Chapter 10
Lucinda had not hidden Iris because she hated children.
That was the major twist.
She split the twins because each child served a different purpose.
Iris, sent out under Juliet’s protective plan, kept Juliet quiet temporarily because Juliet believed one baby had reached safety.
Maisie, kept in Dominic’s mansion, kept Dominic emotionally anchored to the household Lucinda wanted to control.
If both girls left, Juliet’s petition would force scrutiny of Dominic’s criminal life, Lucinda’s control of the mansion, and the legal machinery around the family.
If both girls stayed, Juliet might reach Dominic directly and expose Lucinda.
Splitting them gave Lucinda power over everyone.
The first clue was her insult:
“Your mother left you nothing worth keeping.”
She needed Maisie to believe Juliet abandoned her.
The second clue was the hidden nursery itself, preserved with two names Lucinda had spent years denying.
The third was the false service record showing Dominic supposedly knew about the custody petition.
The fourth was the edited discharge note removing Twin B from the official birth summary.
The fifth was Juliet’s video saying:
I did not leave them.
Lucinda did not plan every consequence perfectly.
She was not a criminal mastermind controlling fate.
She exploited chaos.
Juliet was recovering from childbirth.
Dominic was distracted by federal pressure and street conflict.
Doctors feared the Valenti name.
Lawyers moved through household channels.
Marianne was terrified of Dominic.
Lucinda placed herself in the middle of every message.
To Juliet, she implied Dominic would never let both girls go.
To Dominic, she implied Juliet had left voluntarily.
To Marianne, she implied Dominic had rejected Iris.
To the court, she let technical acknowledgments stand where real notice never reached the person affected.
Then Juliet died before the fraud could be untangled.
Lucinda inherited the story.
Over seven years, that story became useful.
Dominic trusted her because she had “stayed” when Juliet supposedly left.
Maisie depended on her because Lucinda controlled memories of her mother.
The household deferred to her because she knew where every paper was buried.
Then a child’s birthday gift struck the wrong wall.
The room opened.
Lucinda panicked because the truth did not merely reveal a second daughter.
It proved Maisie’s entire childhood had been built on controlled information.
Her threat was legally real.
Dominic might not lose Maisie forever.
But the court would review whether a Mafia boss who never received, never answered, and never understood the custody petition could keep sole authority over a child whose mother had tried to move her to safety.
Lucinda weaponized that fear.
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Dominic’s answer was the one thing she had not prepared for.
He let the court in anyway.
