Chapter 5
The baby’s cries echoed through the delivery room.
For a few seconds, Sienna forgot everything else.
The fraud.
The kidnapping attempt.
Marjorie.
Gavin.
All of it disappeared when the nurse placed her son against her chest.
He was tiny.
Warm.
Angry.
Perfect.
“Oh.”
Sienna started sobbing.
“Hi.”
The baby’s fists moved weakly beneath the blanket.
“Hi, little man.”
She kissed his forehead.
“You picked a terrible night.”
The nurse smiled.
“He seems pretty pleased with himself.”
Sienna laughed through tears.
“What time?”
“9:47 p.m.”
Sienna looked toward the door.
Gavin was somewhere beyond it.
He had missed the birth.
Part of her wanted to punish him with that fact.
Another part mourned it.
She hated that both feelings could exist together.
“What’s his name?” the nurse asked.
Sienna looked down.
They had chosen it months ago.
Gavin had wanted Luca.
Sienna had loved it too.
Now the name felt complicated.
But the baby was not guilty of his father’s choices.
“Luca.”
“Luca Ferrante?”
Sienna paused.
“Yes.”
For now.
Outside, Detective Brooks showed Gavin a photograph on her phone.
The maintenance worker had been identified as Ryan Keller.
Thirty-two.
Former private security contractor.
The transfer into Keller’s account had come from a business checking account connected to GF Development.
Gavin’s company.
Twenty-five thousand dollars.
Sent that afternoon.
Gavin stared at the screen.
“I didn’t do this.”
Brooks watched him.
“Who has access?”
“My controller.”
“Name?”
“Darren Holt.”
“Anyone else?”
“My mother had signing authority until two months ago.”
Nico turned.
“Why?”
Gavin looked embarrassed.
“She loaned the company money.”
“How much?”
“Three million.”
Nico’s expression changed.
“You borrowed three million dollars from your mother?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
Gavin looked away.
“Gavin.”
“A hotel project.”
Nico closed his eyes.
“The Phoenix project?”
“Yes.”
“I told you not to touch that deal.”
“I know.”
“The site had environmental liabilities.”
“I know that now.”
“You knew it then.”
“The consultant said—”
“The consultant was selling you something.”
Gavin rubbed his forehead.
“I needed liquidity.”
“So you went to your mother.”
“Yes.”
“And she attached herself to your bank accounts.”
“Yes.”
Nico stared at him.
“Every bad decision you’ve made tonight was purchased with an earlier bad decision.”
Gavin looked defeated.
Detective Brooks interrupted.
“When was Marjorie’s signing authority removed?”
“Eight weeks ago.”
“Can she still access the account online?”
“I changed the credentials.”
“That is not what I asked.”
Gavin hesitated.
“She might have had a second administrator profile.”
Nico almost shouted.
“You don’t know?”
“I didn’t think she’d use it against me.”
Brooks’ eyes narrowed.
“Mr. Ferrante, I need you to understand something. Your mother may be framing you for attempted kidnapping.”
Gavin looked toward Mila.
His face hardened.
“Then find her.”
“We are.”
“Faster.”
Brooks did not react.
Nico did.
“You don’t get to bark orders at the detective cleaning up your disaster.”
Gavin turned on him.
“That was my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“And whoever touched her—”
“Got close because of you.”
Gavin stopped.
The sentence landed.
Mila was sitting with a nurse across the lounge.
She had headphones on now.
A cartoon played on a tablet.
Nico had insisted she not hear more.
Gavin watched her.
“She’ll never forgive me.”
“That isn’t tonight’s biggest problem.”
“It is to me.”
Nico stared at his son.
For the first time all evening, Gavin sounded like a father.
Maybe too late.
But real.
The delivery-room door opened.
A nurse stepped out.
“Nico?”
He stood.
“Sienna is asking for Mila.”
Mila jumped up.
“Baby?”
The nurse smiled.
“Baby.”
Mila ran to the door.
Then stopped.
She looked at Gavin.
His hope was immediate.
“Can Daddy come?”
The nurse glanced toward the room.
“Sienna asked for you and your grandfather.”
Mila’s face fell.
Gavin forced a smile.
“It’s okay.”
She stared at him.
“I’ll show you a picture.”
Gavin swallowed.
“I’d like that.”
She went inside.
The door closed again.
Gavin turned away.
Nico watched him but said nothing.
Inside, Mila approached the bed slowly.
Her entire face changed when she saw Luca.
“He’s so small.”
Sienna smiled weakly.
“You were smaller.”
“No way.”
“Yes way.”
Mila leaned close.
“Can he see me?”
“Not very well yet.”
“Can he hear me?”
“Yes.”
Mila whispered, “Hi, Luca. I’m your sister.”
Sienna began crying.
Mila looked alarmed.
“Mom?”
“Good tears.”
“Oh.”
Mila studied her baby brother.
“I’m going to protect you.”
Sienna’s chest tightened.
“You don’t have to protect everyone, sweetheart.”
Mila looked at her.
“I protected you.”
Sienna had no answer.
She pulled Mila close.
Nico stood at the foot of the bed.
He turned his face away for a moment.
It had been years since he had cried.
He wasn’t starting in front of a seven-year-old.
Sienna noticed anyway.
“Grandpa’s crying.”
Mila immediately announced it.
Nico cleared his throat.
“Grandpa has allergies.”
“In a hospital?”
“Very aggressive hospital allergies.”
Mila smiled for the first time all night.
Then Sienna looked at Nico.
“What’s happening outside?”
He considered lying.
She shook her head.
“Don’t.”
Nico sighed.
“The man who tried to take Mila has been arrested.”
“Good.”
“He claims Gavin paid him.”
Sienna stared.
“What?”
“We have reason to believe Gavin may have been framed.”
“Reason?”
“The payment came from a business account Marjorie may have retained access to.”
Sienna looked down at Luca.
“So we don’t know anything.”
“We know quite a lot.”
“None of it good.”
“That part is correct.”
Nico’s phone buzzed.
He checked it.
His attorney.
URGENT. Board filing submitted 9:51 PM.
Nico stepped into the corner and called.
“What happened?”
“Vale submitted an emergency petition to the board.”
“On what basis?”
“Financial misconduct.”
Nico laughed bitterly.
“Mine?”
“Yours and Sienna’s.”
Sienna heard her name.
She looked up.
Nico continued.
“What exactly are they claiming?”
“That you authorized transfers totaling twelve million dollars into an account controlled by your daughter-in-law.”
“She didn’t control it.”
“We know that. The board doesn’t yet.”
“What do they want?”
“Temporary suspension of your voting authority pending investigation.”
“And who receives interim authority?”
A pause.
Nico already knew.
“Gavin?”
“No.”
Nico frowned.
“Then who?”
“Marjorie.”
The room went silent.
Nico slowly turned toward Sienna.
“Say that again.”
“The petition names Marjorie Ferrante as interim family trustee.”
Nico stared at the wall.
“That requires a family beneficiary signature.”
“Yes.”
“Whose?”
Another pause.
“Nico…”
“Whose?”
“Sienna’s.”
Sienna heard.
Her face went white.
“I didn’t sign anything.”
Nico relayed it.
“She says she didn’t.”
“We expected that.”
“Where is the document?”
“In the filing.”
“Send it.”
Seconds later, Nico opened the PDF.
There it was.
A signature.
SIENNA FERRANTE.
It looked nearly perfect.
Below it was a notarization dated two days earlier.
Sienna stared.
“I did not sign that.”
Mila leaned against her.
Nico kept reading.
Then he noticed the witness.
His entire expression changed.
“What?”
Sienna asked.
Nico enlarged the page.
The witness was Gavin.
Sienna went still.
“Bring him in.”
Nico looked at her.
“Are you sure?”
“Bring him in.”
Gavin entered one minute later.
He stopped when he saw Luca.
Everything in his face softened.
Sienna noticed.
So did Nico.
Gavin whispered, “He’s beautiful.”
Sienna held the baby closer.
“You don’t get to come closer.”
He nodded.
Tears filled his eyes.
“I understand.”
Nico handed him the phone.
“Explain your signature.”
Gavin read the filing.
His face drained.
“No.”
Sienna stared at him.
“Is that your signature?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes closed.
Gavin rushed to explain.
“I signed a witness page two weeks ago.”
“For what?”
“Mom told me it was an insurance authorization.”
“You signed without reading?”
“It was only the last page.”
Nico nearly exploded.
“You signed a detached signature page?”
Gavin looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
Nico paced away.
Sienna laughed weakly.
It sounded almost hysterical.
“This family is unbelievable.”
Gavin looked at her.
“I never saw your signature.”
“But you gave Marjorie yours.”
“Yes.”
“So she attached it to this.”
“I think so.”
Sienna looked down at Luca.
“Get out.”
“Sienna.”
“Get out.”
“I need you to know—”
“Your stupidity is not less dangerous than cruelty anymore.”
Gavin flinched.
She continued.
“You keep saying you didn’t know.”
“I didn’t.”
“That is the problem.”
He stared at her.
“You didn’t know what you signed.”
“You didn’t know whose name was on the bank account.”
“You didn’t know who your mother worked with.”
“You didn’t know someone still had access to your company.”
“You didn’t know your daughter was listening.”
Her voice broke.
“How many things can a man not know before ignorance becomes a choice?”
Gavin started crying.
Sienna looked away.
“Please leave.”
He did.
The door closed.
Nico’s phone rang again.
This time his attorney sounded different.
“Nico, we found Marjorie.”
“Where?”
“At Ferrante Tower.”
Nico’s eyes narrowed.
“My office?”
“Not exactly.”
“Where?”
“The boardroom.”
Nico looked at the clock.
10:18 p.m.
Less than two hours until the scheduled midnight closing.
“What is she doing?”
“She called an emergency board meeting.”
“She doesn’t have authority.”
“She does under the forged petition until we get an injunction.”
Nico’s voice became dangerous.
“What is on the agenda?”
A pause.
May you like
Then:
“Removing you as chairman.”
