Chapter 2 - THE LOCKED FLOOR
The maternity floor went into security lockdown less than thirty seconds later.
Nurses shut doors.
An alarm sounded once, then disappeared into an eerie silence.
Luka never moved away from the entrance to my room.
The two men in suits stopped when hospital security arrived.
One produced identification.
“Cole Family Office.”
My stomach dropped.
Cole.
Ethan’s family.
Luka looked at me over his shoulder.
“You recognize the name.”
“They work for my father-in-law.”
“Richard Cole?”
“Yes.”
The shorter man stepped forward.
“Mrs. Cole, your husband asked us to escort you home.”
I almost laughed.
“My husband just left me here.”
“He reconsidered.”
Luka’s voice was flat.
“No, he didn’t.”
The man looked at him.
“This is a private family matter.”
Luka’s tattooed fingers curled around the edge of the door.
“So was abandoning a woman six hours after childbirth.”
The man’s face tightened.
“Mara, Mr. Cole is waiting.”
I stared at him.
“Which Mr. Cole?”
A tiny hesitation answered before he did.
“Richard.”
Not Ethan.
That mattered.
My father-in-law had barely spoken to me during my pregnancy.
Now he had sent two men to collect me minutes after Luka Moretti appeared.
“No.”
The man’s expression hardened.
“Mrs. Cole—”
“I said no.”
Luka did not smile.
But something in his eyes changed.
Approval.
The men eventually left under security escort.
The second the elevator doors closed, Luka made one phone call.
“Move the car downstairs.”
He ended the call.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Anywhere you choose.”
“I don’t have anywhere.”
The truth nearly broke my voice.
Ethan owned our apartment.
At least I thought he did.
My mother had died when I was sixteen.
My father had died when I was eighteen.
Ethan had become my entire family.
Now I understood how dangerous that had been.
Luka looked at Sophie.
“You have somewhere.”
“Where?”
“Your father’s house.”
I stared at him.
“My father’s house was sold after he died.”
“No.”
“Yes, it was.”
“You were told it was sold.”
He pulled another document from his jacket.
A property deed.
I recognized the address immediately.
The little stone house outside Boston where I had grown up.
The owner was listed as BENNETT LEGACY TRUST.
My hands began shaking.
“That can’t be real.”
“It is.”
“Ethan told me Dad had debts.”
“Daniel Bennett had no personal debt when he died.”
I looked at Luka.
“Then where did the money go?”
His eyes darkened.
“That’s one of the reasons Ethan is afraid of M-17.”
My phone suddenly buzzed.
Ethan.
For one foolish second, hope rushed through me.
I answered.
“Mara.”
His voice was cold.
“What have you done?”
I stared at the screen.
“What have I done?”
“You spoke to Moretti.”
“You abandoned your daughter.”
“Don’t start.”
My grip tightened.
“Her name is Sophie.”
Silence.
Then he said something I would remember forever.
“We don’t even know if she’s mine.”
My entire body went numb.
Luka heard him.
His expression became lethal.
I whispered, “What did you say?”
“You heard me.”
“No.”
My voice cracked.
“You don’t get to rewrite our marriage because you want Vanessa.”
“Mara, give the phone to Moretti.”
“Why?”
“Because he knows exactly what he’s doing.”
Luka held out his hand.
I gave him the phone.
“Ethan.”
Silence.
Luka listened.
Then he said four words.
“You should have stayed.”
He ended the call.
I stared at him.
“What did he say?”
Luka handed the phone back.
“That I have twelve hours to disappear.”
“And if you don’t?”
Luka looked toward Sophie.
“He threatened to release medical records proving she isn’t his.”
My knees weakened.
“But there are no records like that.”
“I know.”
“How?”
May you like
He held my eyes.
“Because I already found the laboratory that created them yesterday.”
