CHAPTER 2: THE CAMERA FOOTAGE THAT DESTROYED EVERY LIE
Hours later, Logan found Emma alone in her nursery.
She was rocking back and forth violently.
Terrified.
Broken.
As he picked her up, he discovered an old handkerchief beneath her crib.
A tiny blue flower had been embroidered into one corner.
The second Emma smelled it, she relaxed.
Within minutes, she fell asleep.
Logan's instincts finally woke up.
Something was terribly wrong.
He marched into his office and opened the security footage.
At first, he saw neglect.
The nanny abandoned Emma for hours every day.
Then Marina appeared.
Everything changed.
Emma instantly reached for her.
Marina carried her naturally.
Fed her.
Played with her.
Sang to her.
Protected her.
Then Logan heard the words.
“Mama’s here, sweet girl.”
His heart nearly stopped.
He searched older recordings.
Every single day told the same story.
Whenever Marina entered the room, Emma transformed into a happy child.
Then Logan found footage from that afternoon.
Vanessa walked into the nursery carrying a dark amber bottle.
“She was annoying earlier,” Vanessa said. “I gave her another drop.”
Emma immediately shrank back in fear.
Marina protected her.
Then Vanessa hissed something Logan would never forget.
“You were told by my mother to stay away from her.”
My mother.
Elaine Cruz.
Something much bigger was happening.
Logan immediately pulled Marina's employment records and drove to her apartment.
The place was almost empty.
Someone had clearly forced her to leave.
Then he discovered a threatening note.
LEAVE THE CITY TONIGHT OR THIS TIME SHE DISAPPEARS FOR GOOD.
Inside was an old hospital photograph.
A newborn baby.
And a familiar emerald ring.
Elaine Cruz's ring.
Suddenly, a voice emerged from the darkness.
“Don't touch that.”
Marina stood there holding a suitcase.
Her face was bruised.
Her eyes were exhausted.
She looked defeated.
Logan asked softly.
“What is happening?”
Marina finally broke.
Twenty-six months earlier, she had given birth to Emma.
She had been nineteen years old.
Poor.
Alone.
Working as a hotel cleaner.
After complications during labor, she lost consciousness.
When she woke up, hospital staff told her her baby had died.
She had spent two years grieving.
Then two weeks earlier, she came to Mercer House as a temporary maid.
The moment she saw Emma…
She knew.
A mother always knew.
Emma had her eyes.
Her curls.
Even the tiny birthmark behind her left ear.
Marina secretly collected DNA samples.
The results arrived two days before the engagement party.
99.9999%.
Emma was her daughter.
Logan's world shattered.
“How?” he whispered.
May you like
Marina cried.
“Elaine Cruz stole our baby.”
