Chapter 12 - The Second Test.
Lorenzo took the photograph to a document specialist before breakfast.
By noon, the answer came back.
The handwriting was almost certainly Marco’s.
Hunter sat in the nursery while Isabella watched her feed Leo in silence.
The older woman had not apologized for accusing her.
Hunter had not expected her to.
“You lost a child,” Isabella said suddenly.
Hunter’s hand stopped on the bottle.
“Lorenzo told you?”
“No.”
Isabella glanced at the way Hunter’s eyes followed every movement Leo made.
“I know that look.”
Hunter said nothing.
Isabella’s voice softened.
“I lost a daughter before Lorenzo was born.”
The confession changed the room.
Hunter looked at her.
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I.”
Isabella stared at Leo.
“That is why I was hard on you.”
“I know what grief can make people reach for.”
Hunter understood the accusation now.
“You thought I was trying to make him mine.”
“I thought you might not know where your grief ended and he began.”
Hunter swallowed.
“Sometimes I don’t.”
Isabella nodded.
“That is a more honest answer than I expected.”
Dr. Halloran entered carrying two lab folders.
“We have the second and third tests.”
Lorenzo followed him inside.
“The results match.”
Halloran placed the folders on the table.
“Multiple feeding samples contained the same foreign compound.”
“Not every bottle.”
Hunter frowned.
“Why not every bottle?”
“Because whoever did this wanted a pattern that looked medical.”
Halloran turned a page.
“Some feeds were clean.”
“Some were not.”
“The inconsistency would make us suspect intolerance, reflux, or an underlying disorder.”
Lorenzo’s stare became distant.
“They wanted us confused.”
“Yes.”
Halloran hesitated.
“There is something else.”
He placed a sealed plastic pouch on the table.
Inside were several bottle nipples taken from the nursery supply cabinet.
“We found residue on two of these.”
Hunter stared at them.
“So the bottle itself did not have to be prepared by the person doing it.”
Halloran nodded.
“Correct.”
Lorenzo looked toward the cabinet.
“Who had access?”
“Almost everyone assigned to this floor.”
Gabriel entered with a tablet.
“We traced Adrian Cole’s identity.”
“That is not his name.”
He turned the screen toward them.
A photograph appeared of the same man under another name.
Daniel Price.
Former private investigator.
Former driver for Vincent Caruso.
Missing for six years.
Lorenzo’s eyes narrowed.
“Vincent.”
Gabriel nodded.
“There is another connection.”
He opened a bank record.
“Daniel Price sent regular payments to Tommy Vance.”
Hunter felt the room tilt.
“For how long?”
“Eight months.”
Eight months meant before Lily died.
Before Hunter entered the Rossi estate.
Before Sophia’s funeral.
Hunter stared at the transfer dates.
One payment had been made the morning after her daughter died.
Hunter asked Gabriel to enlarge the transfer history.
There were smaller payments before Lily died and one much larger payment afterward.
Tommy had always claimed his debts were growing, yet the records showed several of them disappearing quietly months before the staircase.
Someone had been rewarding him each time he provided more information about Hunter.
Her work schedule.
Her prenatal appointments.
The fact that she had no parents nearby.
The knowledge made Hunter feel more exposed than any camera could.
Her ordinary life had been cataloged by strangers while she was busy preparing a crib.
The final payment was made the morning after her daughter died.
May you like
The memo line contained only two words.
PHASE COMPLETE.
