Chapter 7: Six Months Before
Emily stared at the date.
The hallway seemed to tilt beneath her feet.
Six months before she met Ryan.
Six months before the wedding.
Six months before the life she had spent years believing was hers.
Ethan pressed against her side.
“Mom?””
Emily couldn't answer.
Ryan stood motionless.
Marcus looked at the second birth certificate through the evidence bag.
The police officer lowered it slightly.
“Mrs. Moretti, I need you to stay calm.””
Emily looked at him.
“How can I stay calm?””
Her voice broke.
“That date is impossible.””
The officer nodded.
“That is why we're investigating.””
Ryan suddenly spoke.
“The document is fake.””
The officer turned.
“Mr. Moretti, don't speak.””
“You don't understand.””
“We understand enough.””
Ryan stepped forward.
The officer immediately raised a hand.
“Stay where you are.””
Ryan stopped.
Emily looked at him.
“You said the other certificate was real.””
Ryan's face tightened.
“It was.””
“Then this one is fake?””
“Yes.””
“Who made it?””
“I don't know.””
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“You always did underestimate how much evidence people leave behind.””
Ryan looked at him.
“You're enjoying this.””
“No.””
Marcus's expression hardened.
“I've been waiting ten years for the truth to stop being yours.””
The officer looked toward Marcus.
“Sir, identify yourself.””
Marcus hesitated.
Emily answered.
“His name is Marcus Moretti.””
The officer's eyes widened slightly.
“Marcus Moretti?””
“Yes.””
“That's impossible.””
Marcus nodded.
“I know.””
The officer looked at the other officer behind him.
They exchanged a glance.
Emily noticed.
“What?””
The first officer looked at her.
“Your brother was listed as deceased.””
“He isn't.””
“No.””
The officer's gaze moved to Ryan.
“Apparently not.””
Ryan's breathing became heavier.
Natalie suddenly stepped backward.
Emily saw her.
“Where are you going?””
Natalie stopped.
“I need to sit down.””
“You're not leaving.””
Natalie's eyes flashed.
“You don't control me.””
Emily stepped toward her.
“You've controlled enough.””
Natalie looked at Ryan.
“Tell her.””
Ryan said nothing.
“Tell her what you told me.””
Ryan's eyes narrowed.
“Natalie.””
“You promised me.””
The room went silent.
Emily's voice was low.
“What did he promise you?””
Natalie swallowed.
“That once the baby was born, Ethan would be gone.””
Emily's entire body went cold.
“What?””
Ethan looked up.
Natalie covered her mouth.
“I didn't mean—”
Emily moved toward her.
The officer stepped between them.
“Mrs. Moretti.””
Emily stopped.
“Tell me what she meant.””
Natalie began crying.
“I thought Ryan was going to send him away.””
“Where?””
“I don't know.””
“Where?””
“I don't know!””
Natalie wiped her face.
“He said there was a school.””
Marcus stared at Ryan.
“A boarding school?””
Ryan didn't answer.
Emily looked at him.
“You were going to send my son away.””
“I was trying to give him stability.””
“Without me?””
“You weren't here.””
“You made sure I couldn't be here!””
Ryan's face twisted.
“You left.””
“I left because you told me you didn't want me.””
“I was angry.””
“You destroyed my family.””
Ryan looked toward Ethan.
“No.””
His voice softened.
“I built one.””
Emily stared at him.
“You built one by replacing us.””
Ryan's eyes filled with tears.
“I loved you.””
Emily shook her head.
“You loved the version of me that obeyed you.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“Emily.””
She looked at him.
He pointed at the evidence bag.
“There's more.””
The officer opened a second envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Emily's breath caught.
It showed a hospital room.
She was lying unconscious in a bed.
A newborn baby rested beside her.
Marcus stood at the other side of the bed.
And Ryan was nowhere in the photograph.
Emily's hand flew to her mouth.
The officer said,
“This photograph was recovered with the birth certificate.””
Emily looked at Marcus.
“You were there.””
“Yes.””
“Why don't I remember?””
Marcus's eyes filled with tears.
“Because when you woke up, Ryan told you I had died.””
Emily closed her eyes.
A faint memory surfaced.
A hospital ceiling.
A baby's cry.
A man's hand around hers.
Then nothing.
She opened her eyes.
“Where is the original hospital record?””
Marcus looked at Ryan.
Ryan whispered,
“Destroyed.””
The officer immediately turned.
“You destroyed medical records?””
Ryan said nothing.
“Mr. Moretti, you're going to need a lawyer.””
Ryan looked toward the front door.
Then toward Natalie.
Then toward Emily.
His face seemed to collapse.
“You don't understand.””
Emily stared at him.
“Then make me understand.””
Ryan's voice cracked.
“I wasn't trying to hurt Ethan.””
“What were you trying to do?””
Ryan looked at Marcus.
“I was trying to keep him alive.””
Emily froze.
“What?””
Ryan continued.
“Your brother knows why.””
Marcus's face changed.
“Don't.””
Ryan looked at Emily.
“The person who tried to kill you wasn't after you.””
Emily's heart stopped.
“Then who?””
Ryan pointed toward Ethan.
“They were after him.””
Ethan's fingers tightened around Emily's hand.
The officer's expression changed.
“Mr. Moretti, what exactly are you saying?””
Ryan stared at Ethan.
“The boy wasn't supposed to survive.””
Then the mansion's security alarm suddenly began screaming.
Every light in the foyer flashed red.
The officer turned toward the windows.
Marcus pulled Emily and Ethan away from the glass.
A loud crash came from the backyard.
Emily looked toward the garden.
The wooden dog kennel had been knocked sideways.
And beneath it was a black metal box.
Marcus stared at it.
“Oh, God.””
Emily whispered,
“What?””
May you like
Marcus's face had gone white.
“That wasn't supposed to be here.””
