Chapter 10: The Sister Who Died Twice
“Tell me what happened to Caroline.””
Damien's voice echoed through his childhood home.
Mrs. Collins stood beside the desk, clutching the edge so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. The photograph of the newborn lay between them, its yellow blanket faded with age.
“I can't,” she whispered.
“You can, and you will.””
“Your father will—”
“Richard is dead!””
The housekeeper flinched.
Damien immediately regretted shouting, but the years of deception were crushing him. His mother had helped steal a baby. His father had falsified records.
His uncle had faked his own death. And now a DNA test suggested that the sister he had buried as a child might somehow be connected to a woman who had been living under a different identity.
He lowered his voice.
“Mrs. Collins, I need the truth. Whatever you tell me, I will protect you.””
She looked toward the darkened hallway.
Then she began to speak.
“Caroline was four when she became ill. Your mother took her to St. Vincent's, but the doctors couldn't explain why her fever kept returning. One night, your father arrived at the hospital with a specialist from Switzerland.””
Damien remembered that night.
He remembered sitting in the hospital corridor with his legs swinging above the floor, holding a stuffed rabbit his sister had dropped.
His father had crouched in front of him and said, “Your sister is going somewhere better.””
The next morning, Richard told him Caroline had died.
Damien had cried until he vomited.
His mother had held him for hours, repeating that Caroline was finally at peace.
“What did the specialist do?”” Damien asked.
Mrs. Collins swallowed.
“He took blood samples from Caroline. Your father said they were testing for a rare illness. But later that night, I heard him arguing with your mother.””
“About what?””
“About the baby Elena had delivered.””
Damien stared at her.
Mrs. Collins continued, her voice trembling.
“Your father said the newborn could save Caroline. He said the baby had a genetic marker the doctors believed might help them treat Caroline's condition. Your mother refused to let him take the child.””
“Then what?””
“Your father told her Caroline would die without it.””
Damien gripped the back of a chair.
“You're saying my father used Elena's baby as a medical experiment?””
“I don't know exactly what he intended. I only know that, three days after the newborn was taken, Caroline's condition suddenly improved.””
“And then she died?””
Mrs. Collins closed her eyes.
“No.””
The word landed like a gunshot.
Damien stared at her.
“What do you mean, no?””
“Caroline never died in that hospital.””
For a moment, Damien couldn't move.
Mrs. Collins opened the desk drawer and removed another document. It was a hospital discharge form dated October 18, 2019.
The patient's name was Caroline Cross.
The attending physician's signature matched the one on the forged death certificate Damien had seen earlier.
But the discharge form listed a different destination.
A private residence in Connecticut.
Damien read it twice.
“Who took her there?””
“Your mother.””
“Why did she tell me Caroline was dead?””
Mrs. Collins began crying.
“Because your father told her it was the only way to keep Caroline safe. He said the people involved in the research would come back for her if anyone knew she had survived.””
Damien's knees weakened.
He sat down.
His childhood had been built around a funeral that had never needed to happen.
Every birthday after Caroline's death, his mother had placed flowers beside a portrait and cried in private. Every Christmas, she had left an empty chair at the table.
Had she been grieving a daughter who was alive?
Or had she been forced to pretend she was dead to protect her?
“Where is Caroline now?””
Mrs. Collins shook her head.
“I don't know. Your mother visited her in secret for years. She always returned looking frightened. Then, shortly before she died, she told me Caroline had changed her name.””
“To what?””
“She wouldn't tell me.””
Damien's phone rang again.
Marcus.
“Sir, the DNA lab has clarified the results. The match with Caroline's archived sample is consistent with a close biological relationship, but the sample is too limited to establish the exact relationship. We need another test.””
Damien looked at the photograph.
“Find the woman whose DNA matched Caroline's sample. Find out where she lives, who raised her, and whether she has any connection to Elena Bennett.””
“I'm already on it.””
“And Marcus?””
“Yes, sir?””
“Find the Swiss specialist. I want his medical records, his research papers, everything.””
Marcus hesitated.
“I found a name on the old hospital invoices. Dr. Stefan Keller. He specialized in experimental treatments for rare pediatric blood disorders.””
Damien felt a chill.
“Is he alive?””
“According to public records, he died in a car accident in 2021.””
Another convenient death.
“Look for the accident report.””
“I have. The car was found burned beyond recognition. There was no body recovered.””
Damien closed his eyes.
Of course.
Nothing in his family was ever as simple as it appeared.
Two hours later, Damien sat in a private conference room with his legal team, reviewing documents from the old hospital archive.
One file contained a photograph of Dr. Keller standing beside Richard Cross and a woman whose face had been partially obscured.
Damien leaned closer.
“Enlarge that image.””
The technician adjusted the screen.
The woman's face became clearer.
Victoria Sterling.
Damien stood.
“She was involved too.””
His attorney, Rebecca Shaw, examined the image.
“Do you recognize her?””
“I recognize her face. I don't know what she was doing there.””
Rebecca tapped the document beneath the photograph.
“This invoice is particularly interesting. It shows a payment from Sterling Holdings to Dr. Keller, dated three days before Caroline was discharged.””
“How much?””
“Two million dollars.””
Damien stared at the amount.
“Why would Victoria's family pay a pediatric specialist to treat my sister?””
Rebecca turned another page.
“Because the payment wasn't for treatment. It was for a research program.””
The file contained a list of patient identifiers, medical codes, and genetic test results. Most names had been blacked out, but one remained visible.
*Patient C-17.*
Beside it was a handwritten note.
Successful transfer. Subject remains stable. Biological donor must remain unidentified.
Damien felt sick.
“Biological donor?””
Rebecca nodded grimly.
“This suggests someone used biological material from another child to treat Caroline. We need medical experts to establish exactly what happened, but the wording is concerning.””
Damien looked at the photograph of Elena's newborn.
Three babies.
One taken by Richard.
One hidden by Evelyn.
And a third whose fate remained unknown.
Could one of those babies have been used in an experimental procedure to save Caroline?
His phone buzzed.
A text from an unknown number.
*You want to know what happened to your sister? Meet me at the old Cross estate chapel tomorrow at noon. Come alone.*
Damien immediately forwarded the message to Marcus.
Then another text arrived.
*Bring the photograph of the newborn. You'll recognize me when you see what I carry.*
Damien stared at the screen.
May you like
For the first time in seven years, he wondered whether Caroline might still be alive.
And whether she might hate him for believing she was dead.
