Chapter 3 - ENZO’S VERSION OF LOYALTY
Enzo did not sit until I told him.
Even then, he chose edge of chair.
“What did you do?”
He stared at floor.
“Your mother told me Sophia left voluntarily.”
“That is not answer.”
“No.”
Good.
He looked up.
“After she left, you asked me to find her.”
“Yes.”
“I found first address in Connecticut.”
My chest tightened.
“How fast?”
“Four days.”
Four days.
I had searched six months.
My own man had known in four.
“And?”
“Your mother told me not to give it.”
There.
“Why?”
“She showed me threat file.”
“What threat file?”
“Photographs. Surveillance. Two intercepted messages mentioning Sophia.”
“Real?”
“I believed so.”
“Did you verify?”
“No.”
There.
Same family disease.
Fear plus authority becomes shortcut.
“She said if you went there, people watching would follow.”
“Did you tell Sophia I was searching?”
“No.”
“Did you tell me she was alive?”
“No.”
“Did you monitor her?”
Enzo’s face tightened.
“Indirectly.”
“What does that mean?”
“A local investigator checked monthly for six months. No contact.”
My hands curled.
“You surveilled her.”
“Yes.”
“Did my mother know about Lily?”
“Not at first.”
“When?”
“After birth.”
My breath stopped.
“You knew too.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Investigator reported child.”
“Paternity?”
“Unknown.”
“Did you ask Sophia?”
“No contact.”
“Did you obtain medical records?”
“No.”
Good.
At least.
“Why stop after six months?”
“Your mother said threat cooled and continued surveillance increased discovery risk.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So you all decided to hide my possible daughter and then protect privacy by stopping spying.”
Enzo flinched.
Fair.
“Did you ever think to tell me later?”
“Every day.”
“Then why not?”
He looked at me.
“Because first month you nearly started a war with Santoro over rumor he had helped Sophia leave.”
I remembered.
A warehouse burned.
Not ours.
No proof I ordered it.
But I had authorized pressure.
There.
“You thought telling me would hurt her.”
“Yes.”
“Did you also think hiding was easier for you?”
Silence.
“Yes.”
Good.
“Were you protecting me?”
“At first.”
“And later?”
“Myself too.”
There.
Truth.
I stood.
“You’re suspended.”
He nodded.
“No company systems. No staff contact. Turn devices to counsel.”
“Yes.”
“Not fired yet.”
He looked surprised.
“Why?”
“Because investigation first.”
Progress.
“Do you want to hit me?”
The question almost made me laugh.
“Yes.”
“Fair.”
“I won’t.”
He nodded.
That mattered too.
By dawn, personal attorney Elena Park had arranged outside investigation.
Not family security.
A former state prosecutor, Dana Ruiz.
Her mandate:
Victoria’s use of family funds.
Maren’s emails.
Enzo’s role.
Any surveillance or threats toward Sophia.
Any evidence of actual third-party threat.
No one reported to me alone.
A special committee of legitimate company board received findings too where corporate resources involved.
Good.
At 6:15, a letter went to Sophia through agency HR.
Not directly.
Ms. Carter,
Dominic Moretti requests no address or location information. He asks whether you are willing to communicate through counsel regarding records discovered tonight and possible paternity of Lily. You may decline. Independent counsel can be selected by you; reasonable legal fees related solely to this matter can be paid through neutral escrow if you choose, with no condition on contact or outcome.
Elena read it aloud.
I said:
“Remove legal-fee offer.”
“Why?”
“It could feel like money pressure.”
“It also prevents financial disadvantage.”
There.
Good point.
“How structure?”
“Court or escrow pays attorney she chooses, with written no-control clause.”
“Keep.”
Then:
“No custody language.”
“Agreed.”
“No demand for DNA.”
“Agreed.”
Letter sent.
Then I slept.
Two hours.
At nine, Victoria arrived with counsel.
I did not attend first interview.
Ruiz did.
Good.
At ten, Isabella called.
I answered.
“Are you okay?”
Unexpected.
“No.”
“Good.”
I almost smiled.
She continued:
“I want my ring returned to jeweler through my attorney. I don’t want it sold privately.”
“Okay.”
“And my family is already trying to make this about humiliation.”
“I can issue statement.”
“No.”
Right.
“Can I?”
She sighed.
“Say engagement ended at my decision and no wrongdoing by me.”
“Yes.”
“That’s all.”
“Okay.”
Then:
“Dominic.”
“What?”
“If Sophia comes back into your life, do not use me as proof you sacrificed something.”
There.
“I won’t.”
“You should have never proposed while loving someone else. That is yours.”
“Yes.”
She hung up.
Good.
At noon, Sophia replied through attorney.
Her attorney:
Rachel Levin.
Message:
Ms. Carter is willing to meet counsel first. She does not consent to direct contact from Mr. Moretti, his family, employees, or investigators. She does not consent to location tracking or background investigation. She is willing to discuss voluntary paternity testing through accredited lab if Mr. Moretti agrees in writing that test itself does not alter current custody or permit unscheduled contact with Lily.
I read twice.
Then signed.
No negotiation.
Elena raised brow.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Paternity does give rights.”
“I know.”
“But you are agreeing not to exercise them outside process.”
“Yes.”
Good.
Blood should not become ambush.
DNA appointment scheduled at neutral clinic three days later.
Separate arrival times.
I did not see Sophia.
Did not see Lily.
Cheek swab.
Ridiculous that something so small could threaten to rewrite my life.
Results forty-eight hours.
During wait, Ruiz found proof actual threat file partly genuine.
Two intercepted texts from Santoro associate:
Moretti girl.
Carter woman.
Leverage if needed.
There.
Sophia had been in danger.
My mother had not invented threat.
She had exploited it.
Different.
Important.
Then another document.
Victoria had contacted Santoro intermediary after Sophia left.
Payment:
$250,000.
Purpose hidden.
I stared.
“Did she pay them to leave Sophia alone?”
Ruiz said:
“Maybe.”
“If yes?”
“Still does not justify deceiving you or coercing Sophia. But it means motive was not simply class prejudice.”
Good.
Complex.
I wanted villain.
Reality gave mother.
Then paternity result.
99.9998%.
Lily Carter was my daughter.
I sat in Elena Park’s office.
No family.
No guards.
Three years old.
Mine biologically.
Not mine in any other sense yet.
I thought of Lily saying:
You own Christmas house.
I laughed.
Then cried.
Elena gave me tissue and pretended not to notice.
Good lawyer.
“What now?” she asked.
I looked at result.
“Ask Sophia what she wants next.”
Not:
file custody.
Not:
bring my daughter home.
Ask.
That was the beginning.
The paternity result did not stay private between lawyers for long.
Not because press discovered.
Because I had to tell Victoria.
Through counsel.
Elena read script before call.
“Do not threaten access consequences beyond current legal boundaries.”
“I know.”
“Do not say ‘my daughter’ as if possession.”
I glared.
She waited.
“Fine.”
Call connected.
Victoria’s lawyer present.
I said:
“The accredited test confirms I am Lily’s biological father.”
Silence.
Then my mother inhaled sharply.
“Dominic.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry.”
I closed eyes.
“Do not make this about what you feel.”
Fair to say.
Maybe harsh.
She accepted.
“What does Sophia want?”
The question surprised me.
“Slow contact. No contact from you.”
Victoria paused.
“I’ll respect that.”
“Good.”
Then:
“Did you ever see Lily?”
“No.”
“Photographs?”
“No.”
I believed her.
“Did you ever ask Enzo to verify paternity?”
“No. I was afraid creating record would increase danger.”
There.
Always safety.
I said:
“If you had asked Sophia whether she wanted protection instead of deciding, we would not be here.”
Victoria answered:
“You would have gone to war.”
“Yes.”
“And that might have killed her.”
“Yes.”
We both stopped.
There it was.
Her fear was not imaginary.
Her solution was still wrong.
Both could exist.
After call, I met Dr. Chen alone before first child visit.
She said:
“Do not use Lily to repair your relationship with Sophia.”
“I won’t.”
“Do not use your relationship with Sophia to secure Lily’s affection.”
“I won’t.”
“Do not overpromise.”
“I know.”
She leaned back.
“You are accustomed to certainty.”
“Yes.”
“Children are not contracts.”
I almost laughed.
“No.”
“Then one more thing. If Lily rejects you one day, you come back only if Sophia and Lily agree. You do not make rejection into challenge.”
That hurt.
Good.
“I understand.”
Maybe I did.
We would find out.
The three-day wait for DNA results was worse than any negotiation I had ever survived.
Not because I doubted.
Because uncertainty gave imagination room.
If Lily was mine, I had lost three years.
If she wasn’t, I had still helped destroy Sophia’s life.
No result made me innocent.
That realization steadied me.
I stopped staring at phone every ten minutes and met Dana Ruiz instead.
She had already mapped the Santoro threat.
The two intercepted voices belonged to men tied to a dock crew that had pressured my shipping contracts four years earlier.
One was dead.
One was in federal custody.
The surviving man admitted under counsel that Sophia had been discussed only as leverage.
No kidnapping plan proven.
No direct order.
But enough that Victoria’s fear had been grounded.
Ruiz said:
“You may have been one impulsive move away from escalating a real threat.”
I looked at her.
“So my mother was right to hide them?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“She was right about risk and wrong about authority.”
There.
Useful distinction.
Then she asked:
“What would you have done if Victoria told you Sophia was pregnant?”
I knew.
“Moved her into the mansion.”
“Against her wishes?”
I hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Armed detail?”
“Yes.”
“Retaliated against Santoro?”
“Yes.”
“Would Sophia have been free to say no?”
I did not answer.
That was answer.
Ruiz closed notebook.
“Then part of what you are angry about is losing a decision you would also have taken from her.”
That hurt.
May you like
Good.
I needed it before I met my daughter.
