Chapter 2 - The Photograph
Nico did not allow anyone else to touch the phone.
Within ninety seconds, Belladonna became something less like a restaurant and more like a fortress.
The doors locked.
Security moved through the dining room.
Nora sat in a private office with a blanket around her shoulders while an emergency physician employed by the Bellandi family examined her.
Her water had not broken.
The liquid had come from the pitcher she had dropped against the table during the contraction.
Nora had never been so grateful to feel ridiculous.
“The baby’s heartbeat is strong,” Dr. Harris said. “But stress can trigger contractions. You need rest.”
Nora stared at Nico.
“Excellent diagnosis.”
Nico ignored the insult.
“Hospital?”
“Not necessary unless the contractions become regular.”
Nora slid off the examination couch.
“Then I’m going home.”
“No.”
She looked at Nico.
“That word again.”
“You’re not going home.”
“You are spectacularly confused about how much authority you have over me.”
“Someone entered your apartment.”
That stopped her.
Nico held up the photograph.
Nora looked away.
“Maybe it was taken through the window.”
“Fourth floor.”
Her stomach tightened for a completely different reason.
“Then call the police.”
“I already did.”
She blinked.
That was not the answer she expected.
The stories about the Bellandis painted Nico as the kind of man who avoided police.
He seemed to read her thoughts.
“My family has a reputation, Nora. That doesn't mean I intend to solve every problem with a gun.”
“Comforting.”
“Someone threatened you.”
“They threatened the baby.”
“Our baby.”
Nora’s eyes snapped toward him.
“You don't know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“You cannot possibly—”
“The dates match.”
“That is not proof.”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“But your face is.”
Nora hated that he still knew her.
She folded her arms.
“You disappeared.”
“I was forced to.”
“You had a phone.”
“No, I didn’t.”
She laughed bitterly.
“What happened? Did the mafia confiscate your charger?”
Nico stepped closer.
“My father found out about you.”
The humor died.
“He ordered me to end it.”
“And you obeyed.”
“I told him no.”
Nora studied him.
“Then why did you leave?”
“Because forty-eight hours later someone cut the brake line on your car.”
Her breath stopped.
She remembered.
Her old Honda had rolled into a concrete barrier outside her apartment.
The mechanic had called it mechanical failure.
Nico continued.
“The next morning, someone left photographs of you on my desk. Grocery store. Apartment. Your mother’s grave.”
Nora felt cold.
“My father said the next warning wouldn’t miss.”
“So you vanished?”
“I made him believe you meant nothing to me.”
“By proving it to me too.”
“Yes.”
One word.
No excuse.
It hurt more than a defense would have.
“You could have told me.”
“And if you had reacted exactly as you’re reacting now?”
“What does that mean?”
“You would have confronted him.”
“Damn right.”
“And he would have known I lied.”
Nora turned away.
She understood the logic.
Understanding did not make it forgivable.
The office door opened.
Viviana entered.
Nico’s security chief tried to stop her.
“Leave us,” Viviana said.
Nico stared at her.
“You knew about my father.”
“I knew enough.”
“You knew Nora existed.”
“Yes.”
Nora slowly turned.
Viviana met her eyes.
The arrogance from Table One was gone.
“I knew there had been a woman.”
“And you still got engaged to him?”
“Our engagement was arranged.”
Nora looked at Nico.
He said nothing.
Viviana laughed without humor.
“Surprised? Not every woman wearing diamonds is living a fairy tale.”
“Viviana,” Nico warned.
“No. She deserves at least one truth tonight.”
She removed the enormous engagement ring from her finger.
“Our families announced the engagement four months ago. Nico never proposed.”
Nora stared at the ring.
Viviana placed it on the desk.
“I agreed because my brother owed the Bellandis seven million dollars. Nico agreed because his father threatened to destroy my family if he refused.”
Nora looked at Nico.
“Is anyone in your life there voluntarily?”
His expression tightened.
“You were.”
The words hurt them both.
Viviana glanced at Nora’s stomach.
“And apparently you left with more than memories.”
“Viviana.”
“What? We’re all being honest now.”
Nora grabbed her coat.
“I’ve had enough honesty for one evening.”
Nico blocked the door.
“Your apartment isn't safe.”
“Then I’ll stay with a friend.”
“They know where you live. Assume they know your friends.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Then choose somewhere else. Hotel. Police protection. Anything.”
That surprised her again.
He wasn't demanding his house.
He was giving options.
Nora hated that this version of Nico made anger harder.
Viviana studied the photograph on his phone.
“Where was this taken?”
“My bedroom.”
“No.”
She enlarged the image.
“Look at the mirror.”
Nico did.
A tiny reflection appeared behind the photographer.
A sleeve.
Dark fabric.
And a silver cuff link.
Viviana went pale.
“I know that cuff link.”
Nico’s voice lowered.
“Whose?”
Viviana looked toward the locked door.
“My brother’s.”
Nora stared at her.
Viviana shook her head.
“But Luca has been in Switzerland for three months.”
Nico immediately called someone.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Then Nora’s phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A single message.
ASK VIVIANA WHERE HER BROTHER REALLY IS.
Nora slowly lifted the screen.
Viviana read it.
Her face drained of color.
“No.”
“What?”
“My brother called me yesterday.”
“And?”
Viviana backed toward the wall.
“He said he had finally found proof of who ordered the attack on Nora’s car.”
Nico stepped toward her.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Viviana.”
“He told me not to tell anyone.”
“Where?”
Viviana swallowed.
“He said if anything happened, I should open the safe in his apartment.”
Nico reached for his coat.
Nora stood.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“Try stopping me.”
Viviana gave a humorless smile.
“I almost like her.”
Nico looked at both women.
“This is not a field trip.”
Nora pointed at the photograph.
“That was taken while I slept. I stopped being a spectator when someone entered my bedroom.”
Thirty minutes later, they reached Luca Greco’s penthouse.
The front door was open.
No lights.
No security guard.
Nico entered first.
Nora followed despite his glare.
They found the safe behind a painting.
Viviana entered the code.
The lock clicked.
Inside sat a flash drive, a sealed envelope—
and a photograph of Nico’s father standing beside Nora’s mother.
On the back, someone had written a date.
Thirty-three years earlier.
May you like
Underneath were four words.
NORA IS NOT WHO SHE THINKS.
