Chapter 6 – THE WRONG CHILD

The damp air in the warehouse suddenly felt suffocating.

“Sofia, what do you mean?” Luca demanded, gripping his sister’s shoulders. “Mom said you came to the front door with the baby.”

“I came with a blanket rolled up in my arms,” Sofia sobbed. “I knew Vincent’s men were watching the house. I needed them to think the baby was with me so they wouldn’t go to the hospital.”

I backed away, my mind spinning violently.

If Sofia hadn’t brought her baby… then the newborn I found under the stairs, the child currently sleeping in Teresa’s bed, wasn’t Sofia’s daughter.

“Then whose child is in my house?” Luca’s voice was a dangerous whisper.

Before Sofia could answer, the heavy metal doors of the warehouse slammed shut.

The echoing boom made us all jump.

From the shadows of the catwalk above, a figure stepped into the dim light.

It was Vanessa.

She wasn’t wearing her silk robe anymore. She was dressed in a dark coat, and she was holding a small silver object that caught the sparse light. A recording device.

“It’s my child, Luca,” Vanessa said, her voice echoing off the concrete walls.

Luca stood up slowly, positioning himself in front of Sofia. “You told me you couldn’t have children, Vanessa. The doctors confirmed it.”

“I can’t,” Vanessa sneered, walking slowly down the metal stairs. “But money can buy a lot of things, darling. Including a desperate young woman willing to carry a child for the right price.”

I stared at her, horrified. “You bought a baby?”

“I secured an heir,” Vanessa corrected coldly. “Vincent’s family has a surrogate agency in their pocket. We made a deal. I help him get rid of Sofia, and he ensures my surrogate delivers quietly.”

“You hid your own surrogate’s baby in my coat closet?” Luca asked in disbelief.

“The surrogate panicked,” Vanessa spat. “She showed up at the party tonight demanding more money. I had to lock the child away before anyone saw her, while Marcus dealt with the mother.”

My stomach heaved. The train ticket. The rosary.

“You were going to frame me for kidnapping your illegal surrogate baby,” I realized aloud.

“It was a perfect plan,” Vanessa smiled thinly. “Until you found her too early. Now, I have a much better idea.”

She pressed a button on a remote in her pocket.

Two men stepped out from the shadows, blocking the only exit.

“Take care of them,” Vanessa told the men. “Make it look like a robbery gone wrong.”

She turned to leave.

“Wait!” Sofia screamed.

Vanessa paused.

Sofia looked up at her, tears streaming down her bruised face. “You don’t know, do you?”

Vanessa frowned. “Know what?”

Sofia let out a broken, bitter laugh. “I used Vincent’s surrogate agency too, Vanessa. My husband forced me to.”

Vanessa’s confidence faltered. “What are you talking about?”

“The clinic in Montreal,” Sofia whispered. “There was a mix-up in the lab six months ago. A massive lawsuit they covered up.”

Vanessa stepped forward, her face paling. “What mix-up?”

Sofia looked directly into Vanessa’s eyes.

“That baby in the closet isn’t yours, Vanessa. That’s my biological daughter. And the baby hiding in the hospital… is yours.”

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