Chapter 3 - THE WILLOW CREEK SECRET
The black SUV tore through the rainy Chicago streets.
Dominic sat in the passenger seat, his jaw clenched so tightly I thought his teeth might shatter. I sat in the back, clutching my damp coat.
Every time lightning flashed, it illuminated the silver locket in Dominic's hand.
"I bought this for Elena on our first anniversary," Dominic said quietly, not looking back at me. "Before my father died. Before I became the head of the family."
"You loved her," I whispered.
"I was going to marry her. But my aunt convinced my father that Elena was just a gold digger. Then came the phone call about the car crash."
He closed his eyes.
"Twenty-four years ago, Lydia convinced my aunt Margaret that she was unfit to be a mother," Dominic continued, his voice hardening. "She stole Rose to control the trust fund. And three years ago, she did the exact same thing to me."
"Why did she need your daughter, sir?" I asked.
Dominic looked at me through the rearview mirror.
"Because if I have an heir, Lydia loses her seat on the family board. She loses access to the offshore accounts. My daughter was her insurance policy."
The tires screeched as the driver pulled up to a dingy, neon-lit motel on 4th Street.
"Wait here," Dominic ordered his driver.
He got out into the rain. I followed him, my heart in my throat.
We climbed the rusted metal stairs to room 214.
Dominic didn't knock. He kicked the door open.
Inside, a young woman with dark, exhausted eyes screamed and dropped a suitcase.
She looked exactly like Daniel, but older, broken by years of fear.
"Elena," Dominic breathed.
Elena stared at him. She fell to her knees, sobbing violently into her hands.
"Dominic, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. She said she would kill you if I didn't leave."
Dominic crossed the room in two strides. He dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms.
"You're safe now," he whispered fiercely into her hair. "Daniel told me everything. You are safe."
Elena clutched his lapels. "Dominic, our baby. Our little Sofia. Lydia is selling her."
My stomach flipped. "Selling her?"
Elena nodded frantically, looking at me, then back at Dominic.
"Lydia made a deal with the Romanov family in New York. A peace offering. She's giving Sofia to their boss as an adopted daughter to cement a treaty. The transfer is happening tonight at the Willow Creek Clinic."
Dominic stood up, his aura shifting from a grieving lover to a terrifying mafia boss.
"Nora," he said coldly.
"Yes, sir?"
"Call your sister."
I froze. "My sister?"
"You send half your paycheck to a girl in nursing school. Does she still do her clinical rotations at Willow Creek?"
My breath hitched. I hadn't realized Dominic knew so much about his staff.
"Yes. She's on the night shift right now."
"Call her. Tell her to go to the basement records room and find the transfer papers for a three-year-old girl named Sofia."
My hands shook as I pulled out my phone. I dialed my sister, Maya.
She answered on the third ring. "Nora? It's past midnight, what's wrong?"
"Maya, listen to me carefully. I need you to go to the records room. Find a file for a toddler named Sofia. It's under Lydia Moretti's name."
"Nora, I can't do that, I'll get fired!"
"Maya, please. A little girl's life is in danger."
There was a long silence. Then, the sound of a door clicking open.
"Okay. I'm in," Maya whispered over the phone. "I'm looking at the transfer file now."
"Who signed the release forms?" Dominic demanded, leaning close to the phone.
Maya paused.
Then she said something that made the blood drain from my face.
"It wasn't signed by Lydia Moretti."
"Then who?" I asked.
"It's signed by Margaret Ellis."
Dominic and I stared at each other.
"Margaret hasn't seen Lydia in twenty-four years," I whispered.
"Lydia forged her name," Dominic growled. "She used Margaret's identity to legally surrender my daughter, just like she did with Rose."
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the phone line.
"Maya?!" I screamed.
"Hey! What are you doing in here?!" a rough male voice shouted on the other end.
May you like
There was a scuffle. Maya screamed.
Then, the phone went dead.
