Chapter 12 - THREE CHILDREN
Eli cried before Adrian finished explaining.
Not loudly.
That was worse.
He just stood there with tears running down his face.
“So you’re not my real dad?”
Adrian looked broken.
“I’m your dad in every way that matters.”
“But they made me?”
His small finger pointed toward Luca and me.
I couldn’t speak.
Luca crouched several feet away.
“Yes.”
Eli looked at him.
“Did you give me away?”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
“I didn’t know you existed.”
Eli looked at me.
“Did you?”
“No.”
My voice cracked.
“I swear I didn’t.”
He wiped his face angrily.
“Everybody says they didn’t know.”
Nobody had an answer for that.
Eventually, Adrian was taken aside by police.
Luca could have demanded charges immediately.
He didn’t.
Not yet.
That surprised me.
Eli refused to come with us.
I understood.
So he went temporarily with Rebecca’s brother, his uncle Mark, while attorneys and child specialists figured out what happened next.
When we returned to Luca’s house, Noah and Naomi were waiting.
They ran toward me.
Naomi hugged me first.
Noah tried to pretend he hadn’t been worried.
“Did you find him?”
I nodded.
“His name is Eli.”
“Is he our brother?” Naomi asked.
I looked at Luca.
He was standing behind them.
“Yes.”
Noah’s eyes widened.
“So we have a secret brother?”
Luca rubbed his face.
“It appears our family has been very bad at normal introductions.”
Noah laughed.
For the first time in days, so did I.
Then Naomi looked at Luca.
“Are you going to be our dad now?”
The room went quiet.
Luca knelt.
“I want to.”
“You didn’t before.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Mom said you hurt her.”
His eyes moved to me.
“She’s right.”
Naomi frowned.
“Did you say sorry?”
“Several times.”
“Did she forgive you?”
“No.”
Naomi considered this.
“Then you should probably keep trying.”
I choked on a laugh.
Luca smiled.
“Yes, ma’am.”
That night, after the kids went to sleep, Luca found me on the back terrace.
Chicago lights glowed in the distance.
“You were right,” he said.
“About?”
“My mother.”
“That doesn’t narrow it down.”
He almost smiled.
Then he grew serious.
“I failed you.”
I looked away.
“I don’t want another apology.”
“Good.”
I turned.
He stood close.
“I’m done apologizing with words.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m going to tell the truth publicly.”
My stomach tightened.
“About what?”
“Everything.”
“No.”
He frowned.
“Why?”
“Because our kids don’t need their lives turned into tabloid entertainment.”
“My mother controls charities, foundations, board seats. If I keep this private, she keeps her power.”
“She’s your mother.”
“She trafficked our embryos.”
The bluntness made me flinch.
He softened.
“I can protect the children’s identities.”
“You can try.”
“I will.”
I crossed my arms.
“And Evelyn?”
Pain moved across his face.
“I asked her to leave.”
I didn’t know why that affected me.
“She knew some of it,” he said. “Not all. But enough.”
“Are you divorcing her?”
He looked directly at me.
“Yes.”
My heart did something stupid.
I hated it.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I said.
“Like what?”
“Like your marriage ending changes anything between us.”
His voice was quiet.
“It changes one thing.”
“What?”
“For the first time in eight years, there’s nothing standing between me and the truth.”
Before I could answer, his phone buzzed.
He read the message.
All warmth disappeared.
“What?”
He handed me the screen.
A court filing had been submitted less than an hour earlier.
Petitioner: Celeste Moretti.
May you like
She was seeking emergency custody intervention concerning Noah and Naomi.
And in the petition, she accused me of kidnapping Luca’s children.
