Chapter 9 - The First Night|
The guest suite beside Sophia's nursery was larger than Hannah and Clara's entire apartment in Pilsen.
High ceilings, dark mahogany furniture, a roaring stone fireplace, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the misty rose gardens below.
At four in the morning, after Clara had fallen asleep in the adjacent bedroom, Hannah walked quietly out onto the stone terrace, wrapping a soft cashmere blanket around her shoulders against the autumn chill.
The quiet night air smelled of woodsmoke and damp earth.
Footsteps sounded on the terrace stone behind her.
Luca stepped out into the night. He had removed his jacket and tie, his white shirt unbuttoned at the collar, revealing the hard line of his chest and a faint white scar running along his collarbone. He held two warm mugs of tea.
He offered one to her silently.
Hannah accepted the mug, taking a slow sip, keeping her eyes on the moonlit gardens.
"She's sleeping peacefully," Luca said softly, leaning his hip against the stone balustrade beside her. "Dr. Aris gave her a mild muscle relaxant. Her legs are resting."
"She's a strong little girl, Luca," Hannah whispered, using his first name for the very first time.
Luca looked at her profile in the moonlight, his gray eyes dark and unreadable.
"Why didn't you come to me three years ago, Hannah?" Luca asked quietly. "I put an advertisement in every newspaper in the Midwest offering a five-million-dollar reward for information about the civilian who helped at Ashwood Bridge."
Hannah let out a soft, sad breath, watching the steam rise from her tea mug.
"Because three years ago," Hannah revealed softly, "my father was working as a mechanic for your uncle Salvatore."
Luca went rigid. "What?"
"My father was the man who serviced your wife's Lincoln the afternoon before the crash," Hannah whispered, tears pricking her eyes. "Salvatore paid him ten thousand dollars to overlook a rusted brake line. My father didn't know Sal was going to cut the support beams on the bridge... he thought it was just a minor insurance fraud."
May you like
Luca’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched violently in his cheek.
"When the news hit that your wife died and Sophia was paralyzed," Hannah wept quietly, "my father realized what he had done. He gave me the tire iron, told me to run, and three days later... he was found dead in his garage."
