The Doctor's Secret

Bianca's POV

The window squeaked as I climbed out of it.

My feet hit the cold ground with a soft thud. I looked back at the house. Leo's bedroom light was still off. Good. He was still sleeping.

I had to find Dr. Bianchi tonight. The files from Alessia's computer burned in my mind like a fever. The baby was real. The baby was alive. And only the doctor knew where.

The streets were empty at three in the morning. My shoes made soft clicking sounds on the sidewalk. Every shadow looked like danger. Every car that passed made me jump.

But I kept walking. For Alessia. For the innocent child. For the truth.

The fertility clinic sat on Pine Street like a sleeping monster. Dark windows stared down at me. A sign by the door said "Dr. Lorenzo Bianchi - Helping Families Grow."

I laughed, but it sounded bitter. He wasn't helping families. He was destroying them.

The front door was locked. Of course it was. But I'd learned a few things growing up poor. Sometimes you had to get creative.

I walked around to the back of the building. There was a small window near the ground. Probably for a basement office.

I knelt down and pushed on it. It moved a little. Old buildings always had weak spots.

I pushed harder. The window gave way with a soft crack.

I squeezed through the opening and dropped into darkness.

My phone's light showed me a small room filled with boxes, the storage area. Perfect.

I found the stairs and climbed up slowly. The building creaked around me like it was alive.

At the top of the stairs, I saw light coming from under a door. Someone was here.

My heart pounded as I pressed my ear to the door. I could hear papers rustling. Footsteps. Someone was definitely inside.

I took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Don't move!" a voice shouted.

I froze. A man sat behind a desk, pointing a small gun at me. He was older, maybe fifty, with gray hair and scared eyes.

Dr. Bianchi.

"Please don't shoot," I said, raising my hands.

He stared at me for a long moment. "No," he whispered. "This isn't possible."

"Doctor Bianchi?"

"You're dead. I saw your body. I signed the papers."

"I'm not Alessia. I'm her twin sister, Bianca."

The gun shook in his hand. "Twin? But you look exactly like her."

"We're identical. Please, put the gun down. I just want to talk."

He lowered the weapon slowly. "How did you get in here?"

"The basement window. I'm sorry for breaking in. But I needed to find you."

"Why?"

"Because I know what you did. I know about the babies. I know about Victor. I know about everything."

Dr. Bianchi's face crumpled like old paper. "I never wanted any of this to happen."

"Then help me stop it."

He laughed, but it sounded like crying. "Stop it? Child, you have no idea how deep this goes."

"Then tell me."

"Sit down. Please. This will take a while."

I sat in the chair across from his desk. He poured himself a drink from a bottle he kept in his drawer. His hands were shaking.

"It started five years ago," he said. "Victor came to me with an offer. Money. Lots of it. All I had to do was help certain families have babies."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. At first. But then the requests got stranger. He wanted me to keep special records. To lie about who the real fathers were."

My stomach felt sick. "What kind of lies?"

"Rich men who wanted heirs but couldn't have children. Victor would find women who needed money. We'd use the men's... genetic material... and tell the women it was from their husbands."

"That's horrible."

"It gets worse. Some of the women found out the truth. They threatened to tell everyone."

"What happened to them?"

Dr. Bianchi took another drink. "They had accidents. Car crashes. House fires. Drowning."

"Victor killed them."

"Victor had them killed. There's a difference."

"No, there isn't."

He nodded. "You're right. I told myself I was just a doctor. Just following orders. But I was part of it. Part of the killing."

"What about Alessia? How was she involved?"

"She came to me six months ago. Said she wanted to have Leo's baby. A surprise for their wedding."

"But that's not what happened."

"No. Victor gave me different instructions. He wanted me to use his genetic material instead. Said it was for family planning reasons."

I felt like throwing up. "So the baby..."

"Is Victor's son. Not Leo's."

"Did Alessia know?"

"Not at first. But she's... she was smart. She asked too many questions. Wanted to see test results. Medical records."

"And she figured it out."

"Three weeks before she died, she came here screaming. Said she knew what we'd done. Threatened to go to the police."

"So Victor killed her."

"The accident happened two days later."

I closed my eyes. Poor Alessia. She'd died trying to protect her unborn child.

"Where is the baby now?" I asked.

Dr. Bianchi went very still. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm going to save him. Give him the life Alessia wanted."

"You can't. It's too dangerous."

"I don't care about danger."

"Victor will kill you."

"He's planning to kill me anyway."

The doctor stared at me for a long moment. "You really are her sister. Same brave. Same stubborn."

"Please. Just tell me where the baby is."

He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a small piece of paper. An address was written on it.

"Elena Rossi. She's a nurse and a very good woman. She thinks she's protecting the baby from kidnappers."

I took the paper. My hands were shaking. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Because I'm tired of lying. Tired of being afraid. Tired of helping that monster."

"Then help me stop him."

"I can't. I'm a coward."

"No, you're not. You just told me the truth. That took courage."

"It took desperation."

I stood up to leave. "Thank you, Dr. Bianchi."

"Wait." He opened another drawer and pulled out a thick file. "Take this."

"What is it?"

"Medical records. Birth certificates. DNA tests. Everything Victor made me falsify."

I took the file. It was heavy in my hands. Heavy with secrets, lies and pain.

"This proves Victor is the father?"

"It proves everything. The baby trafficking. The murdered mothers. All of it."

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"Because maybe you can do what I couldn't. Maybe you can make it right."

I was almost to the door when he spoke again.

"Miss Moretti?"

I turned back.

"The baby was born three months ago. Healthy boy. Eight pounds, two ounces."

My heart swelled with joy and sadness. Alessia's son was alive.

"But there's something else you need to know."

"What?"

Dr. Bianchi's face went dark with fear.

"Victor took the baby yesterday. He said it was for the child's safety. But I think... I think he's planning something terrible."