Chapter 2: What Was Hidden in the Seam
Matteo crossed the room in three steps.
He gripped the crib rail, lifted the mattress with one hand, and swept the other across the bare slat base.
Nothing.
He turned back.
"I told you."
"The seam," Liana said quietly.
"Check the seam on the underside."
He flipped the mattress over.
His jaw tightened.
A small pocket had been cut into the fabric lining and stitched back almost perfectly.
He worked the seam open with his thumb.
A folded photograph fell onto the floor.
Matteo picked it up.
His face went completely still.
Liana watched him.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer.
His hand had started to shake.
"Matteo."
He turned the photo toward her.
It showed a woman holding a newborn.
The woman was smiling.
The baby was wrapped in a white hospital blanket with a small blue tag on the wrist.
Liana stared at it.
Then her breath stopped.
She recognized the blanket.
She recognized the tag.
She recognized the room.
Because it was the same hospital.
The same ward.
The same night.
The baby in that photo was not Nico.
"Where did you get this child?" she whispered.
Matteo's voice dropped to almost nothing.
"What did you just say?"
Nico pressed closer against her chest, as if he already knew what was coming.
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