For ten years, he had lived believing Sophia chose another life.
Now he understood.
She had spent every day trying to give their children one.
They returned to New York before dawn.
Ethan and Lily met Grace in the living room.
Luca ran first.
“My sister!”
Grace laughed.
Ethan stood carefully.
“You're Grace.”
She nodded.
“I know you.”
“How?”
“You were in Mom's pictures.”
He smiled.
The four children stood together.
Four medallions.
One family.
But Dominic knew the danger had not passed.
Because Blackwood was still missing.
And someone sent him a message.
You found the fourth.
May you like
A second message followed.
Now I take all four.
Related Stories
