Chapter 7 - THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT EXPOSED EVERYTHING
The photograph arrived at Dante's office on a Thursday morning.
An envelope.
No return address.
Inside was a printed image.
Lena.
Standing outside a small medical clinic.
One hand resting against her stomach.
Dante stared.
His heart began pounding.
Marco stepped closer.
“Boss?”
Dante didn't answer.
He looked at the photograph.
Then at the date.
Three days earlier.
Marco studied it.
“She's pregnant.”
Dante closed his eyes.
For a moment, the room disappeared.
Pregnant.
Lena.
His wife.
Carrying his child.
Dante sat down.
His hands shook.
“How far along?”
Marco hesitated.
“We don't know.”
Dante stared at the photograph.
Then whispered:
“She didn't tell me.”
For several seconds, he couldn't breathe.
He remembered the anniversary dinner.
The way she'd stood in the doorway.
The hurt in her eyes.
The way she'd stepped back when he approached.
Had she known?
Had she been carrying their child while watching him kiss Sofia?
The thought nearly destroyed him.
Marco placed another document on the desk.
“The photograph was sent through a courier service.”
Dante looked up.
“Can you trace it?”
“We're trying.”
Dante stared at the image.
Then noticed something.
A reflection in the clinic window.
A dark vehicle.
A man standing beside it.
Watching Lena.
His expression changed.
“Marco.”
“Yes?”
“Someone is following her.”
Marco looked closer.
His face hardened.
Dante stood.
“Find out who.”
For the first time since Lena left, Dante's fear shifted.
He wasn't only afraid she'd never come back.
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He was afraid someone else had discovered her location.
And that her pregnancy had made her a target.
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