Chapter 15 - The Clinic in the Mist
The revelation detonated across the room like a concussive blast.
Claire stared at Leo, her heart pounding violently against her ribs. Her father had an older daughter from a marriage before Claire was born—a half-sister Claire had been told died in an overseas accident before Claire was even old enough to remember her face.
Elena. The woman Sebastian had loved. The woman whose death had turned Sebastian into the ruthless, feared monster the world knew.
"Elena was Arthur's daughter," Sebastian whispered, his eyes distant, haunted by a past he had fought for a decade and a half to bury. "When Elena married me, Arthur cut all ties with her. He despised what I was. He swore that no grandchild of his would ever be raised in the blood-soaked world of the Moretti family."
"So when Elena died during the gang war fourteen years ago..." Claire realized, her voice trembling, "my father stole Leo. He hid his own grandson to keep him away from the mafia."
"And Baby Miller?" Dante asked, tension lacing his posture. "Arthur died seven years ago. Who engineered this newborn?"
"A dead man’s will," Sebastian snarled, the realization falling into place with terrifying precision. "Arthur Miller had Elena’s frozen embryos stored in a private cryo-bank under *Sirena Marine*. He left automated trusts, set to trigger if his daughter’s legacy was ever in danger of vanishing. But who activated them? Who hired the surrogate last year?"
"We need to go to Genesis Pavilion," Claire said, her fear instantly transforming into fierce, maternal determination. "The clinic in Upstate New York. If that clinic carried out the implantation nine months ago, someone physically walked into that facility, signed the authorization papers, and initiated the pregnancy."
"It's too dangerous for you," Sebastian warned, stepping closer to her.
"That baby is my nephew," Claire said, looking Sebastian dead in the eyes, refusing to flinch. "He has Elena’s blood. He has my father’s blood. And he has yours. You are not keeping me away from finding out who did this to him."
Sebastian studied her fiery gaze for several long seconds. A rare glimmer of profound respect—and something much deeper—flickered in his eyes.
May you like
"Dante," Sebastian ordered, his voice ringing with absolute authority. "Prep the helicopter. We leave for Upstate New York in twenty minutes. Leave a full platoon of our best men to guard Haven Crest. Leo stays here inside the safe room with the baby."
"Yes, Don Moretti."
