Chapter 10 - THE CHILD ON THE MANIFEST
Niko read the manifest six times.
Ava counted.
She didn't interrupt.
The document listed a chartered aircraft departing Chicago for a private airfield in northern Italy.
Passenger one:
Elena Russo.
Passenger two:
Male child.
Age three.
No name.
No passport number.
Only a notation.
Dependent minor — protected transfer.
Niko looked at Matteo.
"Who authorized this?"
"Richard Whitmore."
"Who paid?"
"An account connected to Alessandro's holdings."
Niko closed his eyes.
Ava watched him.
"Did Elena have a child?"
He shook his head.
"Not that I knew."
"Could she have?"
He looked at her.
"She was twenty-six when she disappeared."
Ava nodded.
Old enough.
But why hide a child?
And from whom?
Mara arrived the next morning.
When Niko showed her the manifest, she sat down.
For a long time, she said nothing.
Then:
"I hoped this would stay buried."
Niko's voice hardened.
"You knew."
Mara looked at him.
"Yes."
"Who was the boy?"
She closed her eyes.
"Elena's son."
Silence.
Niko stared.
"My nephew?"
"Yes."
"Where is he?"
Mara's hands trembled.
"I don't know."
Niko stood.
"You've lied to me for nineteen years."
"I protected him."
"From whom?"
Mara looked at Ava.
Then back at Niko.
"From your grandfather."
The room went silent.
Mara continued.
"Elena had a relationship with a man working inside the shipping network. He discovered what Alessandro's associates were doing and tried to report it."
"What happened to him?" Ava asked.
"He disappeared."
Niko's expression darkened.
Mara swallowed.
"Elena learned she was pregnant shortly afterward."
"And my grandfather?"
"He believed the child might eventually inherit evidence or claims connected to the network. He wanted control."
Niko looked sick.
"So she ran."
"Yes."
"With her son."
"Yes."
"And Richard helped?"
Mara hesitated.
"He arranged the flight."
Niko stared.
"Why would Richard help her?"
"Because Eleanor forced him to."
Ava looked up.
"My mother?"
Mara nodded.
"Eleanor had copies of the records. She told Richard that if Elena or the child were harmed, everything would become public."
Ava sat very still.
Her mother had protected Niko's sister.
And a child.
At enormous risk.
Mara continued.
"Richard arranged the flight. Elena disappeared. The boy was placed with people who could protect him."
"Who?"
Mara looked away.
"I don't know."
Niko stepped closer.
"Tell me the truth."
"I am."
He stared.
Then turned away.
Ava understood his anger.
But she also saw Mara's fear.
The woman had spent nineteen years carrying secrets that could destroy lives.
Ava didn't excuse it.
She simply recognized the cost.
***
That afternoon, Rachel called.
The Whitmore Foundation's board had suspended Bianca as creative director.
Pending investigation.
The foundation's donors were demanding an independent review.
Several employees had submitted statements describing unpaid labor, altered credits, and pressure to sign misleading documents.
Ava listened.
Then asked:
"What happens to the collection?"
Rachel paused.
"That's complicated."
"Why?"
"Because your work is already in production."
Ava felt cold.
"Production?"
"Bianca signed a licensing agreement with a luxury retailer."
Ava closed her eyes.
Of course.
The gala had not merely been a celebration.
It had been a launch.
Bianca planned to sell Ava's designs.
Thousands of garments.
Millions in potential revenue.
Rachel continued.
"We can seek an injunction."
"Will it work?"
"We have a strong case, but no guarantees."
Ava looked at her mother's old dress.
The emerald silk lay across the table, carefully folded.
A reminder.
A beginning.
She took a breath.
"Do it."
***
That evening, Niko found Ava in a small hotel workroom.
She had borrowed a sewing machine.
Fabric lay across the table.
Sketches covered the walls.
"What are you doing?"
"Working."
"On what?"
"My own collection."
He looked surprised.
"Now?"
"Especially now."
Ava held up a sketch.
A simple evening dress.
Elegant.
Strong lines.
A visible seam running down one side in contrasting thread.
Niko studied it.
"It's beautiful."
She smiled.
"You're biased."
"Probably."
He looked at the other sketches.
"What's the collection called?"
Ava hesitated.
Then answered:
"Unhidden."
Niko looked at her.
"Why?"
She touched the emerald dress.
"Because I'm tired of hiding the work that makes me who I am."
He was quiet.
Then said:
"I'd like to invest."
Ava laughed.
"No."
He blinked.
"That was fast."
"I know what happens when powerful people think paying for something means owning it."
Niko looked at her.
Then nodded.
"Fair."
She softened.
"You can come to the show."
"Will there be one?"
Ava smiled.
"There will."
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then asked:
"Can I kiss you?"
Ava stopped breathing.
The room became very quiet.
She had expected him to move.
To assume.
To take.
Instead, he asked.
She stepped closer.
"Yes."
Niko kissed her gently.
No audience.
No ballroom.
No humiliation.
Just two people standing beside a sewing machine.
When they separated, Ava smiled.
"You're still intimidating."
"I'm working on it."
"Good."
She kissed him again.
***
Later that night, Niko received a message from an unknown number.
One photograph.
A young man standing outside a university building in Milan.
Dark hair.
Sharp features.
Eyes unmistakably like Elena's.
Below it:
HIS NAME IS LUCA.
Niko stared.
A second message appeared.
HE DOESN'T KNOW WHO HIS FAMILY IS.
May you like
Then a third.
AND RICHARD WHITMORE HAS JUST FOUND HIM.
