Chapter 7 - Elena’s Second LifeMatteo punched Adrian Vale so hard the chair overturned.
One second Rosa stood by the doorway.
The next, he was inches from her.
“Where was my son?”
“I don’t know.”
“You had him.”
“No.”
“You were his nanny.”
“I was drugged.”
Matteo stopped.
Rosa wiped her face.
“Elena and I were at the house that afternoon. Nico was asleep upstairs. I drank tea. The next thing I remember was waking up after midnight in the laundry room.”
Victor said, “You told investigators you fainted.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because Elena called me.”
Matteo froze.
“After the accident?”
“Before anyone knew she was dead.”
Rosa’s voice shook.
“She said, ‘Whatever happens tonight, tell Matteo Nico never left the house.’”
Matteo’s grief reopened.
“And you obeyed.”
“I was terrified.”
“Who was in the nursery?”
“A baby.”
“What baby?”
“I don’t know.”
“Boy? Girl?”
“Boy.”
“Same age?”
“Similar.”
Liana whispered, “They swapped him.”
Rosa nodded.
“For maybe six hours.”
Matteo looked at Nico.
“Why?”
Victor answered.
“To create records.”
Everyone turned.
“If someone wanted medical documentation showing Nico had a certain blood type, condition, genetic marker, hospital intake, anything—they could substitute a child temporarily.”
Liana shook her head.
“But why return him?”
“Because stealing a mafia boss’s child permanently starts a war,” Victor said. “Borrowing him for six hours might go unnoticed.”
Matteo’s voice became cold.
“Except Elena noticed.”
Rosa nodded.
“She knew immediately.”
“How?”
“The substitute baby didn’t respond to the lullaby.”
Liana stared at Nico.
Again the melody.
Again the strange recognition.
Matteo asked, “What did Elena do?”
“She called somebody.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Stop saying that.”
“She called them Beth.”
Liana nearly dropped the pendant.
“My sister?”
Rosa nodded.
“She said, ‘Beth, they did it again.’”
Liana’s legs weakened.
Matteo pulled out a chair.
She sat.
“Beth was alive six months ago?”
“I heard Elena speak to someone using that name.”
Liana began crying silently.
Seven years of mourning collapsed into possibility.
Matteo crouched in front of her.
“We find her.”
Liana looked at him.
“You don’t know that she’s alive.”
“No.”
“But you believe it?”
Matteo glanced at Nico.
“I believe someone has spent a great deal of effort making us believe things that aren’t true.”
Victor’s phone buzzed.
The lab.
Another result.
He read it twice.
“What?”
“The peptide in Nico’s blood contains a proprietary stabilizer.”
“Traceable?”
“Manufactured by one company.”
“Name?”
Victor turned the screen.
Meridian Biomedical Research.
Liana laughed once bitterly.
“They didn’t even hide the name.”
“They didn’t need to,” Matteo said.
Meridian Biomedical had legitimate government contracts.
Pediatric research.
Rare disease testing.
A spotless public reputation.
Its founder was Dr. Adrian Vale.
Matteo knew him.
Everyone wealthy in Chicago knew him.
Vale attended charity galas.
Donated to children’s hospitals.
Had attended Elena’s funeral.
Matteo remembered shaking his hand beside Elena’s grave.
His stomach turned.
Victor searched corporate records.
“Vale was on Bellrose’s advisory board.”
Matteo reached for his phone.
“No.”
Victor stopped him.
“You call him, he runs.”
“I’m not calling.”
“What are you doing?”
Matteo smiled without humor.
“Inviting him to dinner.”
That evening, Adrian Vale arrived at the estate believing he was attending a private philanthropic discussion.
He entered wearing a navy suit and calm expression.
Then he saw Liana.
For one fraction of a second, his mask broke.
Matteo saw it.
So did Victor.
Vale recovered instantly.
“Mr. Varric.”
“Dr. Vale.”
They shook hands.
Vale looked at Nico in Liana’s arms.
“Beautiful child.”
Matteo studied him.
“You’ve met.”
Vale smiled.
“At the funeral, perhaps.”
“No. Before that.”
“I don’t recall.”
Matteo led him into the dining room.
No food was served.
Only four chairs.
Matteo.
Liana.
Victor.
Vale.
Nico slept upstairs under six guards.
Matteo placed Bethany’s pendant on the table.
Vale stared at it.
Nothing.
But his hand stopped halfway toward his glass.
“Recognize it?”
“No.”
“Bellrose?”
“Of course.”
“Bethany Graves?”
Vale looked at Liana.
“I’m afraid not.”
Liana leaned forward.
“My sister worked for you.”
“I’ve employed thousands.”
“You remember me.”
Vale smiled politely.
“Do I?”
“You looked at me when you walked in like you’d seen a dead woman.”
Victor’s eyes sharpened.
Vale’s smile disappeared.
Matteo placed Elena’s bracelet beside the pendant.
Same code.
Same symbol.
Vale said nothing.
Then Matteo played Elena’s recording.
He watched the doctor’s face.
Vale remained perfectly calm until Elena said the words Meridian Circle.
Then he exhaled.
Not surprise.
Resignation.
Matteo stopped the recording.
“You have one opportunity.”
Vale looked at him.
“For?”
“To tell me where Bethany Graves is.”
Vale glanced at Liana.
Then he said:
“She’s closer than you think.”
Liana stood.
“Where?”
Vale ignored her.
Matteo’s hand moved toward his jacket.
Vale raised one palm.
“If you kill me, you’ll never understand what happened to Elena.”
Matteo’s entire body went still.
“You have ten seconds.”
Vale smiled sadly.
“Elena did not die because she discovered the Meridian Circle.”
“Then why?”
“Because she tried to leave it.”
Liana stared.
“What?”
Vale looked directly at Matteo.
“Your wife wasn’t investigating us.”
May you like
He paused.
“She was one of us.”
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