Chapter 2 - THE TEST I NEVER AGREED TO
I read the document until the words blurred.
“They can’t do this without my consent.”
Elena looked at me sadly.
“You live in Matteo’s world. Men like Luca spend their lives assuming consent is something money can replace.”
My baby kicked.
Hard.
I pressed both hands to my stomach.
“Does Matteo know?”
“I don’t think so.”
That answer was somehow worse.
Because if Matteo had ordered the test, I could hate him cleanly.
But if Luca had done it without Matteo’s knowledge, then the betrayal around us was larger than Harper.
I picked up my phone.
Three missed calls.
All from Matteo.
A fourth came while I stared.
I answered.
“What?”
His voice was low.
“You moved money.”
No greeting.
No apology.
No mention of the woman in his hotel room.
“You noticed.”
“Three accounts emptied into a trust in Boston.”
“They weren’t emptied.”
“Norah.”
“They were mine.”
Silence.
Then:
“Where are you?”
“Boston.”
“I know that. Where?”
“You don’t need to.”
His voice sharpened.
“You’re seven months pregnant.”
“And you’re in Santorini with Harper.”
“That is not the same thing.”
I almost laughed.
“No. Mine involves self-respect.”
“Do not play games with me.”
“I stopped playing a long time ago.”
He inhaled slowly.
I could picture him standing on a hotel balcony with the sea behind him, trying to control rage the way he controlled everything else.
“I’ll be home tomorrow.”
“No.”
His voice changed.
“What?”
“Stay with her.”
“Norah—”
“I meant what I said. Take her.”
Then I hung up.
Elena stared at me.
“You shouldn’t have told him no.”
“Why?”
“Because Matteo can survive hatred.”
She glanced toward my phone.
“He cannot survive losing control.”
The phone rang again.
This time I declined it.
Thirty seconds later, a message appeared.
MATTEO:
Do not leave that house.
Another.
MATTEO:
I’m serious.
Then another.
MATTEO:
Norah, answer me.
I turned the phone face down.
Elena opened the closet beside Matteo’s desk.
From behind a row of tailored jackets, she removed a small steel lockbox.
“What is that?”
“Something your husband’s father gave me twenty-two years ago.”
She entered a code.
Inside was a sealed envelope with Matteo’s name.
She handed it to me.
“I was supposed to give him this if Luca ever turned against the family.”
My mouth went dry.
“Why give it to me?”
“Because Matteo will destroy the room before he reads anything that tells him he was fooled.”
I opened it.
Inside was a single handwritten letter.
Matteo—
If Luca Bellini is still beside you when you read this, then I failed you.
Never let him control your wife, your child, or the Rossi succession.
I looked up.
“Matteo’s father knew?”
Elena nodded.
Before I could ask more, a car door slammed outside.
Then another.
Elena hurried toward the window.
Her face drained.
“That isn’t Matteo.”
Three black SUVs had entered the driveway.
Men stepped out.
All wore Rossi security uniforms.
May you like
At the center of them was Luca Bellini.
And beside him stood Dr. Evans.
