Chapter 3
Nico returned before sunrise.
He walked through the east gate alone.
No escort.
No lawyer.
No apology.
Vittorio waited inside the library.
Nico stopped at the doorway.
His breathing was controlled.
Too controlled.
“You disappeared.”
“I turned my phone off.”
“Same thing tonight.”
Nico’s eyes moved toward the desk.
The sealed copy of Luca’s statement sat there.
“You talked to him.”
“He's three.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Nico’s jaw tightened.
Vittorio leaned back.
“Were you in Bernadette’s car?”
Silence.
Nico’s right hand flexed once beside his thigh.
Vittorio saw it.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She asked to speak privately.”
“About?”
“Family business.”
Vittorio’s eyes narrowed.
“You conduct family business in parked cars now?”
Nico almost smiled.
It vanished quickly.
“She didn't trust your office.”
The insult sat between them.
Vittorio did not react.
That unsettled Nico more than anger would have.
“What did Luca see?”
Nico’s gaze shifted.
There.
A fraction of a second.
Enough.
Vittorio stood.
“What did my son see?”
Nico exhaled through his nose.
“Papers.”
“What papers?”
No answer.
Vittorio walked closer.
Nico held his ground.
Two men who had known each other since adolescence stared at one another without speaking.
Then Nico finally said:
“Nothing worth poisoning a child over.”
Vittorio went still.
“I never said poison.”
Nico’s eyes changed.
Too late.
The laboratory had not returned any result yet.
Only Vittorio, Maria, Bernadette and medical staff knew Luca had consumed something suspicious.
Nico had just revealed he knew more.
Vittorio’s phone vibrated.
The lab.
He answered without taking his eyes off Nico.
The drink contained a concentrated nonprescription compound capable of causing severe stomach distress if improperly given to a small child.
Vittorio listened.
Then disconnected.
Nico watched his face.
Vittorio’s voice dropped almost to a whisper.
“You knew what was in the glass.”
May you like
Nico said nothing.
That silence was his first confession.
