Chapter 2 - The Whispers in the Dark
The following morning brought no relief from the storm. Boston was draped in a cold, grey fog that clung to the windows of our sprawling estate in Beacon Hill. Luca had left before dawn, flanked by six armed bodyguards, leaving his most trusted enforcer, Mateo, stationed outside my bedroom door.
I stood by the window of the master bedroom, sipping hot ginger tea to soothe the morning sickness that roiled in my gut. My mind raced through the past eleven weeks. I had married Luca out of sheer desperation, selling my freedom to settle the crushing mountain of debt from my mother’s stage-four lymphoma treatments. In the beginning, he had been cold, detached, an untouchable shadow who ruled his world with an iron fist. But slowly, the terrifying facade had peeled back. I saw the quiet grief in his eyes whenever he stared at children playing in the park. I felt the profound tenderness in his hands when he tucked a blanket over me while I fell asleep reading beside him.
Now, carrying his child made me the single most dangerous person in the Varenna household.
A soft knock interrupted my thoughts. ""Mrs. Varenna?""
""Come in, Mateo,"" I said, setting the tea cup down.
Mateo walked inside, closing the heavy door behind him. He was a man of few words, thirty years old, built like a brick wall, with a jagged scar running along his jawline from his days serving alongside Luca. But today, his eyes darted nervously toward the corridor.
""The Boss ordered me to escort you to a private clinic in Cambridge,"" Mateo said in a low voice. ""Under an alias. Dr. Bennett called Don Dominic an hour ago. Dominic is asking questions.""
A knot formed in my throat. ""What kind of questions?""
""You ran from the dining table last night, ma'am. Dominic noticed. His wife, Camilla, noticed. In our world, an heir's wife vomiting at a private summit sparks rumors. Dominic called Dr. Bennett to schedule a mandatory 'health checkup' for you at the family clinic this afternoon, claiming he wants to ensure the boss's wife isn't falling ill.""
""He wants to test my blood,"" I realized, terror surging through my veins. ""If Dr. Bennett gets my blood sample, he'll know within an hour.""
""Luca foresaw it,"" Mateo answered, stepping aside to let me pass. ""We leave through the underground tunnel beneath the garage now. Luca is waiting for us in Cambridge.""
Thirty minutes later, wearing an oversized trench coat and dark sunglasses, I was hurried through the back entrance of an unassuming private diagnostic laboratory far away from the mafia's usual medical circles. Inside a sterile white examination room, Luca was pacing like an enraged panther. Beside him stood Dr. Rebecca Lin, a renowned reproductive specialist who had no ties whatsoever to the Varenna syndicate.
""Evelyn,"" Luca breathed, wrapping his strong arms around me the second I walked through the door. His scent of cedarwood and expensive tobacco anchored my frayed nerves. ""Sit down. Let Dr. Lin do her work.""
I climbed onto the examination table, pulling up my shirt with trembling hands. Dr. Lin squeezed warm, clear gel onto my lower abdomen and pressed the cold ultrasound transducer against my skin. The room fell into dead silence. On the black-and-white monitor, blurry grey shapes shifted and flickered.
Luca leaned over, his breath caught in his throat, his dark eyes fixed desperately on the screen.
Suddenly, a rhythmic, rapid thumping sound filled the small room.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
Dr. Lin smiled warmly, pointing her pen at a small, flickering bean-shaped shadow. ""Right there, Mr. and Mrs. Varenna. You have a healthy, viable gestational sac with a strong fetal heartbeat. Gestation is roughly seven weeks.""
Luca looked from the screen to my face, tears glimmering in the corners of his eyes for the first time in his life. He reached out, his large, scarred hand enclosing mine so tightly it almost hurt. ""My baby,"" he whispered, his voice cracking with an emotion he had suppressed for over a decade. ""It's real. My God, Evelyn, it's real.""
""And the reports from twelve years ago?"" Luca turned to Dr. Lin, his voice turning cold and clinical once again.
May you like
Dr. Lin shook her head grimly. ""I reviewed the old files your security team brought me, Mr. Varenna. The lab numbers on these historical papers were entirely fabricated. The pelvic trauma you suffered was severe, yes, but it completely missed your reproductive organs. Whoever wrote this forged the endocrinology results from scratch. You were never sterile.""
Luca closed his eyes for three long seconds. When he opened them, the tears were gone, replaced by pure, unadulterated vengeance. ""Thank you, Doctor. Mateo, clear the room. We have a family dinner to prepare for.""
