Chapter 8 - The Woman Everyone Believed Was Dead Had Been Living Under Another Name for Years—And She Was the One Who Had Left Lucas With the Bell FamilyWe found Elena.
Alive.
She had been living in Oregon under another name.
When Sebastian saw her, he stopped moving.
She cried.
He did not.
At first.
Then he stepped forward.
“You left.”
“I had to.”
“You let me bury you.”
“I wanted you to survive.”
“What about our son?”
“He survived.”
“He spent seventeen years without me.”
“So did you.”
Sebastian looked broken.
Elena explained.
Marco had not kidnapped Luca.
He had saved him.
Northstar wanted him.
She and Marco had escaped.
Marco died protecting them.
Elena disappeared because she believed Sebastian's enemies were watching.
She arranged for the Bell family to adopt Luca.
She watched from a distance.
She never contacted him again because she feared it would expose him.
Sebastian asked:
“Why come back now?”
“Because the people running Northstar found him.”
I looked at her.
“Who?”
She named the leader.
Dr. Victor Hale.
A respected medical researcher.
Someone who had treated children at Pine Valley.
The person who arranged Sebastian's volunteer authorization.
The person who had specifically sent him to bed nine.
I froze.
“Why him?”
Elena explained.
Hale wanted Sebastian close to the baby.
He wanted to observe Sebastian's reaction.
He knew Baby Boy Miller was Luca.
He knew the abandoned infant would trigger Sebastian's memories.
He wanted to see whether Sebastian would identify him.
And if Sebastian did—
Hale could locate the missing genetic data.
The entire NICU situation had been staged.
The baby wasn't random.
It was bait.
I thought about the paperwork.
The volunteer assignment.
The hospital donation.
The bracelet.
Everything.
Sebastian looked at me.
“They used you too.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
We returned to New York.
Victor Hale was gone.
May you like
But he left a message.
You found the truth. Now protect it.
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