Chapter 1 - THE NAME ON THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE
The pen was still in Luka Moretti’s hand when the first scream came from the hallway.
“Put that down!”
A woman in blue scrubs rushed into my room.
She wasn’t my nurse.
I knew every nurse who had checked on me since I delivered Emma six hours earlier.
I had never seen this woman before.
Her eyes went straight to the clipboard.
Then to Luka.
Then to my daughter.
For one second, raw panic crossed her face.
“You can’t sign that.”
Luka slowly set the pen down.
“Why?”
The woman swallowed.
“That document has to be processed by administration.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
His voice changed.
It became colder.
“What are you afraid I’m going to find?”
The woman backed toward the door.
“I’m getting security.”
Luka smiled without humor.
“Do that.”
She disappeared.
I clutched Emma closer.
“What is happening?”
Luka turned toward me.
“Your name is Claire Bennett.”
“Yes.”
“Your father was Dr. Samuel Bennett.”
My breath caught.
Nobody here knew that.
My father had been dead for almost eighteen years.
“How do you know my father?”
Luka looked at Emma.
“Because your father saved my life.”
I stared at him.
“My father was a cardiologist.”
“No.”
The answer came instantly.
“He became a cardiologist.”
I felt a strange pressure building behind my ribs.
“What does that mean?”
Luka walked to the door and closed it.
Then he locked it.
“Before you were born, Samuel Bennett worked for Moretti Biomedical.”
I almost laughed.
“My father hated corporations.”
“He learned to.”
Luka reached inside his jacket.
I tensed.
Instead of a weapon, he pulled out an old photograph.
The edges were bent.
The colors had faded.
He handed it to me.
My father stood in the center.
He looked impossibly young.
Beside him stood another man I didn't recognize.
And between them was a boy.
Maybe eight years old.
Dark hair.
Sharp eyes.
A scar beneath his chin.
I looked at Luka.
Then back at the photograph.
“That’s you.”
“I was seven.”
My hands began trembling.
“What did my father do to you?”
“He kept me alive.”
Luka glanced toward the hallway.
“And eighteen years later, somebody killed him for it.”
My stomach dropped.
“My father died in a car accident.”
“No, Claire.”
Luka looked directly into my eyes.
“Your father was murdered.”
A knock slammed against the door.
“Hospital security!”
Emma startled and began crying.
Luka didn't flinch.
He reached beneath his sleeve and removed a tiny flash drive taped against his wrist.
He pressed it into my palm.
“If they separate us, keep this hidden.”
“What is it?”
“The reason your husband left you today.”
I stared at him.
“Daniel left because he was having an affair.”
“That’s what Daniel wants you to believe.”
Another bang hit the door.
Louder.
“Open immediately!”
Luka leaned closer.
“Your husband didn't leave because he stopped loving you.”
My pulse hammered.
“He left because someone paid him to make sure you were alone when they came for Emma.”
The handle jerked violently.
May you like
Then Luka whispered the words that froze every drop of blood in my body.
“They're already inside the hospital.”
