Chapter 17 – The Face That Looks Like Mine
748 Words
Elena held the photograph in her hands, studying it with sharp, steady eyes.
Two little girls.
Same nose.
Same eyes.
Same smile.
Two children who could have been mirrors of each other.
Dominic stood slightly behind her, watching her expression with concern—but Elena wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t trembling. She wasn’t fragile.
She was focused.
“Elena,” Dominic said quietly, “what do you see?”
She swallowed once. Not out of fear—out of the heavy truth settling inside her.
“This girl…” Elena whispered, tracing the older child’s face with her thumb. “She looks exactly like me. Not similar. The same.”
Dominic’s brows drew together. “A twin?”
“Yes,” Elena said calmly. “A twin sister.”
Dominic stayed silent, letting her lead. He could see she wasn’t breaking—she was remembering.
Elena continued, voice firm:
“All my life, I felt like something was missing. Like a part of me wasn’t… here. I never understood it.”
She looked up at Dominic. “Now I do.”
Dominic nodded slowly. “You’re saying your mother hid her?”
Elena’s jaw tightened. “Yes. My mother never talked about my childhood. She always avoided questions. She was hiding someone.”
Dominic’s expression darkened. “Why would she separate twins?”
Elena held the picture tighter. “That’s what I need to find out.”
Dominic stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Elena… you’re taking this better than anyone would.”
She lifted her chin. “Because she’s not a threat. She’s my sister. My other half.”
Dominic studied her—admiration clear in his eyes.
A guard knocked lightly and entered.
“Boss… we traced the footprints. They led to a spot on the north side.”
Dominic asked, “Any sign of who it was?”
The guard hesitated. “We found… something else.”
He handed Elena a small folded note.
Elena opened it slowly.
One sentence.
Written neatly, carefully:
**“I’ve missed you.”**
Elena’s breath caught—not in fear, but something deeper. Something that pulled at her chest.
Dominic looked at her. “Do you recognize the handwriting?”
“Yes,” Elena said softly. “From old notebooks my mother kept. She always tore pages out… I never understood why.”
Dominic’s voice dropped. “Elena… this girl—your sister—she wasn’t trying to scare you.”
“No,” Elena said simply. “She was trying to reach me.”
Dominic took a step closer. “Then what does she want?”
Elena looked up, eyes shining with something fierce and warm.
“She wants to see me again. She wants her sister back.”
Dominic inhaled slowly. “Elena… this means everything changes now.”
Elena nodded. “Yes. And the first thing we do—”
She met his gaze steadily.
“—is bring her here.”
Dominic blinked. “You’re saying—”
“I want to meet her,” Elena said. “Face-to-face. No more shadows. No more hiding. If she came all this way just to see me, then she deserves to come inside.”
Dominic studied her for a long, heavy moment.
Then he nodded once.
A promise.
“I’ll find her,” he said. “And I’ll bring her to you.”
Before Elena could respond, another guard rushed in.
“Boss! We found something else under the tree she was standing beside!”
Dominic tensed. “What?”
The guard handed Elena a second piece of paper—this one older, slightly torn.
Elena unfolded it.
Dominic watched her face change—slowly, painfully, beautifully.
“Elena?” he whispered. “What does it say?”
Her voice came out soft.
Steady.
Certain.
“It’s her writing,” Elena said. “And it says…”
She handed it to Dominic.
His eyes moved across the words.
**“I remember everything, sister.”**
Dominic lifted his gaze immediately.
“Elena…”
But Elena didn’t look afraid.
She looked ready.
“She remembers,” Elena whispered. “And I need to know what she knows.”
Dominic stepped closer, his voice low and protective.
“Then we’ll bring her here,” he promised. “And we’ll face your past together.”
Elena nodded.
“And when she comes,” she added softly, her voice full of strength—
“I’ll finally know the truth.”
- Writer
