Chapter 3 - THE CHILD SHE WAS HIDING
The estate physician arrived within minutes.
Elena was frightened enough to accept an examination but insisted on remaining fully informed.
Alessandro waited outside.
He paced the hallway while the doctor assessed her condition and arranged a hospital evaluation.
When the physician emerged, Alessandro stopped.
“How is she?”
“She needs observation. There are signs of dehydration and uterine irritability, and we want to rule out complications.”
“And the baby?”
“The heartbeat is reassuring right now.”
Alessandro closed his eyes.
“Thank God.”
The physician studied him.
“Is she family?”
“No.”
“Then her medical information is hers to share. She has asked to be transported to the hospital.”
Alessandro nodded.
“Arrange it.”
***
At the hospital, Elena lay beneath a white blanket while a monitor recorded her baby's heartbeat.
She had spent months fearing hospitals.
Not because she distrusted doctors.
Because registration forms required addresses.
Insurance information.
Emergency contacts.
Names that could be traced.
She had disappeared from Montana for a reason.
Now she had entered a hospital near the estate of one of California's most powerful men.
And Alessandro Salvatore was sitting outside her room.
Her nurse, Grace Kim, adjusted the monitor.
“Is there someone you'd like us to call?”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
“Your baby's father?”
Her face went blank.
Grace noticed.
“You don't have to answer.”
Elena looked away.
The baby's father was Daniel Mercer.
Thirty-four.
A respected Montana businessman.
Owner of a regional livestock transportation company.
A man who had once told Elena he loved her.
Then threatened to take her baby.
***
Eight months earlier, Elena had discovered irregularities in Daniel's shipping records.
She worked as an office administrator for his company.
At first, the discrepancies looked like bookkeeping mistakes.
Missing livestock identification numbers.
Trucks arriving at locations different from their manifests.
Unexplained payments from a California agricultural supplier.
Then Elena found documents showing that Daniel was transporting stolen horses through a network of private ranches.
She confronted him.
He laughed.
“You think you understand my business?”
She threatened to report him.
His expression changed.
Two days later, she discovered she was pregnant.
When she told Daniel, he smiled.
Not with happiness.
With possession.
“Then you're not going anywhere.”
Over the following months, he monitored her phone, controlled her bank account, and threatened to use his money and connections to take custody of their child.
Elena eventually fled.
She left Montana with three hundred dollars.
She changed phones.
Traveled by bus.
Worked temporary jobs.
Then accepted a cash-paid housekeeping position at the Salvatore estate.
She believed Daniel would never look for her in the home of a notorious mafia boss.
Now she wasn't so sure.
***
Alessandro knocked softly.
“Elena?”
She looked toward the door.
“Come in.”
He entered carrying a paper bag.
“Food.”
She stared.
“What?”
“The nurse said you could eat.”
He placed a sandwich, fruit, and bottled water on the table.
Elena almost laughed.
“Do you always solve problems with food?”
“Usually money.”
“That must be convenient.”
“Not as often as you'd think.”
She smiled despite herself.
Alessandro sat beside the window.
“Midnight is recovering.”
Her expression softened.
“Good.”
“Claire believes he'll make a full recovery.”
“I'm glad.”
He watched her.
“Someone hurt him deliberately.”
Elena looked down.
“I know.”
“I think the person responsible may have connections beyond my estate.”
She became still.
“What kind of connections?”
“Horse trafficking.”
The words struck her like ice water.
Alessandro noticed.
“Elena?”
She gripped the blanket.
“Who told you that?”
“Nobody. It's one possibility we're investigating.”
She looked toward the door.
For the first time, Alessandro saw unmistakable terror in her face.
Not fear of him.
Fear of someone else.
“Elena,” he said carefully, “is there someone you're hiding from?”
She didn't answer.
The baby's heartbeat continued through the monitor.
Then she whispered:
“If I tell you, will you make me leave?”
Alessandro looked at her.
“No.”
She swallowed.
“His name is Daniel Mercer.”
Alessandro's expression changed.
He knew that name.
And suddenly the injured stallion, the suspicious stablemaster, and the frightened pregnant maid no longer seemed like separate problems.
Daniel Mercer had requested a meeting with Alessandro's business office two days earlier.
The subject was a horse shipment.
May you like
And the delivery date was tomorrow.
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