Superstar

Prologue Cedars-Sinai Hospital, 1966 The babies were born ten minutes apart. Two girls, one vibrant and healthy, the other feeble and frail. The difference was startling, especially under the glow of the hospital nursery's fluorescent lights. Nurse Patricia Hanson had strict orders: Act quickly and discreetly. She waited impatiently as the nurse's aide filled cabinets with a fresh supply of formula. When the young aide was finished, Hanson told her, "Go to 210 and check on Mrs. Murphy. She's been complaining of heavy bleeding." As she reached the door of the nursery, Hanson called out to her, "If there's any cause for alarm, notify me immediately." Patricia offered a phony smile and nodded as the young woman turned to go. When the door closed, her face pinched into a visible mask of terror. Holding her breath, she peeled back the two infants' blankets. The baby born first was still crying. Patricia brushed her finger across a soft rosy cheek and the baby turned her head toward it, mouth working. She repeated the gesture on the second infant. No response. Patricia looked at the monitor. The vital signs were normal, but the infant wasn't moving. She touched the tiny hand, but still the infant didn't respond. How could she have agreed to carry out such an abominable act? How could she play God like this, forever altering the lives of these two baby girls? Guilt stabbed her heart. Could she possibly live with this on her conscience? Patricia had to fight her heart and act with her head. It wasn't just the money she'd been promised only minutes ago--it was the right thing to do in so many ways. The healthy infant had been born to a single mother with no means of support. Born to Roger and Lana Turmaine, the sickly baby would never make it. Wouldn't the healthy child be better off with all that the wealthy Turmaines could provide? Only a healthy baby could fulfill the promise that money and power would buy her -- did Patricia want to see all that go to waste? She was running out of time. The young aide could walk back through the nursery door at any moment. Without a second to lose, Patricia slipped the plastic bracelet first from one tiny wrist and re-attached it to the wrist of the other infant, then carefully removed the original bracelet from the second child and secured it to the delicate wrist of the first baby. This quick exchange gave these babies their new identities. And their new destinies. Each year for the next twenty-one years, money would be deposited in a Swiss bank account set up for her. The payments would continue so long as no one -- particularly Lana Turmaine -- learned about what happened here today.Gotti, Victoria is the author of 'Superstar' with ISBN 9780609602423 and ISBN 060960242X.