Adrian reached St. Catherine’s Hospital shortly before midnight.

He brought no armed guards inside.

No threats.

No entourage.

For once, he entered a building as nothing more than a frightened man searching for answers.

At the reception desk, a nurse recognized his name.

Her expression immediately changed.

“Mr. Romano, Dr. Evelyn Hart has been expecting you.”

Adrian frowned.

“Expecting me?”

The nurse led him to a small office on the third floor.

A silver-haired woman sat behind a desk covered in medical files.

“You look like your father,” she said.

Adrian remained standing.

“Where is Elena?”

“Safe.”

“And the little girl?”

Dr. Hart removed her glasses.

“Sit down, Adrian.”

“I don’t have time for games.”

“Then perhaps you should have made time for your wife.”

He fell silent.

Dr. Hart opened a drawer and placed an old photograph between them.

It showed Adrian at twenty-four, standing beside a young woman with blonde hair.

Her name was Sofia Bellini.

He had loved her before his father arranged his first marriage negotiations.

Sofia had become pregnant.

Then, one winter night, she disappeared.

His father told him she had lost the baby and left the country.

Adrian had spent years believing the story.

Until now.

“What does Sofia have to do with Elena?”

Dr. Hart studied him.

“Sofia gave birth to a healthy daughter.”

Adrian gripped the desk.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“My father told me—”

“Your father lied.”

The room seemed to tilt.

Dr. Hart explained that Sofia had been taken to a private maternity clinic under a false name.

She had refused to surrender her daughter to the Romano family.

Shortly afterward, she disappeared.

The baby was placed in a confidential guardianship arrangement.

“Where is she now?” Adrian whispered.

Dr. Hart looked toward the photograph of the dark-haired girl.

“Her name is Lucia.”

Adrian stared.

“My daughter?”

“Yes.”

For several seconds, he could only breathe.

Then he remembered the necklace.

“How did she get my mother’s pendant?”

“Because your mother knew.”

Adrian stepped backward.

His mother had died when he was twenty-six.

He had believed she was the only person in his family who never lied to him.

Dr. Hart continued.

“Before her death, she established a private trust for Lucia. The necklace was meant to help identify her when the truth finally came out.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“Someone tried.”

Dr. Hart reached for another file.

“Elena discovered Lucia’s existence almost five months ago.”

Adrian felt the words like a physical blow.

“My wife knew?”

“Yes.”

“And she said nothing?”

“She spent weeks trying to verify the records before confronting you.”

Dr. Hart hesitated.

“Then she received a warning.”

“What warning?”

A handwritten note had been delivered to Elena’s car.

STOP ASKING ABOUT THE BELLINI CHILD.

OR YOUR OWN BABY WILL NEVER BE SAFE.

Adrian stared at the paper.

The handwriting looked familiar.

Too familiar.

“Who sent this?”

“We don’t know.”

“Where’s Elena now?”

Dr. Hart shook her head.

“She left the hospital earlier today.”

“With Lucia?”

“No. Lucia is under protective guardianship.”

Adrian leaned against the wall.

He had come searching for his pregnant wife.

Instead, he had discovered a daughter whose entire childhood had been stolen from him.

And someone had threatened the child Elena was carrying.

His phone vibrated.

A message from Bianca.

I KNOW YOU WENT TO THE HOSPITAL.

COME HOME BEFORE YOU MAKE THINGS WORSE.

Adrian read it twice.

Then he called Vincent.

“Find out everything about Bianca DeLuca.”

“Boss?”

“Everything. Her family, her money, her connections. Especially anything involving my father.”

Vincent hesitated.

“Adrian, there’s something you should know.”

“What?”

“Bianca visited your father’s old attorney yesterday.”

Adrian closed his eyes.

His father had been dead for seven years.

But his secrets were apparently still alive.

Before leaving the hospital, Adrian asked Dr. Hart one final question.

“Did Elena know Lucia was my daughter before she became pregnant?”

“Yes.”

“Then why was she helping her?”

Dr. Hart’s expression softened.

“Because the little girl needed someone.”

That answer broke something inside him.

Elena had been protecting a child who wasn’t hers.

While Adrian had been busy convincing himself that Bianca needed him more.

Outside, snow began falling over Chicago.

Adrian climbed into his car.

A small envelope lay on the passenger seat.

No one had seen who delivered it.

Inside was a single photograph.

Elena stood outside a courthouse beside an unfamiliar man.

The man had one hand resting protectively against her back.

On the reverse, someone had written:

YOUR WIFE HAS BEEN KEEPING MORE THAN ONE SECRET.

And beneath it:

ASK HER WHO THE BABY REALLY BELONGS TO.

END OF PART 2