I Noticed My Maid’s Son Had the Same Birthmark as Me—Then His Hospital Papers Listed Me as His Father.

Victor pushed Claire behind him as he cleared the threshold of the guest suite, weapon drawn.

The room was intact. A bowl of chicken broth sat untouched on the side table, steam still rising from the surface.

Teresa, the elderly housekeeper, was sitting on the edge of the large king-sized bed, weeping quietly into a cloth napkin.

"Teresa!" Victor snapped. "Where is the boy?"

Teresa looked up, her face pale with terror. "Victor... Mr. Bellandi... I didn't mean to. A man came through the balcony doors. He was wearing a mask. He told me if I screamed, he would shoot the child."

Claire let out a gut-wrenching cry and rushed to the open balcony doors. The cold night air whipped her hair across her face. The iron fire escape dangled toward the lower courtyard, empty.

"Eli!" Claire screamed into the night. "Eli!"

Victor caught her by the waist, pulling her back inside before she could climb over the railing. "Claire, stop! Mateo! Lock down the perimeter! Seal every gate in a five-mile radius!"

"It wasn't Arthur's men, Boss," Mateo said, running into the room with his radio blaring. "The guards at the south gate just reported a black SUV blowing through the barrier. Rhode Island plates."

Victor looked at Teresa. "Did you see anything else? Any markings? Any voice you recognized?"

Teresa swallowed hard, looking down at her trembling hands. "The man... he didn't hurt little Eli, Mr. Bellandi. In fact, he picked him up gently. He wrapped him in his own coat. And before he climbed over the railing, he dropped this on the bed."

Teresa reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, tarnished silver compass.

Victor’s heart slammed against his ribs.

He snatched the compass from her hand. It was an antique military compass, scratched and dented, with an eagle carved into the lid.

"What is that?" Claire sobbed, clinging to Victor’s tuxedo lapel. "Victor, who took my baby? Please, tell me who took my baby!"

"This belonged to my father," Victor said, his voice shaking with a fury and confusion he had never felt in his entire life. "When my father died, he only gave one thing to Marco."