Chapter 6 - THE PRICE OF THE TRUTH
"Mom?"
My mother stood in the doorway wearing a pale blue coat.
She looked tired.
Confused.
And frightened.
Luca immediately moved between us.
"Why is she here?"
Salvatore smiled.
"Because your wife deserves the truth."
I rushed toward my mother.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded weakly.
But she wouldn't look at me.
Salvatore placed a leather folder on the table.
"Twelve years ago, your father made a mistake, Luca. He trusted the wrong people. Your mother-in-law was one of them."
I turned.
"What are you talking about?"
My mother finally spoke.
"Evelyn, I never wanted you involved."
Luca's voice was ice.
"Start explaining."
She looked at me.
"Before you were born, I worked as a nurse at St. Catherine's Hospital."
My stomach tightened.
"That's where Luca was treated?"
She nodded.
"Twelve years ago, I was assigned to the private recovery wing. I saw the medical reports. I knew the diagnosis was false."
Luca stepped forward.
"You knew?"
"I was young. I had a family. Salvatore threatened me."
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
My mother began crying.
"Because he showed me a photograph of you, Evelyn."
I felt the floor disappear beneath my feet.
"What?"
"He said if I ever spoke about what happened, he would make sure you disappeared."
Salvatore watched us quietly.
Then he opened the folder.
Inside were several documents.
One was an original medical report.
Another was a payment record.
The final document was a signed statement from a laboratory technician.
It confirmed that Luca's fertility results had been deliberately altered.
Luca stared at the paper.
"Who ordered it?"
Salvatore shrugged.
"Your father."
Nobody moved.
"What?"
"Your father wanted to prevent you from having children until the family business was secure. He was afraid a legitimate heir would become a target."
Luca's expression darkened.
"You're lying."
"Am I?"
Salvatore placed another document on the table.
It carried Luca's father's signature.
But my mother suddenly shook her head.
"That's not the original."
Salvatore looked at her.
She stepped forward.
"Your father never signed that document. I saw him destroy the first copy."
Salvatore's smile disappeared.
My mother continued.
"Your father discovered the forgery. He was going to expose Salvatore."
Luca stared at her.
"Then why didn't you help him?"
"Because I was threatened. And because I was pregnant with you."
I looked at my mother.
She had never told me about any of this.
Not once.
Salvatore suddenly laughed.
"How touching."
He turned toward Luca.
"But there is one thing you still don't understand."
He pointed at my stomach.
"The child you're expecting may not belong to you."
Luca's eyes narrowed.
"What did you say?"
Salvatore smiled.
"Your wife was already pregnant when she signed the marriage contract."
I felt sick.
"That's impossible."
He pulled out a medical record.
It contained an appointment date from a clinic I had visited shortly before our wedding.
But the record wasn't mine.
The name was similar.
The date was real.
And the blood type listed beneath it was wrong.
Luca looked at me.
I reached for his hand.
"That's not my file."
Salvatore shrugged.
"Then prove it."
My mother suddenly grabbed my wrist.
"Evelyn, don't let him take you."
Before I could respond, the lights went out.
A gunshot exploded somewhere outside.
Luca shoved me behind him.
His men rushed through the doorway.
When the lights returned, Salvatore was gone.
So was my mother.
May you like
And on the table lay a note.
The baby belongs to the family that paid for his creation.
