Chapter 2 - THE ENVELOPE BENEATH THE CHRISTMAS TREE
Dominic found the envelope at 2:13 a.m.
The guests had gone.
Camila had been sent home.
His mother remained in the drawing room.
She hadn't spoken to him since the slap.
Dominic stood beneath the Christmas tree, staring at Elena's ring.
He remembered placing it on her finger sixteen years earlier.
They'd been poor then.
Living in Brooklyn.
Sleeping beneath a leaking ceiling.
He'd promised her everything.
A beautiful home.
Security.
A family.
He'd given her the house.
The money.
The protection.
And somehow destroyed everything else.
He opened the envelope.
Inside was a single page.
At the top were the words:
ST. AGNES MATERNITY CENTER — CONFIDENTIAL TRANSFER RECORD
Dominic frowned.
The date was eleven years earlier.
The day Elena had lost their daughter.
He continued reading.
Infant: Female.
Mother: Elena Romano.
Father: Dominic Romano.
Status: Live birth.
Dominic stopped breathing.
Live birth.
He read it again.
Then again.
At the bottom was another line.
Transferred under authorization of A. Romano.
Dominic stared.
A. Romano.
His uncle.
Aldo.
Behind him, Teresa spoke.
“Dominic?”
He turned.
His face had gone white.
“Mother.”
She stood.
“What is it?”
He held up the paper.
“Did Elena give birth to a living child?”
May you like
Teresa froze.
And that was all the answer he needed.
