Before the Council Named Me Donna Chapter 06

Before the Council Named Me Donna Chapter 06

By the time night settled over New York, Matteo was still outside the Rossi townhouse, realizing Elena had built a life with doors he did not have keys to.

Her parents did not know where she was. Her closest contacts claimed they had not seen her. The De Luca drivers had no record of taking her anywhere, and the penthouse cameras showed only Elena leaving before dawn with two suitcases and her restoration cases, calm enough to frighten him.

Matteo returned to the penthouse after midnight, but he did not turn on the lights. The silence was enough. Elena had left the brooch, the notice, and every answer he deserved.

Was any of this real to you?

He had answered with silence.

Near dawn, a priority notice from De Luca legal lit up his phone. The Rossi attorney had filed Elena’s separation papers, and attached to the review file was a billing alert from the family insurance office.

Her medical coverage had not yet been removed from the De Luca alliance plan.

Private prenatal clearance.

Patient: Elena Rossi.

For a moment, Matteo did not understand.

Then the meaning hit.

Pregnant.

The clinic name sat beneath the billing code. He stared at it until the screen blurred, then left the penthouse without calling a driver.

When I woke, Matteo was beside my bed.

For one disoriented second, I thought I was dreaming. Then I saw his red eyes, wrinkled shirt, and the hand resting near mine without touching, as if he had finally understood he no longer had that right.

I sat up too quickly, and the room tilted.

“Why are you here?”

His throat moved. “The insurance office flagged the clinic bill.”

Of course.

Even after I left his house, his name still had ways of finding me.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

“Because I was waiting to see whether I was your wife.”

Pain crossed his face, but I was too tired to soften the words.

“When you’re discharged, we’ll go to the council,” he said. “I’ll file the civil papers, make the announcement, and fix this.”

“Now?”

“Elena-”

“No. You don’t get to use my child as a reason to claim me after you let Vanessa take my place.”

His jaw tightened. “Is this because of Nico?”

I stared at him.

Even now, he wanted another man to be the problem because that was easier than admitting he had become one..

“You lied about the airstrip. You gave her Donna access. You removed your signet. You let her sit in my chair, called me an arrangement in front of everyone, then flew to Palm Beach while telling me you were in Boston. Your signet was beside her lipstick, Matteo. What exactly did you expect me to misunderstand?”

His face drained of color.

“I didn’t sleep with her.”

Maybe it was true. Maybe it was another careful half-truth. Either way, it no longer mattered.

“You still chose her where it counted.”

Before he could answer, the door opened.

Nico stepped in with two coffees and stopped when he saw Matteo. His expression cooled.

“I was gone for eight minutes.”

Matteo stood. “This is between my wife and me.”

Nico set the coffees down. “Your wife left your house, checked in under her own name, and sent you a legal separation notice. Try keeping up.”

The room went still.

“Nico,” I said.

He glanced at me and swallowed whatever insult came next.

Matteo looked from him to me. “You told him before you told me.

“He was my emergency contact.’

“I’m the father.”

“And I am the one carrying the child.”

That silenced him.

I forced myself to sit straighter. “You can fight the separation, send lawyers, captains, priests, whoever the De Luca family uses when it does not like being refused. But you will not drag me back into a house where my name can be loaned to Vanessa whenever you feel guilty enough to allow it.”

Matteo’s hand curled at his side. “I won’t let you vanish.”

I looked at him and felt the last thread between us go slack.

“You already did.”

He flinched.

For a moment, none of us moved. Then Nico came to my side, not touching me, only close enough for Matteo to understand I was not alone.

I lay back and closed my eyes.

“I need to rest.”

Matteo stayed a few seconds longer, as if waiting for the woman who used to soften first.

She did not come back.

After the door closed behind him, Nico said, “He found you through the insurance office?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll move you somewhere cleaner.”

“Nico, I’m tired of being moved like evidence.”

His expression softened. “Then we’ll call it relocating like a queen.”

Despite everything, I almost smiled.

“Still annoying.”