Chapter 3 - The Woman Behind the Door
"Claire."
I knew that voice.
But I couldn't place it.
Alessandro looked toward the dark study.
"Who's in there?"
Marco didn't answer.
Elena stepped backward.
"Marco, don't."
"Too late."
A woman emerged.
She was in her early forties, pale, with blond hair pulled tightly away from her face.
The moment I saw her, memory returned.
She had visited Rosie's twice.
Always alone.
Always watching me.
I had assumed she was simply another customer.
"You," I whispered.
She smiled without warmth.
"Finally."
Alessandro moved between us.
"Name."
"Rebecca Hale."
Marco's jaw tightened.
"She was supposed to be gone."
Rebecca laughed softly.
"You people really do enjoy pretending problems disappear when you stop looking at them."
Alessandro turned to his father.
"You know her?"
Marco nodded once.
"Unfortunately."
"What does she want with Claire?"
Rebecca answered.
"Not Claire."
Her gaze dropped toward me.
"The future."
My skin prickled.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't you?"
"No."
Rebecca studied me.
"Then Alessandro hasn't figured it out."
The room seemed to contract.
Alessandro looked at me.
I couldn't move.
Marco's eyes sharpened.
Elena closed hers.
Rebecca smiled.
"Interesting."
Alessandro's voice became dangerous.
"Say what you came to say."
Rebecca leaned against the doorway.
"Twenty-six years ago, Marco Vitali made an agreement that kept this family alive."
Marco stepped forward.
"Enough."
"No. You've had decades."
"Get out."
Rebecca ignored him.
"The agreement depended on succession. Blood. Marriage. Heirs."
I felt sick.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because families like this don't see children the way normal people do."
Alessandro's head turned sharply toward me.
There was no hiding now.
My eyes filled.
He stared at my face.
Then at my hands.
"Claire."
I couldn't speak.
Rebecca said it for me.
"She's pregnant."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Alessandro didn't move.
Marco's expression broke first.
Not anger.
Shock.
Elena covered her mouth.
Rebecca looked satisfied.
I hated her for that.
Alessandro finally whispered, "Is that true?"
My throat burned.
I nodded.
His eyes closed.
For one second, Alessandro Vitali looked less like an heir and more like a man who had been hit in the chest.
"How long have you known?"
"Tonight."
"The test."
I nodded again.
He looked away.
I rushed forward.
"I was going to tell you."
"When?"
"I don't know."
His jaw tightened.
"Before or after disappearing?"
"I wasn't going to disappear."
"Weren't you?"
"Alessandro."
He looked at me.
Pain had replaced surprise.
"You were terrified of telling me."
"Yes."
That honesty hurt him.
I saw it.
But lying would have hurt worse.
"I didn't know what you would do."
His voice dropped.
"You thought I'd hurt you?"
"I didn't know."
Marco turned away.
Elena whispered, "Alessandro."
He ignored everyone.
"Claire, look at me."
I did.
"I will never hurt you."
My chest tightened.
"Or the baby."
A tear slid down my cheek.
He stepped closer but stopped before touching me.
"And no one else will either."
Rebecca laughed.
"That's adorable."
Alessandro turned.
The softness vanished from his face.
"If you speak about my child again, choose your words carefully."
Rebecca's smile faded.
There he was.
The man Chicago feared.
But for the first time, I understood something.
That man wasn't being aimed at me.
He was standing between me and everyone else.
Marco walked toward Rebecca.
"Why are you here?"
"Because someone is trying to restart the old agreement."
"What agreement?" Alessandro asked.
Marco said nothing.
Rebecca reached into her bag.
Three men moved instantly.
Alessandro pulled me behind him.
Rebecca froze.
"It's paper."
She slowly removed a folded document.
Marco took it.
His face changed.
Elena whispered, "No."
Alessandro grabbed the page.
It was an old contract.
Names.
Signatures.
Dates.
I couldn't understand most of it.
Then I saw one line.
FIRST-BORN MALE HEIR.
My stomach turned.
"What is this?"
Marco looked suddenly older.
"Something I ended years ago."
Rebecca shook her head.
"Something you thought you ended."
Alessandro read farther.
His face darkened.
"This says my first son would unite the Vitali and D'Amato interests."
"It was written before you were born," Marco said.
"You promised my child?"
"No."
"It's right here."
"I broke the agreement."
Rebecca said, "And the D'Amatos never forgave him."
My heart pounded.
"Why would they care about my baby?"
Rebecca looked directly at me.
"Because if Alessandro has a child outside the approved marriage, the old agreement becomes impossible."
"Approved marriage?" I whispered.
Alessandro's face became ice.
"There is no approved marriage."
Rebecca smiled.
"Tell Francesca that."
I looked at him.
"Who's Francesca?"
He didn't answer immediately.
That was enough.
"Alessandro."
"She is the daughter of Carlo D'Amato."
"And?"
"Our fathers discussed marriage years ago."
My stomach dropped.
"You were engaged?"
"No."
"Did you agree to marry her?"
"No."
"Did she think you would?"
Silence.
I stepped away.
"Claire."
"No."
"Listen to me."
"I've listened enough tonight."
Rebecca folded her arms.
"This is why I came."
Alessandro turned on her.
"No. You came because you wanted chaos."
"I came because someone photographed Claire three days ago."
That stopped everyone.
Rebecca pulled out another photograph.
This one showed a black SUV outside Rosie's.
The license plate was visible.
Marco swore under his breath.
"Whose vehicle?" Alessandro asked.
Marco didn't answer.
Rebecca did.
"Carlo D'Amato."
My knees almost gave out.
Alessandro caught me.
This time I didn't pull away.
He looked at his father.
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
"You knew she was being watched."
"I learned tonight."
"And you sent a message instead of protection?"
"I sent the envelope to bring you here."
"The envelope wasn't from you."
Marco went still.
Rebecca smiled.
Exactly.
Someone else had inserted the photograph.
Someone wanted us afraid.
Alessandro's hand tightened around mine.
"We're leaving."
Marco stepped forward.
"No. This house is secure."
"Your study wasn't."
Rebecca said, "He's right."
Marco glared at her.
Alessandro ignored them.
He guided me toward the entrance.
His mother followed.
"Alessandro, please."
He turned.
"If you knew about this agreement, you should have told me."
"I was trying to protect you."
"Everyone keeps saying that right before admitting they lied."
We left.
In the car, neither of us spoke for several minutes.
Then Alessandro said, "Claire."
"I'm tired."
"I know."
"I'm scared."
"I know."
"I don't want our child growing up like this."
His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
"Neither do I."
I looked at him.
"Can you leave?"
He didn't answer.
"Alessandro."
"Leave what?"
"This."
"My family?"
"The violence. The deals. Whatever nobody says."
He stared ahead.
Finally he whispered, "I've been trying."
That surprised me.
"For how long?"
"Three years."
"Why?"
He looked at me.
"Because I never wanted to become my father."
Something inside me shifted.
Then his phone rang.
He put it on speaker.
"Nico."
"Boss, don't go back to your apartment."
"Why?"
"We found the gray sedan."
My pulse jumped.
"Who was driving?" Alessandro asked.
"No driver."
"Then what?"
Nico hesitated.
"There was a box on the back seat."
"What kind of box?"
"A baby gift box."
I stopped breathing.
Alessandro's face became stone.
"What was inside?"
Nico's voice lowered.
"A photograph of Claire sleeping."
My blood turned cold.
"Where?"
"Her apartment."
Alessandro looked at me.
I couldn't speak.
Nico continued.
"And there's a message written underneath it."
"What message?"
Three seconds of silence.
Then:
"WE ALREADY HAVE A KEY."
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
It showed my apartment door.
May you like
From the inside.
And someone was standing behind it.
