Chapter 8: The Child Nobody Knew About
I didn’t understand the words.
My brain rejected them before my heart could.
“What did you say?””
Bianca looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“The second baby.””
My grip tightened around the device.
“Don’t.””
“I’m telling you what Isabella discovered.””
“No.””
My voice became colder.
“Do not use my wife’s memory to manipulate me.””
Bianca shook her head.
“I knew you would think that.””
“Because it sounds impossible.””
“It is.””
She took a shaky breath.
“But impossible doesn’t mean false.””
I walked inside without another word.
I didn’t know if I believed her.
I didn’t know if I hated her.
I only knew one thing.
I needed answers.
That night, after Livia fell asleep, I sat alone in my office.
The storage device was on the desk.
A tiny object holding a truth I wasn’t ready to hear.
I finally opened it.
The screen showed Isabella.
Older videos of her appeared first.
Her smile.
Her laugh.
Her hand resting over her pregnant stomach.
Then the final recording began.
Her face appeared.
She looked tired.
But peaceful.
“Alessandro…”
My eyes burned instantly.
It was her voice.
After all this time.
“I don’t know when you will watch this.””
She paused.
“But if you are seeing this, something happened.””
I leaned closer.
“First, I need you to know that I loved you.””
A tear fell.
“I loved our family.””
She looked down.
“But there is something I was afraid to tell you.””
My heart started racing.
“During my pregnancy, the doctors discovered something unexpected.””
She took a breath.
“The second baby was alive.””
I froze.
No.
“No…”
The recording continued.
“After delivery, they told me there had been a mistake.””
My hands trembled.
“They said the baby had been transferred because of a medical emergency.””
I stared at the screen.
“Transferred?””
Isabella’s voice cracked.
“I found out later that the records had been changed.””
My entire body went cold.
“Someone altered the information.””
The video paused briefly.
Then Isabella whispered:
“Alessandro, our baby may still be alive.””
I covered my mouth.
Years of grief.
Years of believing we lost a child.
And now this.
“There was one person who helped me search.””
The image shook slightly.
“She promised she would find the truth.””
I leaned forward.
“Who?””
Isabella looked directly into the camera.
“Bianca.””
The room went silent.
I stopped breathing.
The woman I blamed.
The woman who hurt my son.
The woman hiding secrets.
She had not just known Isabella.
She had helped her.
The recording continued.
“But Alessandro, please be careful.””
My heart tightened.
“Because the person who changed those records is still out there.””
The video ended.
I sat there for a long time.
Unable to move.
Unable to think.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A man’s voice spoke.
“Mr. Alessandro?””
“Yes.””
“You need to stop looking into the hospital records.””
My blood ran cold.
“Who is this?””
The man ignored my question.
“You don’t understand what you’re uncovering.””
I stood up.
“Tell me who you are.””
A pause.
Then:
“I’m the person who knows where Isabella’s second child is.””
My heart stopped.
“Where?””
The man breathed heavily.
And then he said:
“Your child is alive.””
The call ended.
I looked toward Livia’s bedroom door.
Two children.
Two secrets.
And somewhere in the world was a child who had been missing from my life for three years.
But the next message that appeared on my phone changed everything.
It was a photograph.
A child.
A child with the same eyes as Livia.
And underneath the picture was one sentence:
May you like
Bianca was never trying to replace Isabella.
She was trying to find what someone stole from her.
