Chapter 2
I woke up under white lights.
For one blind second, I thought I was back in my studio, with the radiator hammering and rain scratching the window.
Then pain tore through my back.
I gasped.
A woman leaned over me.
“Easy. You’re at St. Vincent’s. Don’t twist.”
Hospital.
That word made me panic more than the pain.
Hospitals cost money.
Money I did not have.
“I can’t be here,” I whispered.
The nurse’s face softened.
“You can. Everything is covered.”
Covered.
By who?
Then I saw him.
Matteo De Luca stood near the window in the private room, still wearing the charcoal suit from Lumina. The jacket was gone. His white shirt sleeves were rolled to his forearms. Blood stained one cuff.
Mine.
Leo slept curled in an armchair with a blanket around him, dinosaur tucked under his chin.
My throat tightened.
“He stayed?”
Matteo looked at his son.
“He refused to leave until he knew you were alive.”
“I’m alive?”
“For now,” the nurse said gently. “You lost blood. We removed six pieces of glass. You will hurt for a while.”
I tried to sit up.
Pain stopped me.
Matteo moved instantly.
“Do not.”
It was not a request.
I froze.
Then shame hit me.
“I’m sorry. I ruined the dinner. I dropped the pitcher. I—”
“Stop.”
His voice cut through my panic.
“You saved my son.”
I looked away.
“I just moved.”
“No,” he said. “Most people watched.”
That landed harder than I expected.
Most people always watched.
David watched when debt collectors pounded on our door.
My old landlord watched me carry boxes alone after David disappeared.
My own sister, Marla, watched me beg for help and told me I should have chosen better.
I had learned that being watched did not mean being saved.
Matteo stepped closer.
“What is your full name?”
“Ava Lane.”
“Family?”
I almost laughed.
“No one who answers.”
His eyes sharpened.
“That is not the same as no one.”
“It is close enough.”
The door opened.
Julian entered with a forced smile and a cheap bouquet from the hospital gift shop.
My body went cold.
Matteo turned slowly.
Julian froze.
“Mr. De Luca,” he said. “I just wanted to check on Ava. Terrible accident.”
Matteo said nothing.
Julian looked at me.
“You poor thing. Always so clumsy.”
My mouth went dry.
Clumsy.
He wanted the word in the room before anyone else named what happened.
Matteo’s hand slid into his pocket.
Not for a weapon.
For his phone.
He tapped once.
A video played.
Security footage.
The aisle.
Chloe walking.
Julian bending near the brass strip minutes earlier.
His hand moving.
A tool flashing.
Then he walked away.
My heart stopped.
Julian’s face emptied.
“That’s not what it looks like.”
Matteo’s voice stayed calm.
“What does it look like?”
“I was fixing it.”
“You loosened it.”
“No.”
“You stepped back and watched Chloe walk over it.”
Julian’s eyes darted to me.
“She wasn’t supposed to trip that hard.”
The room went silent.
Even the nurse stopped moving.
Matteo stepped closer.
“What was supposed to happen?”
Julian’s mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Then Leo stirred in the chair.
“Papa?”
Matteo did not look away from Julian.
The boy’s voice changed him.
His rage became colder.
“You have five seconds,” Matteo said.
Julian shook his head.
“I can’t.”
Matteo smiled.
It was not a comforting smile.
“You can.”
Julian looked toward the hallway.
Then whispered, “It was only supposed to scare you. A warning. No child was supposed to be hurt.”
“From who?”
Julian’s eyes flicked to me again.
My stomach tightened.
“Why are you looking at me?” I asked.
He swallowed.
“Because it wasn’t only about him.”
Matteo turned to me.
“What does that mean?”
Julian backed toward the door.
“Ask David.”
My blood went cold.
David.
My ex.
The man who stole my savings, sold my grandmother’s ring, and vanished with a gambler’s smile and a promise to pay me back.
Matteo caught Julian by the collar before he reached the hall.
Hospital security rushed in.
So did two men in dark suits.
Matteo released him only when police arrived.
As they dragged Julian out, he looked at me with desperate hatred.
“You should have stayed invisible, Ava.”
The door closed.
My hands shook.
Matteo turned back.
“Who is David?”
May you like
I closed my eyes.
“The worst mistake I ever loved.”
