Chapter 14 - The Choice Luca Refused to Make for Me
Blaire arrived at the old terminal with Luca.
“You weren’t supposed to see the message.”
“I’m aware.”
“You could stay outside.”
“No.”
“You’re impossible.”
“I’ve been told.”
Eleanor waited inside.
She looked at Luca.
“I wanted Blaire to decide whether to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
Eleanor handed him Sebastian’s letter.
It was not another scandal.
Not another crime.
It was a confession.
Sebastian knew Luca’s mother had planned to leave him.
He had used his wealth to threaten a custody battle.
She stayed.
She became deeply unhappy.
Years later, she died after a long illness.
Sebastian regretted controlling the person he claimed to love.
His final warning to Blaire was not about Luca’s character.
It was about inheritance of behavior.
If my son ever loves you, make sure he understands that love cannot be ownership.
Luca read it twice.
Then folded the letter.
“He thought I’d become him.”
“He was afraid you might.”
Luca looked at Blaire.
“Are you?”
“Afraid?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because when I said I needed my own apartment, you didn’t buy the building.”
He almost smiled.
“I considered it.”
“I know.”
Eleanor laughed.
Later, Luca drove Blaire home.
Her apartment was modest compared with his world.
Two bedrooms.
A small kitchen.
A view of Queens.
Fiona loved it.
Blaire loved that her name was on the lease.
At the door, Luca kissed her forehead.
Nothing more.
“You’re not coming in?”
“Do you want me to?”
She understood what he was doing.
Making her choose.
“Yes.”
So he entered.
Months passed.
Shaw pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges.
Graham testified.
Margaret accepted responsibility for her role.
Eleanor began rebuilding a relationship with Blaire slowly.
No dramatic forgiveness.
Coffee.
Walks.
Fiona asking Grandma why dinosaurs disappeared.
Ordinary things.
David received a reduced sentence based on cooperation.
Blaire brought Fiona to see him after consulting a child therapist.
He knelt behind the visitation glass.
Fiona placed her hand against it.
David placed his hand opposite hers.
“Daddy made mistakes,” he said.
“Big ones?”
“The biggest.”
“Are you sorry?”
“Every day.”
Fiona thought.
“Okay.”
Children could make room for truths adults found impossible.
Blaire did not forgive David for everything.
But she stopped carrying him everywhere she went.
One year after Flight 417, Luca took Blaire and Fiona to LaGuardia.
Fiona carried Bunny.
“Why are we here?” Blaire asked.
“Business trip.”
“You’re lying.”
“Poorly.”
They boarded a private aircraft.
Blaire stopped.
“No.”
Luca looked alarmed.
“No?”
“I am not letting my daughter become the child who thinks this is normal.”
Fiona shouted from behind them.
“IT HAS A BED!”
Luca whispered, “I think we’ve lost that battle.”
Blaire laughed.
During the flight, Fiona fell asleep.
Luca sat beside Blaire.
Same navy jacket.
Same white shirt.
Almost deliberately.
“You planned the outfit.”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
She rested her head against his shoulder.
“No photographers this time.”
“No.”
“No strangers watching?”
“No.”
“So why am I doing this?”
He looked at her.
“Maybe you’re tired.”
She closed her eyes.
“Maybe.”
When they landed, Luca did not take her to a hotel.
A car brought them to a small house overlooking the Atlantic.
Not a mansion.
A simple cedar home.
Inside, no photographers.
No employees.
No board members.
Dinner waited on the table.
Fiona found seashells on the porch.
At sunset, Luca stood beside Blaire.
“I love you.”
She had known.
But hearing it was different.
“I love you too.”
He reached into his pocket.
Blaire’s heart jumped.
Then he stopped.
He did not kneel.
He did not open the box.
Instead, he held it in his palm.
“I have a question.”
Blaire stared.
Luca’s voice was steady.
“But before I ask it, I need you to know that no answer changes your home, your shares, Fiona’s security, your work, or us tomorrow morning.”
Her eyes filled.
He had understood Sebastian’s letter.
Love without leverage.
Choice without punishment.
“I know.”
“Blaire Sterling—”
A phone rang inside the house.
Once.
Twice.
Eleanor rushed onto the porch holding it.
“Blaire.”
Something in her face stopped Luca mid-sentence.
“What happened?”
Eleanor slowly held out the phone.
“It’s the federal prosecutor.”
Blaire took it.
The voice on the other end spoke for less than ten seconds.
Her hand dropped.
Luca stood.
“What?”
Blaire looked at him.
“They found one last document in Shaw’s vault.”
“What document?”
May you like
Her eyes moved toward Fiona.
“A custody order.”
