Chapter 1 - The Name on the LineThe black pen stopped moving, but the silence in the hospital corridor seemed to grow louder.
Luca Moretti slowly lifted his hand from the clipboard.
The word FATHER remained printed above the line where he had written his name.
Emma Carter stared at it as if the ink had changed the air around her.
Her newborn daughter was pressed tightly against her chest beneath the blue-striped hospital blanket.
Only minutes earlier, Emma had believed no one in that hallway would stand between her and Connor Blake.
Now Connor lay several yards away, stunned on the polished floor while two hospital security officers rushed toward him.
Luca did not look back.
His attention remained on Emma.
"I'm Luca Moretti."
His voice was calm.
"You're safe now."
Emma's lips parted, but no answer came.
The nurse beside Luca finally remembered to breathe.
"Sir, I need that clipboard."
Luca handed it back without argument.
The nurse glanced at his signature.
Then she looked at Emma.
Then back at Luca.
"This isn't an official birth certificate."
"I know."
Luca's reply came immediately.
"It's the temporary family authorization sheet."
The nurse narrowed her eyes.
"And you signed as the father."
"For the next five minutes, I needed him to believe he couldn't simply walk out of here with that child."
Emma stared at him.
Something about the sentence unsettled her almost as much as it reassured her.
"You knew that wasn't legal."
"I knew he was trying to take a newborn from a woman who clearly didn't want him near her."
Luca finally looked toward Connor.
Security had helped the man sit against the wall.
Connor's bright blue jacket had twisted around one shoulder.
His expression was no longer furious.
It was frightened.
Not frightened of the guards.
Frightened of Luca.
That frightened Emma even more.
Connor pointed toward him.
"You don't know who that man is."
Luca's face did not change.
Connor laughed bitterly.
"Ask him."
One of the security officers ordered Connor to stay quiet.
Connor ignored him.
"Ask Luca Moretti why he was already here."
Emma's heart seemed to pause.
She looked at Luca.
Luca's reassuring expression disappeared.
The nurse stepped closer to Emma.
"Ma'am, let's get you back to your room."
Emma did not move.
"Why were you here?"
Luca glanced down at the newborn.
The baby's tiny face remained hidden against Emma's chest.
"I came because someone told me you were in this hospital."
"Who?"
Luca hesitated.
For the first time since he had entered the hallway, Emma saw uncertainty in his eyes.
It lasted less than a second.
But she saw it.
"Your doctor."
Emma immediately shook her head.
"My doctor doesn't know you."
"No."
Luca lowered his voice.
"But he knew my brother."
Emma froze.
Connor began laughing again from across the corridor.
"There it is."
Luca turned sharply toward him.
Connor smiled.
"You should tell her the rest."
"Connor."
The warning in Luca's voice made everyone nearby go still.
Connor leaned his head against the wall.
"Tell her why your brother can't come himself."
Emma's arms tightened around her baby.
She already knew the answer.
She had known it for three months.
Still, hearing Connor mention him made the grief feel new again.
"Marco."
Luca looked back at Emma.
"You knew Marco Moretti."
Emma swallowed hard.
"He was my baby's father."
The nurse's eyes widened.
Luca slowly exhaled.
So did Emma.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Luca looked at the temporary form in the nurse's hands.
The name he had just written beneath the word FATHER suddenly carried an entirely different meaning.
Emma's voice trembled.
"You're Marco's brother?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't he ever tell me about you?"
Luca looked away.
"That's a longer story."
Connor laughed once more.
"No."
His eyes locked onto Emma.
"The longer story is why Marco died."
Luca stepped toward him.
Security immediately moved between the two men.
Emma felt cold spread through her body.
"Stop."
Everyone looked at her.
Emma's eyes stayed on Connor.
"What are you talking about?"
Connor smiled.
"I think Luca knows."
Luca's jaw tightened.
Emma turned toward him.
"Luca?"
Before he could answer, a sharp electronic sound came from the nurses' station.
A staff member hurried toward them.
"Security needs everyone away from this corridor."
The nurse frowned.
"Why?"
The staff member held up a phone.
"Someone just called the front desk claiming to have a court order for the baby."
Emma's face drained of color.
Luca's entire posture changed.
"Who called?"
"We don't know."
Luca looked at Connor.
Connor smiled from the floor.
"You thought this was over?"
Emma felt her heartbeat hammer against the sleeping newborn.
May you like
Connor's smile widened.
"This is just the beginning."
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