Chapter 7 - The Safe Deposit Box
An hour later, under the heavy escort of Sebastian’s private security detail, Claire and Sebastian arrived at the underground vault of First National Bank in downtown New York.
The bank manager, recognizing Sebastian immediately, led them to a private viewing room and placed a heavy metal safety deposit box on the table before exiting.
Sebastian pulled the small key from his pocket—the key that Claire had retrieved from the lining of Baby Miller’s knitted cap back in the NICU.
He inserted the key into Box 402 and turned it. The heavy brass lock clicked open.
Inside the box lay a leather-bound medical journal belonging to Dr. Edward Bennett, along with a sealed envelope marked ST. JUDE’S CONFIDENTIAL INFANT RECORDS - 2012.
Claire opened her father’s journal with trembling hands. She flipped to the entry dated October 14, 2012.
“God forgive me,” her father’s handwriting read. “The Valenti family forced my hand. They threatened to kill my daughter Claire if I didn't declare Sebastian Moretti’s newborn son stillborn. I placed the healthy infant in the care of a private closed adoption program under a false identity. I couldn't save the family from the truth, but I placed a permanent genetic marker in the child's hospital record so he could one day be found.”
Claire covered her mouth with her hand, tears spilling over her lashes. "He did it to protect me..." she sobbed softly. "My father lied to you because they were going to kill me."
Sebastian placed a warm, massive hand over hers, his grip reassuring and steady. "Your father did what he had to do to keep his child alive, Claire. I don't blame him."
Sebastian opened the sealed envelope. Inside was a certified birth certificate and an adoption record linking the infant born in 2012 to a child raised right here in the city.
Attached to the file was a recent photograph of a fourteen-year-old boy with dark hair and sharp, intelligent eyes, wearing a St. Jude's volunteer uniform.
Sebastian’s hands shook as he stared at the photograph of his son.
"He's alive..." Sebastian whispered, a single tear slipping down his rugged cheek. "My boy is alive."
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"And Baby Miller?" Claire asked, reading the secondary report attached to the file. "Who is this newborn?"
Sebastian read the medical attachment, his eyes widening in shock. "Baby Miller was created through a private surrogate program using frozen genetic samples preserved from my late wife Isabella... Baby Miller isn't just a random infant, Claire. He is my biological son—my firstborn's full biological brother!"
