Chapter 7
Sienna was asleep when Gavin returned to the hospital.
Or pretending to be.
He stood outside her room and watched through the narrow window.
Luca slept in the bassinet.
Mila was curled on the couch beneath a hospital blanket.
Sienna lay still.
Gavin touched the door handle.
Then stopped.
Nico stood behind him.
“Tell me first.”
Gavin closed his eyes.
“Dad.”
“Seven years ago.”
“Not here.”
“There is nowhere left for you to hide.”
Gavin turned.
His eyes were red.
“It has nothing to do with tonight.”
“Your mother believes it does.”
“She believes every weakness is currency.”
“That doesn’t mean she invented it.”
Gavin looked through the window again.
“Sienna was pregnant before Mila.”
Nico frowned.
“I know.”
“She miscarried.”
“I know that too.”
“At twelve weeks.”
Nico’s expression darkened.
“What don’t I know?”
Gavin sat in a chair.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then:
“I wasn’t with her when it happened.”
Nico waited.
“I told everyone I was in Chicago for work.”
“You weren’t.”
“No.”
“Where were you?”
Gavin’s voice became nearly inaudible.
“With another woman.”
Nico closed his eyes.
“Jesus.”
“It was one night.”
“Do not minimize this to me.”
“I’m not.”
“Who?”
“Her name was Claire.”
“Does Sienna know?”
“No.”
Nico stared at him.
“You let your wife believe you were at a meeting while she lost your child alone?”
Gavin’s face twisted.
“She wasn’t alone. Mom was with her.”
Nico suddenly understood.
“Marjorie knows.”
“Yes.”
“Of course she knows.”
“I tried to get home.”
“From where?”
“Boston.”
“You said Chicago.”
“I know.”
“Why lie about the city?”
“Because Claire lived in Boston.”
Nico looked disgusted.
Gavin lowered his head.
“I hated myself.”
“Apparently not enough to tell your wife.”
“I was going to.”
“When?”
“After Mila was born.”
“That was seven years ago.”
“I kept losing the courage.”
Nico leaned closer.
“No. You kept choosing comfort.”
Gavin looked up.
“I know.”
Nico’s anger cooled into something heavier.
“Is that all?”
Gavin hesitated.
Nico saw it.
“Is that all?”
“No.”
Nico almost laughed.
“What else?”
“Claire got pregnant.”
Nico stared at him.
“When?”
“That night.”
A long silence.
“What happened?”
“She had a baby.”
Nico’s face emptied.
Gavin whispered, “A boy.”
Nico sat down.
“You have another child.”
“Yes.”
“How old?”
“Seven.”
“Does Sienna know?”
“No.”
“Does Mila know?”
“No.”
“Does the boy know?”
Gavin swallowed.
“I don’t think he knows I’m his father.”
Nico stared at the floor.
“What is his name?”
“Ethan.”
Nico pressed both palms against his face.
His entire family had become unfamiliar in a matter of hours.
“Have you supported him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Through an account.”
“Secretly.”
“Yes.”
“Does Marjorie manage it?”
Gavin’s silence answered.
Nico looked up sharply.
“You let your mother control payments to your hidden son.”
“I was trying to keep it private.”
“No. You were trying to keep yourself comfortable.”
Gavin’s jaw tightened.
“You’ve said that.”
“Because you keep proving it.”
Gavin stood.
“I know what I am tonight, Dad.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
His voice broke.
“I’m the man who missed the birth of one son because I betrayed my wife while she was giving birth.”
Nico said nothing.
“And seven years ago, I missed losing another child because I was betraying her then too.”
Gavin started crying.
“I know exactly what I am.”
For once, Nico had no response.
Inside the room, Sienna opened her eyes.
She had heard enough.
Not everything.
Just one sentence through the door.
Hidden son.
Her body went cold.
She pressed the nurse call button.
A nurse entered.
“Can you bring my father-in-law in?”
“And your husband?”
Sienna looked toward the door.
“Both.”
Two minutes later, Gavin entered.
One look at her face told him.
She knew something.
Sienna’s voice was frighteningly calm.
“Who is Ethan?”
Gavin stopped.
Nico closed the door.
“Sienna—”
“Who is Ethan?”
Gavin sat down slowly.
She stared at him.
“Say it.”
“He’s my son.”
Sienna’s face did not move.
Mila shifted on the couch.
Everyone froze.
She remained asleep.
Sienna lowered her voice.
“How old?”
“Seven.”
Sienna’s lips parted.
“Seven.”
Gavin nodded.
“How old exactly?”
“Seven years and four months.”
Sienna stared at him.
Then something clicked.
Her first pregnancy.
The miscarriage.
The conference.
Chicago.
Her eyes became wet.
“Were you with his mother when I lost our baby?”
Gavin began crying.
“Sienna.”
“Answer.”
“Yes.”
She closed her eyes.
No scream.
No slap.
No dramatic collapse.
That scared Gavin more.
Sienna looked down at Luca.
“I called you seventeen times.”
“I know.”
“My hands were covered in blood.”
Gavin’s breath shook.
“I know.”
“Your mother drove me to the hospital.”
“Yes.”
“She told me your flight was delayed.”
Gavin stared at the floor.
“She knew where you were.”
“Yes.”
A tear slid down Sienna’s cheek.
“She sat beside my hospital bed and lied to me.”
“Yes.”
Sienna laughed once.
It sounded broken.
“She held my hand.”
Gavin could barely speak.
“I’m sorry.”
Sienna looked at him.
“Do you know what I remember most?”
He said nothing.
“I remember defending you.”
His face crumpled.
“Your phone was off.”
She continued.
“And I told your mother, ‘Gavin would be here if he could.’”
Her mouth trembled.
“I said that while you were in another woman’s bed.”
Gavin whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“You need another sentence.”
“I don’t have one.”
“Then stop saying it.”
He nodded.
Sienna looked toward Nico.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
She believed him.
That mattered.
Then another thought arrived.
“The money.”
Gavin looked confused.
“What?”
“The twelve million.”
Sienna sat straighter.
“Was any of this about Ethan?”
“No.”
“Think carefully.”
“No. The trust plan was Mom and Vale.”
“Why did Marjorie threaten to tell me about him tonight?”
Gavin hesitated.
“To punish me.”
“Only that?”
“I think so.”
Sienna’s eyes narrowed.
Nico saw it too.
Marjorie did nothing without leverage.
And she had chosen this secret specifically.
Nico pulled out his phone.
“Who controls Ethan’s support account?”
Gavin’s face changed.
“Mom.”
“Account value?”
“Maybe six hundred thousand.”
“Maybe?”
“It includes investments.”
Nico called his attorney.
“Find every account connected to Claire—”
Gavin interrupted.
“Claire Bennett.”
Nico repeated it.
“Claire Bennett and a child named Ethan. Anything funded through Marjorie.”
The attorney started asking questions.
Nico gave him what he knew.
Then waited.
Sienna looked at Gavin.
“Have you seen him?”
“Ethan?”
“Yes.”
“Twice.”
“When?”
“Once when he was a baby.”
“And?”
“Last year.”
Sienna’s eyes filled again.
“You saw him last year.”
“Yes.”
“And came home to Mila and me.”
“Yes.”
“Did you hug her?”
Gavin’s face broke.
“Yes.”
“Did you kiss me?”
“Yes.”
Sienna turned away.
“I hate you.”
Gavin closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“No. You don’t.”
She looked back.
“I hate you and I still remember what it felt like when you proposed.”
He cried silently.
“I hate you and when Luca was born I still wished you were there.”
She pressed a hand over her mouth.
“I hate you and some stupid part of me still wants you to tell me none of this is true.”
Gavin took one step toward her.
Nico immediately moved.
Sienna lifted her hand.
“Don’t touch me.”
Gavin stopped.
“I won’t.”
Nico’s phone rang.
His attorney.
Nico answered.
“What did you find?”
“Something strange.”
“Tonight that phrase has lost all meaning.”
“The support account for Ethan was closed three months ago.”
Gavin frowned.
“What?”
“I’ve been sending money.”
The attorney continued.
“The money still left your account every month.”
“Where did it go?”
“Into a holding company.”
“Owned by?”
“Vale Strategic Recovery.”
Everyone went silent.
Gavin stared at Nico.
“Why would Mom send Ethan’s support payments to Vale?”
Nico asked the attorney, “What happened to Claire?”
“We’re checking.”
Sienna suddenly sat straighter.
“Call her.”
Gavin looked at her.
“What?”
“Call Claire.”
He hesitated.
“I don’t have her current number.”
Sienna laughed bitterly.
“Of course you don’t.”
Nico asked, “Last contact?”
“Through Mom.”
“When?”
“Eight months ago.”
Sienna’s eyes sharpened.
“The same time Vale approached Nico?”
Nico looked at her.
Eight months.
Exactly.
His acquisition refusal.
Gavin’s last contact with Claire.
Marjorie’s relationship with Vale.
None of it felt coincidental anymore.
The attorney spoke again.
“Nico, I found a court filing.”
“What kind?”
“Guardianship.”
Gavin went still.
“For Ethan?”
“Yes.”
“Who filed it?”
A pause.
“Claire Bennett’s sister.”
“Why?”
“Because Claire disappeared six months ago.”
Sienna stared at Gavin.
He looked genuinely horrified.
“Disappeared?”
The attorney continued.
“There’s an active missing-person case.”
Nico slowly turned toward Gavin.
Gavin whispered, “Mom told me Claire moved to Europe.”
Sienna closed her eyes.
Another lie.
Another thread.
Another secret Marjorie had held.
Nico asked the attorney one final question.
“Who was the last known person to meet Claire?”
May you like
The answer changed everything.
“According to the police report, Marjorie Ferrante.”
