Chapter 2 - The Woman in White Silk
Lucian left the hospital without another word.
Marco followed him.
The door closed behind them, and for a few seconds, the room was quiet except for Nico’s soft breathing.
Elena looked at me.
“Are you okay?”
I stared at the place where Lucian had stood.
“No,” I said honestly. “But I will be.”
That answer felt unfamiliar.
For years, I had measured my well-being by Lucian’s mood.
If he came home calm, I could breathe.
If he came home angry, I became careful.
If he disappeared for days, I told myself there had to be a reason.
If rumors followed him, I ignored them.
I had trained myself to survive his life instead of living my own.
Nico changed that.
The moment he was placed on my chest, something inside me became simple.
He needed safety.
And I was the person responsible for giving it to him.
Two hours later, my attorney arrived.
Her name was Miriam Solano, and she had the kind of calm presence that made people stop underestimating her after the first five minutes.
She reviewed the paperwork Elena had prepared.
Emergency separation.
Temporary custody petition.
Financial disclosure request.
A motion restricting Lucian from removing Nico from the state without court approval.
“You understand this will become public eventually,” Miriam said gently.
“Yes.”
“Lucian Moretti does not lose quietly.”
“I know.”
“And if his organization is involved in criminal activity, your custody case may become complicated.”
I looked down at Nico.
“Then we make it complicated.”
Miriam’s expression softened.
“Good answer.”
The next day, the paternity test confirmed what I already knew.
Lucian was Nico’s father.
But before he could use that fact to demand access, Miriam filed the emergency petition with family court.
The judge reviewed the hospital records, the photographs from Sicily, Lucian’s unexplained absence, and the security concerns related to Bianca Romano’s disappearance.
Temporary custody was granted to me.
Lucian received supervised visitation only.
When Miriam told me, I cried.
Not because I was happy to punish him.
Because for the first time, I had legal proof that my son belonged safely with me.
Lucian came to the hospital again that evening.
This time, he arrived alone.
No Marco.
No bodyguards.
No expensive coat.
He looked exhausted.
He stood outside the room until I agreed to let him enter.
Nico was asleep in the bassinet.
Lucian stopped beside him.
“He looks like my father,” he said quietly.
I did not answer.
“I should have been here.”
“Yes.”
“I was wrong.”
“Yes.”
His eyes moved to mine.
“Do you hate me?”
I thought about it.
For seven years, I had mistaken love for endurance. I believed if I remained patient enough, Lucian would eventually choose the life we talked about in private.
A normal life.
Breakfast without guards outside the door.
A child who did not learn to recognize fear.
A husband who came home.
But Lucian always returned to the world that made him powerful.
And every time he did, I lost another piece of myself.
“No,” I said. “I don’t hate you.”
His shoulders loosened slightly.
Then I continued.
“I just don’t trust you.”
That hurt him more.
He sat in the chair beside the bassinet.
For a few minutes, he simply watched Nico sleep.
“I did not sleep with Bianca,” he said at last.
I looked at him.
“Does that make you feel better?”
“It matters.”
“Why?”
“Because I did not betray you that way.”
“You betrayed me another way.”
He nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Then he reached into his pocket and placed a small flash drive on the table beside my bed.
“What is that?”
“Everything Bianca took copies of.”
“You have it?”
“Not exactly.”
I waited.
“Bianca contacted me. She wants immunity, money, and a way out.”
“Out of what?”
Lucian looked toward the door.
“Out of a war she started.”
I felt cold.
“Lucian.”
“She was never just a business partner. She was working with my enemies.”
“And you brought her into our life anyway?”
“I thought I could control her.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That seems to be your favorite mistake.”
He did not argue.
“Bianca has information about people inside my organization,” he said. “She also has financial records that could connect my family to crimes I did not authorize.”
“Did not authorize?”
His silence was careful.
I understood what he was not saying.
Lucian Moretti had built his power in a world of violence, intimidation, and illegal money. Maybe he had rules. Maybe he told himself there were lines he did not cross.
But his name was still the roof beneath which dangerous men operated.
“You need to leave New York,” he said.
I looked at him.
“No.”
“Serena—”
“This is my city too.”
“Bianca may come after you.”
“Then you deal with Bianca.”
“I am trying.”
“No,” I said, my voice breaking. “You are trying now because it finally threatens something you cannot replace.”
Lucian looked at Nico.
My son.
His son.
The one thing in Lucian’s life that money could not buy back.
“I will protect him,” he whispered.
“You had your chance to protect us.”
Lucian closed his eyes.
“I know.”
For the first time, I believed he truly understood the words.
But understanding consequences is not the same as escaping them.
The following morning, police officers appeared at the hospital.
They were not there for me.
They were there to speak to Lucian.
Bianca Romano had been found in Queens.
Alive.
Terrified.
May you like
And carrying a folder marked with one name.
Moretti.
