Chapter 2 - THE HUSBAND WHO DIDN’T MOVE
Audrey stared at Preston’s image until the room blurred.
“No.”
Preston took one step toward her.
“Audrey, listen to me.”
Rocco blocked him.
“You have exactly one chance to explain why you killed that camera.”
Preston swallowed.
“My mother told me the lights were bothering her.”
Gary laughed without humor.
“That switch doesn’t control the lights.”
Preston looked at him.
“You know that because you helped install the system,” Gary said.
Audrey pressed both hands over her stomach.
A sharp cramp made her bend forward.
Rocco forgot everyone else.
“Get the doctor.”
The Bellini family physician was already moving.
Minutes later, Audrey was in a private upstairs room while an ambulance waited at the side entrance.
The baby’s heartbeat was strong.
The doctor still wanted her monitored overnight.
Rocco sat beside the bed while Audrey stared at the closed door.
“Why didn’t he protect me?” she whispered.
Rocco had no answer that would not hurt her more.
Gary entered quietly.
“We searched Brenda’s purse.”
He put a folded document on the blanket.
It was a photocopy of Audrey’s prenatal insurance record.
Someone had highlighted the expected delivery date.
There was also a handwritten note.
BEFORE THE CHILD TAKES TITLE.
Audrey looked up.
“What title?”
Rocco did not speak.
Gary did.
“The one your mother left behind.”
Audrey’s breathing stopped.
“My mother has been dead for nine years.”
“I know.”
“What did she leave?”
Gary looked at Rocco.
Rocco’s jaw tightened.
He had the expression Audrey remembered from childhood, the one that meant a family secret had just entered the room.
“Dad.”
Rocco finally reached for the document.
“Your mother created a trust.”
“For me?”
Rocco shook his head.
“For your first child.”
Audrey looked at her belly.
Gary finished the sentence.
“And the day your baby is born alive, that trust takes control of a piece of the Bellini fortune worth more than anyone outside this family knows.”
The door opened.
May you like
Preston stood there.
He had heard every word.
