CHAPTER 5 — THE BLOOD TEST
The estate remained sealed until sunrise.
No one slept.
Raina sat alone in the guest bedroom with the blue box on her lap.
She had stopped crying.
Not because she wasn't devastated.
Because she had run out of tears.
Her entire identity had become a question.
The woman she called Mom might not have been her biological mother.
The man she trusted most had hidden the truth.
And Damon had somehow discovered pieces of a secret that even Raina's father had tried to bury.
She opened the box again.
There was one thing she hadn't examined carefully.
The hospital bracelet.
She turned it over.
A number was engraved on the back.
7419.
Raina stared.
Then she remembered something.
Dr. Hart had looked frightened when Raina mentioned her mother's death.
Why?
Raina reached for her phone.
She called the hospital.
“St. Vincent's.”
“I need Dr. Evelyn Hart.”
“She's unavailable.”
“When will she be available?”
A pause.
“She left the hospital last night.”
Raina's heart sank.
“Where did she go?”
“We don't know.”
Of course.
Raina ended the call.
A knock came at the door.
Orson entered.
“May I?”
Raina didn't answer.
He came in anyway.
He sat across from her.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Finally, Raina said,
“Tell me everything.”
Orson nodded.
“I will.”
“Start with the beginning.”
He took a breath.
“Twenty-eight years ago, your mother found out she was pregnant.”
Raina stared at him.
“Your mother was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“She had discovered financial records connected to your grandfather.”
“Money laundering?”
“No.”
Orson hesitated.
“Identity laundering.”
Raina frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“People were being given new identities.”
“Why?”
“To disappear.”
“From whom?”
“Law enforcement.”
Raina stared.
“Criminals.”
“Yes.”
Her stomach turned.
“Was my grandfather involved?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Orson looked toward the window.
“A private network.”
“What kind?”
“Politicians. Bankers. Attorneys. Security contractors.”
Raina's eyes widened.
“They protected criminals.”
“Yes.”
“And Mom found them?”
“She found evidence.”
“What happened?”
“She tried to expose them.”
“And they killed her.”
“Yes.”
Raina swallowed.
“Then why am I not dead?”
Orson looked at her.
“Because you were hidden.”
“By whom?”
“Your mother.”
Raina shook her head.
“You just said she was killed.”
“She was.”
“Then how?”
“Your mother arranged everything before she died.”
Raina looked confused.
“What everything?”
“Your new identity.”
Raina's eyes widened.
“My identity?”
“Yes.”
Orson's voice became quieter.
“You weren't supposed to grow up as Raina Morrison.”
The room fell silent.
“What was I supposed to be called?”
Orson looked at her.
“I don't know.”
Raina stared.
“You don't know my original name?”
“No.”
“Then who does?”
“Dr. Hart.”
Raina immediately stood.
“I need her.”
Orson nodded.
“We're searching.”
“Find her.”
“We will.”
Raina looked down at the hospital bracelet.
“Why did she deliver me?”
Orson said,
“Because she was one of the few people your mother trusted.”
Raina stared at him.
“And the baby?”
“What baby?”
“The one my mother supposedly delivered.”
Orson frowned.
Raina looked at the birth certificate.
“There are two records.”
Orson took the document.
His eyes widened.
“That's impossible.”
“Read it.”
He did.
The first record showed Raina's birth.
The second showed another female infant born on the same night.
Same hospital.
Same hour.
Different mother.
Raina whispered,
“Two babies.”
Orson's face went pale.
“What does that mean?”
Before he could answer, the door opened.
Gabriel entered.
“We found Dr. Hart.”
Raina stood.
“Where?”
“An abandoned clinic.”
“Is she alive?”
“Yes.”
“Take me.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“It's dangerous.”
“I don't care.”
Orson looked at her.
“She's right.”
Gabriel stared.
“You're actually taking her?”
Orson nodded.
“She deserves the truth.”
The abandoned clinic was forty minutes outside the city.
Raina entered with Orson and Gabriel.
The building smelled of dust and disinfectant.
A single light flickered above the hallway.
They found Dr. Hart in a back room.
She was sitting on the floor.
Blood stained her sleeve.
Raina rushed toward her.
“Dr. Hart!”
The woman looked up.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You came.”
“Who am I?”
Dr. Hart stared at her.
“I was hoping you would never ask.”
“Who am I?”
The doctor closed her eyes.
“Your mother was named Elena.”
Raina froze.
“Not the woman I knew?”
“No.”
“Then who was she?”
“Your mother was a woman named Elena Voss.”
Raina's heart stopped.
“Voss?”
Orson stepped forward.
“You knew Elena Voss?”
Dr. Hart nodded.
“She was one of the most powerful women I've ever met.”
Raina stared.
“Why did she give me away?”
“She didn't.”
“Then why was I raised by someone else?”
Dr. Hart's eyes filled with tears.
“Because someone was hunting you.”
“Who?”
“The man who controls the network.”
Raina swallowed.
“Name.”
Dr. Hart looked toward Gabriel.
“Tell her.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“You have to.”
Dr. Hart whispered,
“His name is Victor Black.”
Orson's face changed.
Raina noticed.
“You know him.”
Orson nodded slowly.
“He was your grandfather's closest adviser.”
Raina stared.
“What happened to him?”
Dr. Hart's voice became barely audible.
“He never died.”
Silence.
Raina felt dizzy.
“He's alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Dr. Hart looked at her.
“Damon knows.”
Raina's blood ran cold.
“Damon?”
“He has been working for Victor Black.”
Orson's fists clenched.
“How long?”
Dr. Hart answered,
“Since before Damon married Raina.”
Raina's face went numb.
Her entire marriage had been a setup.
But then Dr. Hart said something that shattered her even further.
“Damon wasn't supposed to marry you.”
Raina stared.
“Then who?”
Dr. Hart's eyes filled with fear.
“He was supposed to marry your sister.”
Raina couldn't breathe.
“I don't have a sister.”
The doctor shook her head.
“You do.”
Raina stepped backward.
“Where is she?”
Dr. Hart whispered,
“She has been living under your name.”
Raina stared.
“What?”
“She is the woman you called your mother.”
Raina's mind stopped.
Dr. Hart continued.
“When Elena died, the woman who raised you took her identity.”
Raina looked at Orson.
He was crying.
“Dad?”
Orson finally broke.
“I was trying to protect you.”
Raina's voice trembled.
“From whom?”
“From your sister.”
Raina froze.
“My sister killed my mother?”
Orson shook his head.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“She disappeared.”
“Why?”
“Because she was the real heir.”
Raina stared.
“To what?”
May you like
Orson looked at her.
“The Voss fortune.”
