Chapter 6 - THE BILLIONAIRE WHO ERASED A CHILD
Victor Bellini had built his fortune over forty years.
Hotels.
Commercial properties.
Investment firms.
He was wealthy enough that newspapers described his purchases as if they were weather events.
When Dante told me Victor had changed his will, I didn't understand why it mattered.
"People change wills all the time."
Dante nodded.
"Yes."
"Then why would Isabella leave a note about it?"
He looked toward the nursery.
"Because she believed Victor was hiding something."
We met with Isabella's former attorney, Helen Brooks, a woman in her fifties with sharp eyes and a calm voice.
Helen listened carefully.
Then asked to see the note.
She examined the handwriting.
"That's Isabella's."
I leaned forward.
"Do you know what it means?"
Helen hesitated.
"Possibly."
She explained that Isabella had inherited a substantial trust from her adoptive mother.
Victor controlled several related business interests but did not own the trust outright.
Shortly before Isabella's death, she had begun asking questions about old adoption records.
"She wanted to know whether she had a living sibling," Helen said.
I swallowed.
"Me."
Helen nodded.
"She also believed certain family documents had been altered."
Dante frowned.
"Which documents?"
Helen opened a folder.
"Records concerning her adoptive mother's estate."
She explained that Isabella had discovered a provision referring to a second child.
Not necessarily an adopted child.
A beneficiary whose identity had been concealed.
I stared.
"Are you saying I might have been included?"
Helen nodded carefully.
"It's possible. We need to verify the original documents."
Dante leaned back.
"Victor knew?"
Helen's expression hardened.
"I believe he knew more than he admitted."
That evening, I returned to my apartment.
I sat on the bed holding Isabella's photograph.
Two little girls.
One with a scar.
One without.
For twenty-six years, I had believed I was alone.
May you like
Now I knew someone had spent her entire life searching for me.
And someone else might have worked very hard to keep us apart.
