Chapter 4 - THE BOY WHO HEARD TOO MUCH
The next morning, Ethan came to the guest cottage.
He stood outside holding a stuffed dinosaur.
I opened the door.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
He looked past me.
“Is Lily here?”
“She is.”
He stepped inside.
Lily was sitting on the rug building a tower from wooden blocks.
When she saw Ethan, she smiled.
“Birthday boy!”
Ethan laughed.
Then his smile faded.
“I didn't get to eat my cake.”
Lily looked serious.
“Bad cake.”
“I know.”
He sat beside her.
Then held out the dinosaur.
“This is for you.”
Lily stared.
“Mine?”
He nodded.
“You saved me.”
She took the toy.
Then hugged him.
I turned away quickly.
My eyes were burning.
Ethan stayed for an hour.
He helped Lily build a castle.
Read her a picture book.
And told her that when she turned four, he would buy her a cake with strawberries.
“No bad stuff,” he promised.
Lily nodded solemnly.
“No bad stuff.”
Then Ethan looked toward me.
“Miss Grace?”
“Yes?”
“Can I tell you something?”
I sat beside him.
“Of course.”
He hesitated.
“Victoria doesn't like me.”
My heart tightened.
“Why do you think that?”
He looked at his hands.
“She said Daddy would be happier if he didn't have to worry about me all the time.”
I felt cold.
“When did she say that?”
“Last week.”
“Was anyone else there?”
He shook his head.
I took a slow breath.
“Ethan, that's not true.”
He looked up.
“Really?”
“Your father loves you very much.”
Ethan's eyes filled.
“Then why is he always working?”
The question hurt more than I expected.
Because I knew Dominic loved his son.
I also knew Ethan spent too many evenings waiting for a father who arrived home after bedtime.
I reached for his hand.
“Sometimes adults make mistakes about what's important.”
He nodded slowly.
Then whispered, “I heard Victoria talking to someone.”
My stomach tightened.
“What did she say?”
Ethan glanced toward the door.
“She said the birthday would change everything.”
I went still.
“Anything else?”
He swallowed.
“She said after the party, Daddy wouldn't have to choose anymore.”
I told Dominic that afternoon.
He listened without interrupting.
When I finished, he looked toward the window.
“Ethan told you that?”
“Yes.”
His face tightened.
“Did he say when?”
“Last week.”
Dominic sat down slowly.
For the first time, I saw something beneath his controlled expression.
Guilt.
“He's afraid I don't love him.”
I hesitated.
“He misses you.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“I thought I was building a future for him.”
I looked at him.
“Maybe he needs you in the present.”
He opened his eyes.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Dominic nodded.
“Thank you.”
That evening, Dominic canceled three meetings.
He ate dinner with Ethan.
Helped him finish a school project.
And read to him until he fell asleep.
When I passed the nursery, I saw Dominic sitting beside his son's bed.
He was holding Ethan's hand.
The sight made my chest ache.
Because for the first time, I understood something about Dominic Moretti.
He knew how to frighten enemies.
He knew how to command powerful men.
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But he was still learning how to be the father his son needed.
And someone inside his own house was trying to take that chance away.
