Chapter 2
Sofia did not want Julian near the bed.
That was her decision.
I enforced it.
Nothing more.
My bodyguards moved him into the visitor lounge while Victor and Bianca remained under separate watch.
I sat beside my daughter.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
She stared at the bassinets.
All three had been pulled close enough for her to touch.
Finally she whispered:
“I thought they were trying to scare me.”
“About giving Bianca a baby?”
Sofia nodded.
“When did it start?”
“Five months ago.”
My hands tightened.
She looked ashamed.
That angered me.
Not at her.
At whoever taught her shame belonged here.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her eyes filled.
“Because Julian said you would destroy the marriage.”
I looked toward the lounge.
Convenient.
Make my reaction the danger.
Not their behavior.
“What exactly did they say?”
At first, jokes.
Three babies were excessive.
Bianca deserved some happiness.
Sofia was “greedy” for wanting to keep all three.
Then Victor became serious.
He told her Mercer children belonged to the Mercer family before they belonged to individuals.
I almost laughed.
Almost.
“And Julian?”
She closed her eyes.
“He kept saying his father was old-fashioned.”
Excuse.
“He said Bianca had been through enough.”
Another.
“He said we could discuss it after the birth.”
That meant delay resistance until exhaustion.
Sofia looked toward the bassinets.
“Last week he said maybe raising three newborns would break me.”
My jaw tightened.
“And?”
“He said giving Bianca one would be an act of love.”
There it was.
Cruelty dressed as generosity.
Then something else occurred to me.
“The call button.”
Sofia’s face changed.
“Julian moved it.”
“I saw.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“He’s been moving things away from me since yesterday.”
Water.
Phone.
Call button.
Anything that let Sofia reach outside the room without going through him.
My breathing slowed.
Control rarely begins at the most dramatic act.
It begins with access.
“You knew they might try today.”
She nodded.
“I told Claire.”
That was why the nurse called me.
Not because Victor suddenly picked up the baby.
Because Sofia had already asked someone outside the Mercer circle to watch.
I took her hand.
“You did the right thing.”
Sofia looked toward the boy’s bassinet.
“They kept saying Bianca needed him more than I did.”
I stared at my grandson.
Less than a day old.
Already treated like medicine for an adult woman’s grief.
“No.”
My voice stayed quiet.
“Babies are not prescriptions.”
May you like
Sofia finally looked at me.
And for the first time since I entered the suite, some of the fear in her face became anger.
