Chapter 4 - The Ledger of Names
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then Julian asked:
“Children?”
Anthony nodded.
“I thought she meant inheritance.”
Albert shook his head.
“She didn’t.”
Julian turned.
“You know?”
Albert opened another compartment in his folder.
A thin photocopied page.
Rows of dates.
Initials.
Hospitals.
Payments.
Julian took it.
“What is this?”
“A page from the original Bell ledger.”
“Where did you get it?”
“Your mother.”
Julian looked at the names.
Some had one letter beside them.
M.
F.
Other entries had numbers.
One line had been circled.
J.R.
Date of birth.
Julian’s date.
Hospital:
Saint Matthew Private.
Payment:
$180,000.
Recipient:
D.R.
Julian looked up.
“Dominic Russo.”
Albert nodded.
Julian’s voice dropped.
“What was the payment for?”
Anthony answered:
“To alter your birth record.”
Julian stared.
“But we already know that.”
“No.”
Albert shook his head.
“That amount was too large for one certificate.”
Julian read further.
Another line.
Same date.
A second infant.
Female.
No name.
Status:
TRANSFERRED.
Julian’s face changed.
“What is that?”
Anthony said:
“That is why Claire became afraid.”
Julian looked at him.
“There was another baby born the same day?”
“Yes.”
“At the same hospital?”
“Yes.”
“Connected to my family?”
Albert answered:
“We believe so.”
Julian stared at the page.
“Who was she?”
Nobody answered.
Julian looked at Anthony.
“Was my mother carrying twins?”
Anthony froze.
Albert’s face tightened.
Julian saw it.
“She was.”
Anthony closed his eyes.
Julian stepped back.
“My mother had twins.”
Anthony whispered:
“Yes.”
“What happened to the other child?”
“We were told she died.”
Julian looked at the word.
TRANSFERRED.
“She didn’t.”
“No.”
Julian’s voice became flat.
“Where did she go?”
Albert answered:
“The record was sealed.”
“By whom?”
“Dominic Russo and Michael Bell.”
Julian looked toward the hotel window.
Across the street, the engagement gala still glowed.
Sophia.
Michael.
The Bell family.
Julian turned.
“Does Sophia know?”
Anthony shook his head.
“I don’t think so.”
Julian stared at him.
“You didn’t think she knew you were alive either.”
Anthony accepted that.
“Fair.”
Julian picked up the hotel phone.
Called the estate.
Sophia answered.
“Julian?”
“Come here.”
She hesitated.
“Is he there?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“Are you all right?”
“No.”
Silence.
Julian continued.
“And bring your father.”
Sophia whispered:
“Why?”
Julian looked at the ledger page.
“Because I had a sister.”
The line went silent.
Too silent.
Julian’s eyes narrowed.
“Sophia?”
She whispered:
“Oh God.”
Julian stopped.
“You knew.”
“No.”
Her voice shook.
“I didn’t know it was your sister.”
Julian’s face hardened.
“What did you know?”
Sophia began crying.
“My father has been paying a woman for years.”
“What woman?”
“I don’t know her real name.”
“Where?”
“A private clinic outside Baltimore.”
Julian gripped the phone.
“How long?”
“Since before we met.”
“Why?”
“My father told me she was connected to an old Russo problem.”
Julian looked at Anthony.
Anthony had gone pale.
Julian spoke slowly.
“Bring Michael.”
Sophia whispered:
“He won’t come.”
Julian’s voice turned cold.
“Then tell him I’m coming back with the original ledger page.”
Silence.
May you like
![[COMPLETED] “GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY DRESS! YOU’RE NOTHING BUT AN OLD SEAMSTRESS, AND I WON’T HAVE YOUR MAID HELPING YOU EMBARRASS ME!” THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE HUMILIATED HIS 25-YEAR-OLD HOUSEKEEPER FOR PROTECTING A 76-YEAR-OLD WOMAN AT THE ENGAGEMENT DINNER—BUT WHEN THE WOMAN TOUCHED THE RED SILK AND WHISPERED, “I SEWED THAT FOR SOMEONE ELSE,” LUCA MORETTI SLOWLY STOOD UP.](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_511/2026/10/a-30-688683e1-4260-4eee-b5ce-595ef1761e4a.webp)
![[COMPLETED] At the Mafia Boss's Engagement Party, I Served His Hungry Son—Then His Fiancée Claimed the Boy Had Already Eaten Upstairs](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_511/2026/10/a-29-1e929704-31c7-4721-a867-9c09dcc15ed1.webp)
![[COMPLETED] The Mafia Boss’s Fiancée Tried to Dismiss His Father’s Loyal Driver—Then a Red Mitten Stopped Their Engagement Dinner](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_511/2026/10/a-28-deeeb7fc-0253-4c50-b9b1-415493f5ab6e.webp)
Sophia exhaled.
“He’ll come.”
![[COMPLETED] The Mafia Boss’s Fiancée Forced His Maid to Kneel Before Her Ex-Husband—Until He Asked Where Her Missing Daughter Was](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_511/2026/10/a-27-6277946d-1592-47b8-80bd-f61abeb16205.webp)
![[COMPLETED] My Husband's Mistress Wore My Missing Versace Dress to My Father's Funeral—Then His Attorney Revealed My Father Knew Something](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_511/2026/10/a-26-edbdfee0-12f0-4111-b3e0-83d87ba1bf25.webp)
![[COMPLETED] My Mafia Boss Ex-Husband Threw $30 at My Feet—Ten Years Later, He Told Millions He Had No Children](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_511/2026/10/a-25-5e4e8834-5fc4-4539-b65f-4c94b518637f.webp)
![[COMPLETED] My Groom Abandoned Me Before 200 Wedding Guests—Then a Feared Stranger Followed Me Home With an Envelope Bearing His Name](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_511/2026/10/a-24-aed34468-7dc0-4795-80db-c45cf62e6a00.webp)
![[COMPLETED] His Fiancée Dumped Wine on a Maid Who Understood Italian—Then the Mafia Boss Demanded She Translate Every Word](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_511/2026/10/a-23-6c887c02-f27a-4211-a165-8c7b8ca14ae5.webp)
![[COMPLETED] My Daughter Abandoned Me at My Wife's Grave—Four Days Later, Her Husband Found Me in the Chairman's Seat](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_511/2026/10/a-22-26a430cb-af92-4d27-a0e5-8306075c1e60.webp)
![[COMPLETED] Thirteen Years After Leaving Me, He Failed to Recognize Our Twin Sons—Then the Professor Opened a Gold-Embossed Envelope](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_511/2026/10/a-21-ef4606d6-4f41-4f39-885b-ead2a9547b2d.webp)
![[COMPLETED] My Husband Sold My $3 Million House While I Gave Birth, Then Handed Me $200—But He Never Knew Who Already Owned It](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_511/2026/10/a-20-22d914ca-98f1-4c07-a123-994ca78cfc6f.webp)