Chapter 6 - A CHILD WITHOUT A FATHER'S NAME
Rosa brought Emma to a discreet obstetrician in a neighboring suburb. The office was small, with faded children's drawings taped to the walls and a receptionist who asked no unnecessary questions.
Dr. Patel examined Emma and listened to the baby's heartbeat.
"Strong and steady," she said. "Your blood pressure is elevated, though. You need rest, less stress, and regular appointments."
Emma nodded, fighting tears when the rapid heartbeat filled the room.
"There you are," she whispered.
The doctor smiled.
"Have you chosen a name?"
"Not yet."
"That's fine. You have time."
Emma almost laughed. Time was the one thing she no longer trusted.
After the appointment, Rosa drove her to a small rental apartment above a bakery. The landlord accepted cash and required only a month's deposit. The apartment had two rooms, a narrow kitchen, and a window overlooking a quiet street.
It was not luxurious.
It was safe.
Emma stood in the nursery corner she had arranged beside the bed. A secondhand crib waited beneath a paper moon. She placed the ultrasound photographs on a shelf.
"Your father doesn't know where we are," she whispered to her stomach. "And for now, that's how it's going to stay."
That evening, a knock startled her.
Rosa stood in the doorway holding a grocery bag.
"I brought soup."
Emma stepped aside.
Rosa set the bag down, then studied her face.
"You haven't told me everything."
Emma sat slowly.
"My father worked for the Romano organization before he died. I found his name in Dante's financial records."
Rosa went still.
"Your father was an accountant?"
"He said he handled logistics for a shipping company. After he died, my mother burned most of his papers. She told me he had gotten involved with dangerous people."
"Did Dante know who your father was when he married you?"
Emma shook her head.
"I don't think so."
Rosa looked toward the ultrasound photographs.
"Then why would your father's name appear in his records?"
Emma pulled the folder from her suitcase.
Inside was a copy of a document authorizing a transfer of funds on the night Michael Hayes died. The signature belonged to Dante's father, but a second signature appeared beneath it.
Dante's.
The date was eleven years earlier.
Emma stared at the ink.
May you like
Her husband had been a young man then, barely out of his teens.
And according to the document, he had been present when her father disappeared.
