Chapter 4 - THE FAMILY DINNER THAT BECAME A WARNING|
Luca read his mother's letter three times before speaking.
He didn't ask my mother another question. He didn't call his father. He simply folded the page, placed it inside his jacket, and told Marco to take us home.
On the drive back, I held Luca's hand.
He didn't squeeze it.
He barely seemed to notice I was there.
At the estate, he went directly to his study and locked the door. I waited outside for nearly an hour before Marco came downstairs.
“Is he all right?” I asked.
Marco looked toward the closed study.
“Mr. Varenna has spent twelve years believing his body betrayed him. Finding out his family might have engineered that belief is not easy.”
“Do you think his father did it?”
“I think we should be careful about what we assume.”
That evening, Augusto Varenna arrived without warning.
He was seventy, silver-haired, and impeccably dressed. His presence changed the atmosphere of the entire house. Even the staff seemed to move more quietly.
He greeted me with a kiss on the cheek.
“Evelyn. How is your mother?”
“She's improving, thank you.”
“Excellent. Luca has always been generous with people he cares about.”
The sentence sounded like a compliment.
Somehow, it didn't feel like one.
Luca entered the room a moment later.
“Father.”
“Son.”
They shook hands.
Neither smiled.
Augusto noticed the medical folder on the side table.
“What is that?”
“An old medical record.”
“Why are you looking through old records?”
“Because I found a discrepancy.”
Augusto removed his gloves.
“About what?”
“My diagnosis.”
The older man's expression didn't change.
“Your diagnosis was given by excellent doctors.”
“Then you won't mind answering a few questions.”
Augusto sat down.
“Of course.”
Luca placed the photograph on the table.
“Who wrote this note?”
Augusto glanced at it.
“I have no idea.”
“Who authorized my transfer to Saint Gabriel?”
“Your mother.”
“Why?”
“She was your mother. She was frightened.”
“Was there a second operation?”
Augusto looked at him for a long moment.
Then he said, “You were badly injured. There were complications. Your mother insisted on moving you to a specialist.”
“Did I need another operation?”
“Luca, this was twelve years ago.”
“Answer me.”
Augusto's voice became colder.
“You survived. That's what matters.”
“No. What matters is what happened to me.”
For the first time, Augusto's composure cracked.
“Your mother was emotional. She believed doctors were hiding something. She became obsessed with your recovery.”
“And you?”
“I handled the family business while you were unconscious.”
Luca stepped closer.
“You told me I could never have children.”
“I told you what the doctors told us.”
“Which doctors?”
Augusto stood.
“This conversation is over.”
“No. It isn't.”
The two men faced each other across the table.
I had never seen anyone stand up to Augusto Varenna. But Luca didn't move.
Then Augusto turned to me.
“Evelyn, I suggest you stay out of matters you don't understand.”
Luca stepped between us.
“Don't speak to my wife like that.”
Augusto's gaze dropped briefly to my stomach.
The change in his expression was almost invisible.
Almost.
But I saw it.
His eyes sharpened.
“Is there something you need to tell me?”
Luca answered before I could.
“Nothing you have a right to know.”
Augusto put on his gloves.
“Be careful, son. Some truths destroy more than the people who discover them.”
He left without another word.
That night, Luca stood by the bedroom window, staring at the dark garden.
“Your father knows,” I whispered.
“He suspects.”
“About the baby?”
“About everything.”
He turned toward me.
“Evelyn, I need you to promise me something.”
“What?”
“If anything happens to me, you take our child and leave Boston.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“Don't say that.”
“I mean it.”
“You're not going to leave us.”
He crossed the room and kissed my forehead.
“No. I'm going to find out what he did.”
His phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of our house.
Taken from across the street.
May you like
And beneath it were eight words:
THE CHILD WILL NEVER BE BORN INTO THIS FAMILY.
