Chapter 2 - The Medical Bay
The news of the doctor's murder hung in the dining room like thick, suffocating smoke.
Rocco Moretti did not display a single ounce of surprise on his chiseled face.
He had survived in the mafia for thirty years by assuming every coincidence was a calculated attack.
"Lock down the estate," Rocco commanded in a voice that left absolutely no room for debate.
"No one enters, and absolutely no one leaves without my explicit permission."
The two senior captains immediately drew their weapons and rushed toward the grand foyer to secure the perimeter.
Rocco turned to his terrified housekeeper.
"Bring the child, Elena," he instructed softly.
"We are going down to the private medical bay."
Valentina stepped into his path, her dark eyes flashing with sudden, barely concealed panic.
"Rocco, you cannot be serious," she protested.
"You are going to halt a billion-dollar family trust meeting over a bastard child found in the garbage?"
Rocco stared down at his beautiful, composed wife.
"That bastard child is wearing the medical identification code of my dead wife," Rocco said coldly.
Valentina opened her mouth to argue, but the sheer freezing intensity of his gaze forced her to close it.
"Stay in the dining room, Valentina," Rocco warned her.
"Thomas will keep you company until I return."
Rocco gestured for Elena and the little girl to follow him down the servant's hallway.
They descended a hidden spiral staircase that led deep beneath the mansion's foundation.
The underground medical bay was a sterile, brightly lit facility built to treat gunshot wounds that could not be reported to the police.
Dr. Evans, the family's private physician on retainer, was already waiting by a stainless steel examination table.
Sophia carefully laid the crying newborn onto the cold metal surface.
"Check his vitals and run a rapid DNA sequence," Rocco ordered the doctor.
"I want his blood matched against my own profile in the database."
Dr. Evans nodded nervously and immediately set to work with a small syringe.
Rocco turned his attention back to Elena, who was shaking violently in the corner.
"Who paid you to ignore the delivery, Elena?" Rocco asked quietly.
"I did not take any money!" Elena cried out, tears streaming down her pale face.
"I swear on my daughter's life, I knew nothing about this baby."
Rocco studied her body language for any signs of deception.
Before he could interrogate her further, Dr. Evans cleared his throat.
"The vitals are stable, sir," the doctor reported while staring at a computer monitor.
"The child is perfectly healthy, despite the cold."
"What about the DNA?" Rocco pressed.
The doctor's hands shook as he printed a single sheet of paper from the terminal.
"The sequence is a flawless match, Mr. Moretti," Dr. Evans whispered.
"This child is unequivocally your biological son."
Rocco felt a sudden, massive weight press down on his chest.
His heir was alive.
"But there is an anomaly in the maternal markers," Dr. Evans added hesitantly.
Rocco frowned and stepped closer to the trembling physician.
"Explain it," Rocco demanded.
"The maternal DNA does not match the late Isabella Moretti," the doctor explained.
"The system flagged a direct match to another female profile currently stored in your household database."
Rocco grabbed the printed sheet of paper and read the name at the top of the maternal column.
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The mother of the child was not Isabella, nor was it Valentina.
The biological mother of his newborn son was Elena Bellini.
