Chapter 1 - THE LETTER IN THE EMPTY HOSPITAL ROOM
Alexander Moretti had never been afraid of an empty room.
He'd walked into abandoned warehouses after gunfights.
Into offices where powerful men waited to betray him.
Into hospitals where enemies had died before he could question them.
But nothing prepared him for Room 417.
The hospital bed was made.
The flowers he'd ordered were gone.
The bassinet stood empty beside the window.
And his wife was nowhere to be found.
His assistant, Marco Bellini, stood in the doorway holding a sealed envelope.
“Boss.”
Alexander turned.
“Where is Claire?”
Marco swallowed.
“She left.”
Alexander stared.
“What?”
“Mrs. Moretti was discharged yesterday.”
Alexander's jaw tightened.
“Without telling me?”
Marco looked down.
“She asked us not to contact you.”
Alexander stepped closer.
“Where did she go?”
“I don't know.”
Alexander's expression darkened.
“Marco.”
The assistant held out the envelope.
“She left this.”
Alexander took it.
His name was written across the front in Claire's handwriting.
For a moment, he simply stared.
Then he opened it.
Inside was a letter.
Alexander,
When our daughter was born, you were holding another woman's child.
I spent five years waiting for you to be ready to become a father. I thought you were afraid of the danger surrounding your life. Now I understand you weren't afraid of fatherhood. You simply chose to give that part of yourself to someone else.
I will never stop you from being our daughter's father. But I will no longer allow you to make me feel like a stranger in my own marriage.
My attorney will contact yours about the divorce and parenting arrangements.
Please don't send your men after us. Our daughter deserves a peaceful beginning.
— Claire
Alexander read the letter twice.
Then a third time.
His hands began shaking.
He looked toward the empty bassinet.
“Daughter?”
Marco nodded.
“Yes, boss.”
Alexander swallowed.
“It's a girl?”
Marco looked at him.
May you like
And the silence that followed was worse than any accusation.
Because Alexander Moretti had been so absent from his wife's life that he hadn't even known the sex of his newborn child.
