Chapter Twelve : The Mother Who Wasn't
1892 Words
Elena
Elena stared at the birth certificate.
She read the names again.
And again.
They didn't change.
Father: Alexander Gabriel Laurent.
Mother: Camille Laurent.
Her hands began to tremble.
"No."
Lucien said nothing.
"That's not possible."
He took the certificate from her.
"Camille was twenty-seven when she died."
"Then how could she be my mother?"
"I don't know."
"My mother is Seraphina."
"That's what we've been told."
Elena shook her head.
"No. She raised me. She loved me."
"She may have."
"Then why would this say Camille?"
Lucien looked at the certificate.
"Because someone wants us to believe it."
Elena stared at him.
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
"But how do we know what is true anymore?"
Lucien had no answer.
Elena walked away from him.
She felt like her entire identity was collapsing.
Her name.
Her parents.
Her childhood.
Her memories.
Everything.
She pressed both hands against her head.
"I need to remember."
Lucien approached carefully.
"You will."
"What if I don't?"
"Then we'll find the truth without your memories."
She looked at him.
"You say that like it's simple."
"It isn't."
"Then why aren't you afraid?"
He gave a bitter smile.
"I am."
She stared.
"You're afraid?"
"Terrified."
"Of what?"
Lucien looked directly at her.
"Of finding out that everything I've done to protect you has only brought you closer to the people who want you dead."
---
The Memory
Elena closed her eyes.
Something flickered.
A hospital corridor.
A woman crying.
Camille.
She was holding a baby.
Not one baby.
Two.
A newborn girl.
A newborn boy.
Elena's breathing quickened.
"I see them."
Lucien moved closer.
"Who?"
"The babies."
"What are you seeing?"
"Camille."
"Where?"
"Hospital."
"Which hospital?"
"Voss Memorial."
"What is she doing?"
"She's crying."
Elena's fingers tightened around her temples.
"Someone is coming."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Keep going."
A door opened.
A man entered.
Tall.
Dark hair.
A scar across his left hand.
Elena's eyes flew open.
"Elias."
Lucien shook his head.
"No."
"That's what I saw."
"Elias was a child."
"Not him."
She swallowed.
"The man who raised him."
Lucien's expression changed.
"Who is he?"
"I don't know."
Elena suddenly remembered another detail.
"He called Camille by another name."
"What name?"
She looked at Lucien.
"Seraphina."
Silence.
Lucien's face hardened.
"Camille was using Seraphina's name?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Elena closed her eyes again.
Another flash.
Camille was handing something to someone.
A silver pendant.
The same pendant Elena wore.
Then Camille whispered:
"Take her. Keep her hidden."
Elena gasped.
"Who?"
"The baby."
"What baby?"
"Me."
Lucien stared at her.
"You were there?"
"Yes."
"What happened next?"
Elena's eyes opened.
"Camille kissed me."
A tear slipped down her cheek.
"Then someone took me."
"Who?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know."
---
Lucien
Lucien couldn't stop thinking about the certificate.
He had spent years believing Camille was the love of his life.
Now he was staring at evidence suggesting she had been connected to Elena in a way he had never imagined.
But something didn't make sense.
Camille had never told him she had a child.
Not once.
Not even during their engagement.
He pulled out his phone.
He searched an old encrypted file.
Camille's medical records.
Pregnancy history.
Nothing.
No pregnancy.
No delivery.
No child.
Which meant either the certificate was fake—
or Camille had hidden an entire pregnancy from everyone.
He remembered something she once told him.
Some truths are safer when buried.
At the time, he had thought she was talking about his family.
Now he wasn't sure.
---
The Hidden Room
Mara's disappearance had left one question unanswered.
Where had she gone?
Lucien searched the hospital.
Elena followed.
They found a hidden staircase behind the records room.
At the bottom was a steel door.
Lucien opened it.
Inside was a small room filled with boxes.
Photographs.
Medical files.
Audio recordings.
And hundreds of documents.
Elena walked toward the wall.
Photographs covered it.
Her childhood.
Her school.
Her first day at university.
Her apartment.
Her job interview at Voss International.
Elena stared in horror.
"Someone has been watching me."
Lucien's face darkened.
"Yes."
"For years."
"Yes."
She pointed at one photograph.
It showed her at fourteen.
Another at seventeen.
Another at nineteen.
Then one taken only three days before she met Lucien.
"Why?"
Lucien examined the photographs.
"There has to be a reason."
"Who took them?"
A voice came from the doorway.
"Mara."
They turned.
Mara stood there.
Alive.
Blood stained the sleeve of her coat.
Elena gasped.
"You were shot."
"Yes."
"But you're alive."
"Fortunately."
Lucien stepped toward her.
"Who shot you?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"No."
Mara looked at Elena.
"I came here because you need to know something."
Elena's stomach tightened.
"What?"
Mara pulled out a folder.
"Your childhood was fabricated."
Elena stared at her.
"What?"
"Your school records."
She opened the folder.
"Fake."
Another file.
"Birth certificate."
"Fake."
Another.
"Medical history."
"Fake."
Elena's hands began shaking.
"All of it?"
Mara nodded.
"Everything before the age of seven."
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"Why?"
Mara looked at Lucien.
"Because someone needed to hide who she was."
"From whom?"
Mara's voice dropped.
"From the Voss family."
Lucien frowned.
"That doesn't explain why she was given a fake childhood."
Mara shook her head.
"It wasn't just a fake childhood."
She looked at Elena.
"It was a replacement."
---
Elena
"A replacement for what?"
Mara hesitated.
"Another girl."
Elena felt sick.
"What girl?"
"A child who died."
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
"Whose child?"
"Camille's."
Silence.
Elena couldn't breathe.
Mara continued.
"Camille had a daughter."
Elena's eyes widened.
"Me?"
"No."
Mara looked at her.
"Her first daughter."
The room seemed to tilt.
"Then who am I?"
Mara didn't answer immediately.
She opened another file.
Inside was a photograph of a baby.
A tiny girl.
A black ribbon around her wrist.
Written underneath:
Camille Laurent's daughter — deceased.
Date of death:
March 14, 2009.
Elena stared.
March 14.
Her birthday.
Her hands began shaking.
"But that's my birthday."
"I know."
"Then who died?"
"The original child."
Elena looked at Lucien.
"What are you saying?"
Mara's voice softened.
"You were born that same night."
"But I wasn't Camille's daughter."
"No."
"Then whose daughter was I?"
Mara looked at Lucien.
Then back at Elena.
"Seraphina's."
Elena's heart stopped.
"So the certificate was fake."
"Yes."
"Camille wasn't my mother."
"No."
"Then why was her name on it?"
"Because she died protecting you."
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"What did she protect me from?"
Mara looked at Lucien.
"Your father."
Lucien froze.
"Again?"
"Yes."
"What did Alexander do?"
Mara lowered her voice.
"He discovered Augustus wanted Elena dead."
"So he took her?"
"Yes."
"Why would he give her to Seraphina?"
"He didn't."
Lucien stared.
"Then who did?"
Mara's expression changed.
"Camille."
---
Lucien
Lucien stepped closer.
"You're saying Camille gave Elena to Seraphina?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Seraphina was the only person Augustus couldn't find."
"But Seraphina was working for Augustus."
"At first."
Lucien frowned.
"At first?"
Mara nodded.
"Augustus threatened her."
"With what?"
"Elias."
Lucien went still.
"He had the boy?"
"Yes."
"He used him against her."
Mara turned to Elena.
"Your mother was forced to obey Augustus because he had your brother."
Elena whispered:
"Where was I?"
"With Camille."
"When?"
"After Alexander died."
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
"Then Camille took Elena."
"Yes."
"Why did she die?"
Mara's face hardened.
"Because Augustus found her."
Lucien clenched his fists.
"Then he killed her."
"No."
Mara looked at him.
"Someone else did."
"Who?"
Mara hesitated.
"The man with the scar."
Elena's eyes widened.
"The man I saw."
Mara nodded.
"His name is Victor."
Lucien's expression changed.
"Victor what?"
"We don't know his surname."
"Who does he work for?"
Mara looked toward the door.
"That's the problem."
She whispered:
"He doesn't work for Augustus."
"Then who?"
Mara's eyes filled with fear.
"Camille."
Silence.
Elena stared at her.
"Camille was dead."
"Yes."
"Then how could he work for her?"
Mara shook her head.
"He doesn't."
She looked at Lucien.
"He works for the person who killed Camille."
Lucien's voice was cold.
"Who?"
Mara opened her mouth.
Before she could answer—
the lights went out.
A gunshot tore through the room.
Mara collapsed.
"MARА!"
Lucien pulled Elena behind him.
Another shot shattered the glass.
He raised his gun.
"Stay down!"
Elena crouched behind a desk.
"Lucien!"
"I'm here."
He moved toward Mara.
She was unconscious.
Blood spread across her shoulder.
Then a voice came through the darkness.
"Lucien."
He froze.
The voice was familiar.
Too familiar.
"Come outside."
Lucien looked toward the door.
The voice continued.
"If you want to know who Elena really is."
---
Elena
Lucien stepped toward the door.
Elena grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
He looked at her.
"I have to."
"It's a trap."
"I know."
"Then don't go."
His eyes softened.
"Stay here."
"No."
She held his hand.
"I'm coming."
He stared at her.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then nodded.
They stepped into the corridor.
A man stood at the far end.
Tall.
Black coat.
Scar across his left hand.
Elena recognized him immediately.
"The man from my memory."
Lucien raised his gun.
"Who are you?"
The man smiled.
"Victor."
"Victor what?"
"Just Victor."
Lucien's finger tightened around the trigger.
"What do you want?"
Victor looked at Elena.
"I want her."
Lucien stepped in front of her.
"Not happening."
Victor laughed.
"You still don't understand."
"What?"
"She isn't yours to protect."
Elena's heart pounded.
Victor reached into his coat.
Lucien aimed his gun.
But instead of a weapon, Victor pulled out a photograph.
He threw it onto the floor.
Elena looked down.
It was an old photograph.
A hospital.
Two newborn babies.
Seraphina.
Camille.
Alexander.
And Augustus.
But there was one more person in the photograph.
A young man standing beside the babies.
Elena stared.
She knew him.
She had seen his face before.
In the photograph from the cemetery.
In her dreams.
In her memories.
She looked at Victor.
"You."
Victor smiled.
"Now you remember."
Elena's blood ran cold.
"You were there when I was born."
"Yes."
"Who are you?"
Victor's smile disappeared.
He looked at Lucien.
"Ask him."
Lucien frowned.
"Ask me what?"
Victor's eyes returned to Elena.
"Ask your beloved CEO why his father erased the truth about your birth."
Then he turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Lucien stared after him.
Elena looked at him.
"What did he mean?"
Lucien didn't answer.
"Lucien."
He finally turned toward her.
His face was pale.
"I know that man."
"Who is he?"
Lucien swallowed.
"His name was Gabriel."
Elena's heart stopped.
"Gabriel Laurent?"
Lucien nodded.
"The man Augustus supposedly killed."
She stared at the darkness.
"But that's impossible."
Lucien looked at her.
"Apparently, we're going to have to stop believing in impossible things."
Behind them, Mara suddenly gasped.
They turned.
She was awake.
Her eyes opened.
"Lucien..."
He rushed toward her.
"What?"
Mara grabbed his sleeve.
Her voice was barely audible.
"Don't trust Victor."
"Why?"
She looked at Elena.
Then whispered:
"Because he's not Gabriel."
Mara's eyes closed again.
"He's Alexander."
Lucien froze.
Elena stopped breathing.
The man they believed had been dead for seventeen years—
had just walked away from them.
And for the first time, Elena understood why everyone had been so afraid of the Voss family.
They weren't hiding a dead man.
They were hiding a living one.
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