Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Ran
Elena Marquez opened the apartment door and immediately tried to close it again.
Roman caught the door with one hand.
“Don't.”
Her face went pale.
“Roman.”
I stepped beside him.
She saw me.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Ava.”
I felt sick.
“You know me.”
“Yes.”
“Did you steal my daughter?”
Elena looked at Roman.
Then at me.
“Yes.”
Roman moved forward.
I caught his arm.
“Let her talk.”
Elena backed into the apartment.
“I was twenty-four. Pierce paid me to change records.”
“You told Roman Lily was yours?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Pierce needed the baby protected temporarily.”
“Protected?”
“Hidden.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You call stealing a newborn hiding her?”
“No.”
Elena's voice cracked.
“I call it the worst thing I've ever done.”
Roman stood silent.
“Why did you marry him?” I asked.
“Pierce ordered me to stay close.”
Roman finally spoke.
“And then?”
“I fell in love with Lily.”
His jaw tightened.
“And me?”
Elena looked away.
“That wasn't supposed to happen either.”
Roman showed nothing.
“Why did you leave?”
“Pierce wanted Lily moved overseas.”
I froze.
“I refused.”
Elena walked to a cabinet and removed an old envelope.
“I started collecting evidence.”
She handed it to me.
Inside were photographs.
Hospital records.
Payments.
My original medical chart.
And one photograph of a newborn girl.
Lily.
My daughter.
On the back, someone had written:
AVA REYES — FEMALE INFANT — HEALTHY.
My vision blurred.
“You kept this?”
“I knew someday you'd need proof.”
“Then why didn't you find me?”
“I tried.”
She pulled out another document.
A death certificate.
Mine.
Ava Maria Reyes.
Deceased.
Two years ago.
Roman stared at it.
“They declared her dead.”
Elena nodded.
“Pierce created two dead mothers. You believed Lily's mother was dead. Ava believed Lily was dead.”
“And everyone stopped searching,” I whispered.
“Yes.”
Roman picked up another photograph.
A younger man stood beside my mother.
“Mateo Reyes.”
I stared.
“My father?”
“Yes,” Elena said.
“Why did that matter?”
Roman answered.
“Because Mateo Reyes controlled land, companies, and trusts worth hundreds of millions.”
“I don't have hundreds of millions.”
“You were never supposed to know.”
Elena nodded.
“After Mateo died, Pierce and several partners hid the estate behind shell companies. But the inheritance eventually passed to his bloodline.”
“Me.”
“And Lily.”
Roman looked at Elena.
“So this wasn't about revenge.”
“No.”
“It was money.”
“Yes.”
A child had been stolen.
A mother had been told her baby was dead.
A man had raised a daughter under a false identity.
For money.
My phone rang.
Dennis.
I answered.
“Ava?”
His voice shook.
“Dennis?”
“I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
A pause.
“I didn't know what they were planning.”
Roman grabbed the phone and put it on speaker.
“Who?”
Dennis began crying.
“The people who paid me to hire Ava.”
Roman's expression became cold.
“Where are you?”
“At Saint Juniper.”
“What do they want?”
Dennis whispered:
“Lily.”
Then the call disconnected.
Roman immediately dialed Mateo.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
My stomach dropped.
“Where is Lily?”
Roman was already moving.
“With Mateo at the hotel.”
His phone rang.
He answered.
“Talk.”
Mateo's voice came through.
“Boss.”
Roman stopped.
“Where's Lily?”
“She’s safe.”
“Put her on.”
Silence.
“Mateo.”
Then another voice came through the phone.
A woman's voice.
“Roman Garza.”
Roman’s face became unreadable.
“Who is this?”
“You inherited everything Mateo Reyes built.”
“No.”
“You inherited his enemies.”
Roman looked at me.
“What do you want?”
The woman laughed softly.
“Bring Ava Reyes to Saint Juniper.”
My blood turned cold.
“Why?”
“Because two years ago we made one mistake.”
“What mistake?”
May you like
“We let the mother live.”
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