Chapter 2 - FIVE MONTHS
Matteo took Mara to a private medical clinic before he asked another question.
Because being cared for made it harder to stay angry.
The doctor examined her cheek, checked the baby, and confirmed what Mara already knew.
Twenty-one weeks.
Healthy heartbeat.
No sign the fall or the slaps had harmed the pregnancy.
Matteo stood by the window, shoulders rigid.
"You can leave," Mara told him.
"No."
"You don't get to decide that."
His eyes met hers. "Fair. Do you want me to leave?"
That answer frightened her more than yes.
After the doctor stepped out, Matteo said, "The timing matches."
Mara stared at the blanket over her knees.
"I know."
"You knew how to find me."
"I knew your first name. Matt. You told me you worked in shipping."
A humorless smile touched his mouth. "That was technically true."
"Then I saw your face on the news two weeks later. Matteo Bellandi. Bellandi Group. Bellandi family. Every article used the word 'alleged' like it was doing heavy lifting."
"Why didn't you call?"
"Because I was pregnant, broke, and working in the house of a senator's daughter. Calling a man people whisper about did not sound like stability."
That landed.
Matteo nodded once. "I can respect that."
"Good."
"But if the baby is mine, I want to know."
"And if it is?"
His answer came without hesitation.
"I show up."
Mara almost laughed.
"Men always say that before showing up costs them something."
He looked at her for a long second. "Then don't believe me yet."
Julian entered with the broken bracelet sealed in a clear evidence pouch.
"I found the symbol," he said.
He placed an old photograph on the table.
It showed Matteo's father, Carlo Bellandi, standing beside Senator Richard Thorne and a much younger Eleanor Whitfield.
Around Eleanor's wrist was the same bracelet.
On the back, someone had written:
LEDGER KEY - WITNESS 3.
Mara's stomach tightened.
"My mother cleaned offices. She wasn't a witness to anything."
Julian looked at her.
"Your mother was an accountant for Senator Thorne before you were born."
Mara shook her head.
"No."
"Yes."
Matteo picked up the photograph.
May you like
Then Julian added the part that made the room colder.
"And six months before she died, Eleanor tried to contact the Bellandi family about a missing federal evidence ledger."
