“Don’t move!”Helena’s voice cut through the room.Naomi froze beside her laptop. The woman calling herself Isabella stood behind Helena, holding a photograph.Evelyn slowly raised her hands.“Why are you pointing a gun at Naomi?”Helena ignored the question.“Where is the original register?”Naomi swallowed.“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”Helena stepped closer.“Don’t insult me. You have been digging through records that were buried for twenty-five years. I know you found it.”Evelyn moved slightly between them.“Leave her alone.”Helena looked at her.“You still don’t understand, do you?”“Understand what?”“Your entire life was built on a lie.”Evelyn’s eyes narrowed.“Matthew already told us about the switched babies.”“Matthew doesn’t know everything.”The young woman behind Helena finally spoke.“She is telling the truth.”Evelyn turned toward her.“Isabella, why are you here?”The young woman raised the photograph.“Because I want you to see what they did to us.”She

Varek stared at the message on his phone.ASK ADRIAN WHY HE HAS NEVER TOLD YOU ABOUT THE CHILD HE KILLED.For several seconds, nobody spoke.Victor moved closer, his injured side making him wince.“Which brother?” he asked again.Varek locked his phone.“That’s what I intend to find out.”Miriam watched him carefully. “What happened?”“Someone has Adrian.”Her expression changed. “Richard?”“I don’t know. But whoever sent this message wants the original birth register.”Victor frowned. “And they specifically told you not to tell your brother. That means they know something about us.”“Or they want us to turn against each other,” Varek replied.He looked at Victor.“That’s exactly what Richard has been trying to do.”Victor folded his arms. “Then we’re not giving him what he wants.”Varek turned to Miriam. “You said you delivered Adrian. You said Jonathan was his father. You also said Richard took him. How much of that can you prove?”Miriam lowered her eyes.“I have a few documents.”

Varek stared at his phone.Naomi’s words kept repeating in his head.Someone had used his identity to declare Daniel dead.And the signature on the document matched his own.“That doesn’t make sense,” Victor said.Varek lowered the phone.“I wasn’t even old enough to write.”“I know. That’s why I’m telling you someone deliberately created that record before you could have known what it meant.”Varek looked at the photograph in his hand. Eleanor stood beside a hospital cot, her expression serious. The woman beside her had her face crossed out.“Naomi, can you identify the woman?”“I’m trying. The original photograph has been damaged, but I found something written on the back.”“What?”“Baby Seven.”Varek frowned.“Baby Seven?”“Yes. The original nursery had six registered subjects. This photograph suggests there was another child.”Victor took the photograph from Varek.“Seven children?”“Possibly. But there’s something else. The woman standing beside Eleanor was listed as the child’s

The road to the medical facility was unusually quiet.Varek sat in the passenger seat while Victor drove. Neither man spoke for several minutes.The photograph of the little boy remained open on Varek’s phone.Matthew Thorne.The original firstborn.According to Grace, the boy Jonathan had brought into the facility was the real Matthew. But if that was true, who had been using the name all these years?And why had Richard insisted that Adrian was responsible for Daniel’s death?Varek’s phone rang.Naomi.“Have you reached the facility?” she asked.“Almost.”“Don’t enter through the main entrance.”“Why?”“I checked the security system. There are at least six armed men inside.”Victor glanced at Varek.“Richard’s men?”“Some of them. But two security officers have been identified as former employees of St. Catherine’s.”Varek frowned.“Medical staff?”“No. They were involved in the original child transfers.”“Can you open the underground entrance?”“I’m working on it. There’s a service

Isabella stood frozen in front of Naomi.For several seconds, nobody spoke.Evelyn held her hand, but Isabella seemed unable to feel it. Her eyes remained fixed on the document showing her name beneath the word DECEASED.“That’s not possible,” she whispered again.Naomi turned the laptop toward her.“Look at the date.”Isabella leaned closer.The record showed that a baby girl named Isabella Thorne had been declared dead three days after birth. The document contained a hospital stamp, a doctor’s signature and a burial authorization.But something was wrong.The burial authorization had been issued before the death certificate was signed.Naomi pointed at the dates.“Someone prepared your burial before you were officially declared dead.”Evelyn shook her head.“That doesn’t mean it was her.”Isabella looked at her.“I remember the woman who buried me.”Naomi leaned forward.“Tell us exactly what you remember.”Isabella closed her eyes.“I was little. Maybe four or five. I remember a wo