Chapter 3 - The Name on the Hospital Bracelet
“No.”
The word came out before I could think.
Then again.
“No.”
Adrian didn’t move.
Rain hammered the warehouse roof.
Evan stared at the floor.
Daniel looked as though he wanted to disappear.
I laughed because the alternative was screaming.
“My name is Mara Ellis.”
“I know.”
“My father was Thomas Ellis.”
“Yes.”
“My mother was Jennifer Ellis.”
Adrian’s silence made my stomach twist.
“Say something.”
“I don’t know the whole story.”
“You just told me I arrived at a hospital wearing your family’s name.”
“I told you what I remember.”
“You were twelve.”
“Yes.”
“You expect me to trust a twelve-year-old’s memory after twenty-two years?”
“No.”
That answer stopped me.
Adrian pointed toward the flash drive.
“I expect you to find out for yourself.”
We returned to the penthouse before dawn.
Adrian’s security specialist worked on Noah’s drive while I sat in the office holding a cup of coffee I never drank.
At 5:17 a.m., he found the password prompt.
One question appeared.
What did Dad call the three of us?
I stared at it.
Three of us.
Dad.
Noah.
Me.
I knew the answer.
“The Ellis Team.”
The drive unlocked.
There were seventeen folders.
Most contained financial records.
One was labeled THOMAS.
Inside was a video.
Noah appeared on screen.
He looked exhausted.
But alive.
“Mara, if you’re watching this, I screwed up.”
I covered my mouth.
“I started gambling again. I know what you’re thinking. You warned me. Dad warned me. Everybody warned me.”
His eyes dropped.
“I owed money. I took a job at Moretti Logistics because I thought I could fix everything.”
Adrian stood behind me, silent.
Noah continued.
“I found a weakness in their payment system. At first I stole small amounts.”
My heart sank.
“So yes, I did it. I stole from Adrian Moretti. About sixty-three thousand dollars.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
Not $287,000.
Sixty-three.
Noah looked directly into the camera.
“But then somebody noticed what I was doing.”
He paused.
“Instead of exposing me, they offered me a deal.”
The room became silent.
“They told me to keep moving money. Bigger amounts. They would cover my gambling debt and pay me extra.”
Noah rubbed his face.
“I agreed.”
I closed my eyes.
“But then I discovered the money wasn’t going where they said. Somebody was using Moretti Logistics to hide payments connected to Vale Holdings.”
Adrian moved closer.
Noah continued.
“I found old files too. Dad’s name was in them.”
A photograph appeared.
Dad beside Richard Vale.
“I confronted Dad years ago about why he kept newspaper articles about Carlo Moretti’s death. He told me to forget it.”
Noah’s voice softened.
“After Dad died, I found a storage key among his things. I never told you, Mara.”
I whispered, “Idiot.”
Tears slipped down my cheeks.
Noah continued.
“I found hospital documents.”
My body went rigid.
“The woman we knew as Mom, Jennifer Ellis, was our mother. Mine biologically.”
A pause.
“But not yours.”
I couldn’t breathe.
Adrian stepped beside me.
Noah’s voice broke.
“Dad and Mom adopted you privately when you were an infant. They never told you because they were afraid.”
The screen blurred through my tears.
“Afraid of what?”
As if answering me, Noah continued.
“Your biological mother was Isabella Moretti.”
Adrian inhaled sharply.
I turned toward him.
His face had gone white.
“Your mother?”
He stared at Noah.
“That’s impossible.”
Noah continued.
“And according to the hospital record, your biological father was Carlo Moretti.”
Adrian stumbled backward.
The truth struck both of us at once.
“No,” Adrian whispered.
I stood.
“If Carlo and Isabella were my parents…”
Adrian looked at me.
“You’re my sister.”
The words changed everything.
Every fear.
Every assumption.
Every moment between us.
I looked at the ring.
It hadn’t merely belonged to Adrian’s mother.
It had belonged to mine.
Noah’s video continued.
“Thomas knew the Moretti family was in danger. He took Mara away because Isabella begged him to.”
Adrian turned back toward the screen.
“Why?”
“Because somebody inside Carlo’s organization was trying to eliminate his family.”
A photograph of Richard Vale appeared.
“I think that man was Richard Vale.”
Adrian’s expression became cold.
Noah explained that Dad had hidden me because whoever ordered the attack believed the Moretti baby had died.
For twenty-two years, the world had believed Adrian was Carlo Moretti’s only surviving child.
But I existed.
And if Noah had uncovered that truth, somebody else might have discovered it too.
The final portion of the video showed Noah leaning toward the camera.
“Mara, I’m sorry.”
His voice shook.
“I know you’ll hate me for leaving.”
I whispered, “I already do.”
“But I had to make them follow me instead of you.”
My anger vanished.
“If Adrian is watching this, listen carefully.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Your enemy isn’t outside your organization.”
Noah looked straight into the camera.
“He sits at your table.”
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Adrian’s phone rang.
Daniel answered.
His face changed.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
He held out the phone.
Security footage appeared.
It showed a man entering the Halston Hotel.
My hotel.
I recognized him immediately.
Victor Salerno.
The elderly man who had identified my ring.
The man Adrian trusted.
The timestamp was three weeks earlier.
The same night Noah disappeared.
Then another camera showed Victor meeting someone in the underground garage.
Richard Vale.
Adrian stared at the screen.
“No.”
Daniel said quietly, “There’s more.”
Another image appeared.
Victor handing Vale an envelope.
On the front was written one name.
May you like
MARA ELLIS.
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