Chapter 8: The Woman Who Had Been Raised on a Lie
Grace Sterling arrived at Damien's penthouse at 9:15 the following morning.
She came alone.
She wore a charcoal coat over a cream blouse, with her dark hair tied neatly at the nape of her neck. Her posture was impeccable, her expression guarded.
But the moment she stepped into the living room and saw the photograph of Elena on the table, her composure faltered.
“That's her,” Grace whispered.
Damien stood.
“You recognize her?””
“I've seen her face before.””
“Where?””
Grace opened her handbag and removed a small velvet pouch.
Inside lay a silver bracelet.
The inscription had been polished by years of wear.
*GRACE CROSS.*
Damien felt his breath catch.
Grace turned the bracelet over.
“There was another name engraved on the inside. I only noticed it yesterday.””
She held it toward him.
*ELENA'S LITTLE BIRD.*
Damien reached for the bracelet but stopped before touching it.
“Where did you get this?””
“My mother gave it to me when I was a child. She said it had belonged to my grandmother.””
“Your grandmother?””
Grace nodded.
“Margaret told me my biological mother had died during childbirth. She said she and my father had adopted me after years of infertility.””
Damien's jaw tightened.
“Did you ever meet your father?””
Grace's face darkened.
“My father died when I was twelve. At least, that's what my mother told me.””
“His name?””
“Peter Sterling.””
Damien exchanged a glance with Marcus.
Peter Sterling had been a quiet businessman who rarely appeared at public events. His death had been attributed to a heart attack during a business trip to Switzerland.
Damien had attended the funeral.
He remembered Margaret standing beside the coffin, wearing black gloves and accepting condolences with the calm dignity of a woman who had lost the love of her life.
“Grace,” Damien said carefully, “how old are you?””
“Twenty-six.””
“Are you certain?””
Her expression hardened.
“Of course I'm certain.””
“Have you ever seen your birth certificate?””
“Yes. It says I was born at St. Vincent's Hospital on June 14, 2000.””
Damien glanced at Marcus.
Elena had given birth in 2019.
Grace could not possibly be the stolen twin.
Unless the birth records had been altered.
Or the woman standing before him wasn't the child Richard had taken.
“Did your mother ever tell you why she chose the name Grace?””
Grace shook her head.
“She said she prayed for me every night before I was born.””
“Did she ever mention Elena Bennett?””
“No. Not until yesterday.””
Grace sat down, suddenly looking younger than her polished appearance suggested.
“I found the photograph in a locked safe in her bedroom. There were dozens of documents, including a hospital record with my name crossed out and another name written beside it.””
Damien leaned forward.
“What name?””
Grace looked at him.
“Lily.””
The room went silent.
Damien felt his heart slam against his ribs.
“Lily?””
Grace nodded.
“The record said that a baby girl named Lily Bennett had been born at St. Vincent's. Someone had crossed out the name and replaced it with Grace Sterling.””
Damien stood so quickly his chair scraped backward.
“No.””
Grace's eyes filled with tears.
“I think I'm your daughter.””
Damien stared at her, struggling to reconcile the evidence.
Lily was seven years old.
Grace was twenty-six.
They could not be the same person.
He forced himself to speak calmly.
“Show me the documents.””
Grace opened a folder and spread the papers across the table.
There were two birth certificates, a hospital discharge form, and a notarized statement from a private adoption agency.
The first birth certificate listed Lily Bennett, born October 12, 2019.
The second listed Grace Sterling, born June 14, 2000.
Damien frowned.
“These dates are eleven months apart from the birth of my daughters.””
Grace nodded.
“That's what I thought. But look at the hospital record.””
She pointed to a line at the bottom of the page.
The date had been changed from June 14, 2000, to October 12, 2019.
Someone had altered the document.
Damien stared at the ink.
“Who signed this?””
Grace pointed to the bottom.
Richard Cross.
Damien felt cold spread through his body.
His father had not merely hidden a child.
He had manufactured an entirely different identity.
But why?
Why make a stolen baby eleven years older?
And why give her to the Sterling family?
Grace looked down at her hands.
“My mother told me I was adopted, but she said the paperwork was sealed. She told me not to ask questions because my biological parents had been criminals.””
Damien's face hardened.
“Did you believe her?””
“For years.””
Grace swallowed.
“Then, when I was sixteen, I found a newspaper clipping about a young woman named Elena Bennett. It said she'd been accused of medical fraud. My mother caught me reading it and slapped me so hard I fell against the desk.””
Damien's fists clenched.
“What did she say?””
Grace's voice cracked.
“She said Elena was a dangerous woman who had tried to steal me.””
Damien felt a wave of anger so intense he had to turn away.
Margaret Sterling had raised a stolen child while teaching her to hate the mother who had given birth to her.
Grace wiped her eyes.
“Mr. Cross, I need you to tell me the truth. Am I your daughter?””
Damien looked at her.
He wanted to say yes.
He wanted to give her the answer she had searched for her entire life.
But he had learned the cost of believing what powerful people told him.
“We need a DNA test,” he said gently.
“And we need to establish your actual age.””
Grace nodded.
“I expected that.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“I can arrange an independent test today. We can also obtain the original hospital records through legal channels.””
Grace looked at him.
“There's one more thing.””
She reached into her handbag and removed a folded letter.
“My mother left this in the safe. She addressed it to you.””
Damien took it.
The handwriting belonged to Margaret Sterling.
Damien,
If Grace has found you, then Richard's plan has failed.
I did what I believed was necessary to protect my family. Peter could not have children, and I wanted a daughter more than anything. Richard offered me a child and told me the mother had abandoned her.
I believed him.
I did not know Elena had been threatened. I did not know she was still alive until years later.
Damien stopped reading.
Margaret had known Elena was alive.
He continued.
When I discovered the truth, Richard threatened to expose my husband's financial crimes. He said that if I returned the child, Peter would lose everything and go to prison.
I was afraid. So I kept her.
I am sorry.
The letter ended with a final sentence.
But there is something you must understand: Grace was not the only child Richard took.
Damien lowered the page.
Grace looked up sharply.
“What does that mean?””
He turned the letter toward her.
She read it, then pressed a trembling hand against her mouth.
“Another child?””
Damien thought of Lily and Rose.
Two girls born together.
One taken.
One left behind.
But Margaret's letter suggested there had been another child entirely.
Marcus's phone rang.
He answered, listened, then turned pale.
“Sir, the forensic team has finished examining Elena's flash drive.””
Damien looked at him.
“What did they find?””
“A recording from the hospital's security office. It shows Richard leaving with a baby. But he wasn't alone.””
“Who was with him?””
Marcus swallowed.
“Your mother, sir.””
Damien went completely still.
His mother had died when he was seventeen.
For years, he had believed she knew nothing about Elena, Jonathan, or the family conspiracy.
Now the evidence suggested otherwise.
Grace rose slowly.
“Mr. Cross, if your mother helped Richard take that baby, then we need to know why.””
Damien stared at the recording on Marcus's tablet.
His mother's face appeared in the frozen frame.
May you like
She was holding a newborn.
And she was smiling.
