Chapter 2 - The Daughter She Was HidingZo didn't confront Tessa immediately.
He watched.
Not like before.
Not as a potential traitor.
As a puzzle.
The next night, he saw her leave the estate.
But she didn't head toward her apartment.
She took two buses.
Then walked six blocks.
Then entered a small brick building beside a church.
Gabe's men watched from a distance.
They reported nothing suspicious.
Zo went himself.
He stood across the street.
The building was old.
Three floors.
Bad windows.
A handwritten notice taped near the entrance.
Community Children's Clinic.
Zo frowned.
Tessa disappeared inside.
Two hours later, she came out carrying Lena.
The little girl was asleep.
Zo saw her face.
The photograph had been accurate.
She was painfully thin.
Tessa tucked the blanket around her.
Then someone opened the door behind them.
An elderly doctor stepped outside.
“Come back Friday.”
Tessa nodded.
“I'll have the money.”
The doctor shook his head.
“You don't owe us anything.”
Tessa looked embarrassed.
“Someone does.”
“It's covered.”
“Who covered it?”
The doctor paused.
“The foundation.”
Tessa looked at him.
“What foundation?”
He smiled.
“The one your mother started.”
Tessa went still.
Zo heard every word from across the street.
Your mother.
The foundation.
Rose.
He knew immediately.
Tessa didn't know who was funding her daughter's care.
But Zo did.
His family.
Or someone inside it.
The next day, he entered the clinic.
The doctor recognized him immediately.
“Mr. Rossi.”
“Tell me about the foundation.”
The doctor hesitated.
“It has saved hundreds of children.”
“Who runs it?”
“I don't know.”
“You've accepted money from it.”
“Yes.”
“And you've treated my employee's daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Who authorized it?”
The doctor pulled out a file.
The name was missing.
But one symbol had been stamped on every payment request.
A tiny silver rose.
Zo recognized it.
His mother had worn that symbol.
A brooch.
A ring.
Always a rose.
“Where did this come from?”
The doctor shook his head.
“A woman brings the paperwork.”
“Who?”
“I've never seen her face.”
Zo stared.
“Why not?”
“She comes after dark.”
He left.
That evening, he found Tessa in the laundry room.
She was folding towels.
He stood in the doorway.
“Your daughter.”
Her hands stopped.
“What about her?”
“She's receiving treatment.”
Tessa lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
“From the foundation.”
“Yes.”
“You didn't know?”
“No.”
“Your mother started it.”
Tessa froze.
“What?”
Zo stepped closer.
“Your mother, Rose Bennett.”
Tessa's face went pale.
“You knew her?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“She worked for my family.”
Tessa swallowed.
“My mother told me never to talk about the Rossis.”
Zo studied her.
“Why?”
“She said they were dangerous.”
“She was right.”
Tessa almost smiled.
“Then why are you helping my daughter?”
“I don't know yet.”
The honesty surprised her.
Zo continued.
“I'm trying to find out.”
Tessa leaned against the wall.
“My mother died when I was nineteen.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“I'm beginning to.”
“She never told me anything about you.”
“Maybe she didn't want you involved.”
“She said your father owed her.”
Zo frowned.
“Owed her what?”
“She wouldn't say.”
That was the first clue.
Zo had spent years believing his father owed him everything.
Money.
A legacy.
A name.
A burden.
Maybe he'd also owed Rose something.
“Did your mother ever mention my father?”
Tessa nodded.
“Once.”
“What did she say?”
“That he wasn't the man everyone thought he was.”
Zo stared.
“What did she mean?”
Tessa shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Then she hesitated.
“There was one other thing.”
“What?”
“She said if anyone from the Rossi family ever asked about me, I should run.”
Zo felt something cold move through his chest.
“Why?”
“She never explained.”
He nodded.
Then he did something unusual.
He stepped back.
“Keep your job.”
Tessa frowned.
“Why?”
“I may need you.”
“For what?”
“Answers.”
She looked at him.
“You don't trust me?”
“No.”
“Then why keep me?”
Zo's expression remained calm.
“Because I don't think you're the problem.”
That evening, Zo searched his mother's old storage room.
Boxes remained sealed.
He opened them.
Photographs.
Letters.
A journal.
He found Rose's name.
Repeatedly.
Twenty years earlier, Rose had been more than an employee.
She had been Elena Rossi's closest friend.
Elena was Zo's mother.
Rose had been present during Elena's pregnancy.
Then something happened.
The journal stopped.
There was a gap.
Six months.
Then one entry.
If Zo ever asks about the baby, tell him she died.
Zo stopped breathing.
Baby?
His mother had written that sentence.
He read further.
Daniel must never know.
Zo closed the journal.
Daniel.
His uncle.
The man who currently controlled half of the family's old operations.
Zo immediately understood why his mother had been afraid.
But one question remained.
What baby?
His mother had given birth to Zo.
Only Zo.
Unless—
He found a medical record.
Elena had been pregnant twice.
The second pregnancy had ended in a disappearance.
There was no death certificate.
No burial.
No record.
Zo stared at the page.
He had a sibling.
Someone had erased them.
And Rose knew.
The next morning, Zo returned to the clinic.
He asked the doctor one question.
“Who is paying for Lena Cole's care?”
The doctor sighed.
“A trust.”
“Whose?”
“Originally, Elena Rossi.”
Zo's heart stopped.
“What?”
“Your mother.”
The doctor showed him the documents.
A secret trust.
Established twenty-seven years ago.
Beneficiary:
A child born to Elena Rossi and an unnamed father.
Zo looked at the paperwork.
The beneficiary's name had been blacked out.
But beneath it was a date.
The same date written on the photograph of Lena's mother.
December 3.
The same date Zo had been staring at.
He returned home.
Found Tessa.
And asked:
“What happened on December 3?”
Tessa looked terrified.
“Why?”
“Because it's connected to your family.”
She slowly sat.
Then whispered:
“That's the day my mother told me I wasn't her daughter.”
Zo stared.
“What?”
May you like
Tessa began to cry.
“She said she raised me because somebody else couldn't.”
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