Chapter 2 - THE LOCKED NURSERY
The Whitmore estate had not contained a nursery in years.
Alexander and Elena had wanted children, but after several miscarriages, they stopped preparing rooms for babies.
Vanessa had recently ordered one of the east wing bedrooms renovated.
She told everyone it was for the child she claimed to be carrying.
The key from the ballroom opened that room.
Alexander insisted on going there immediately.
Marcus accompanied him.
I went because I controlled the hotel footage and had become a witness.
Lily refused to leave my side.
The Whitmore mansion stood thirty minutes outside the city.
By the time we arrived, police vehicles surrounded the property.
The nursery door was locked from the inside.
Alexander used the silver key.
The room beyond it appeared perfect.
A white crib stood beneath a painted ceiling.
Tiny clothes filled the wardrobe.
Stuffed animals lined the shelves.
A rocking chair faced the window.
Then Lily pointed toward the crib.
“That blanket is dirty.”
A dark stain marked one corner.
I lifted the fabric carefully.
Beneath it lay a hospital wristband.
The patient’s name was Elena Whitmore.
The date was two weeks earlier.
Alexander gripped the crib railing.
“She was here.”
Marcus opened a drawer beside the changing table.
Inside were bottles of prenatal vitamins, syringes, sedatives, and a locked phone.
The phone displayed dozens of missed calls from a number saved as “C.”
One message remained visible.
THE REAL MOTHER IS ASKING QUESTIONS.
MOVE HER BEFORE THE GALA.
Alexander turned toward Vanessa, who had been brought to the mansion by detectives.
“Where is Elena?”
Vanessa looked at the hospital bracelet.
“She was never supposed to leave the clinic.”
“What clinic?”
“I don’t know the address.”
Alexander stepped closer.
“You lived in my house.”
“You slept beside me.”
“You used my name.”
“Now tell me where my wife is.”
Vanessa’s composure finally cracked.
“Cynthia handled everything.”
“Why?”
“Because Elena came back pregnant.”
Alexander froze.
The unborn child in the ultrasound had not been conceived three years earlier.
Elena had become pregnant recently.
Alexander looked at the image again.
“Whose baby is it?”
May you like
Vanessa’s answer came as a whisper.
“Yours.”
