Chapter 2 - The Signature Nobody Expected.
The security officers escorted Derek toward the elevators while he protested loudly enough for half the maternity floor to hear.
Leah expected Luca to leave as quickly as he had appeared.
Instead, he walked beside her as Nurse Nora Green guided them through the newly opened security door.
The hallway beyond it was quieter and smaller, reserved for patients whose names were restricted from public directories.
Leah looked at the clipboard still tucked beneath Nora's arm.
"What did he sign?"
Nora glanced at Luca.
Luca answered before she could.
"A hospital security guarantee and an emergency transfer request."
"You can just sign something like that?"
"Not normally."
Leah stopped walking.
Emma stirred against her chest.
Luca immediately stopped too, leaving several feet of space between them.
That small act surprised Leah more than his strength in the corridor.
Derek never left space when he wanted something.
Luca seemed to understand that space itself could be a form of respect.
"Then why could you?"
Luca's expression did not change.
"Because the Moretti Foundation funds this secure wing."
"That still doesn't explain why you were waiting outside my room."
For the first time, Luca looked uncomfortable.
Not afraid.
Not uncertain.
Simply reluctant.
"I wasn't waiting outside your room."
"Then what were you doing here?"
"Looking for you."
The answer was worse.
Leah tightened her arms around Emma.
Nora opened the door to a private recovery room and stepped inside first.
The room had one bed, a bassinet, a small sofa, and windows that overlooked the hospital courtyard.
Luca remained near the doorway.
"You can ask security to remove me too if you want."
Leah stared at him.
"Would they?"
"Yes."
"Even if you pay for this wing?"
"Especially then."
Nora gave Leah a small nod.
"He's telling the truth."
Leah sat slowly on the edge of the bed.
Her legs had begun to shake now that the immediate danger was gone.
"Derek said I don't get to decide what happens to my daughter anymore."
Nora's face tightened.
"He brought paperwork downstairs."
Leah looked up sharply.
"What paperwork?"
Nora hesitated.
Luca stepped into the room but did not come closer.
"A petition claiming you are emotionally unstable and unable to make safe decisions for your child."
Leah stared at him as though he had spoken in another language.
"That's insane."
"I know."
"He can't just say that."
"He can say anything."
Luca's voice stayed quiet.
"The question is whether anyone believes him."
Leah looked at Nora.
"Do they?"
Nora placed the clipboard on the counter.
"Someone altered a note in your chart this morning."
Leah went still.
"Altered how?"
"The original note said you were anxious because an unauthorized visitor had tried to enter your room."
Nora drew a breath.
"The version currently in the system says you became agitated without an identifiable cause."
Leah felt cold all over.
"Who changed it?"
"We're checking."
Luca's gaze moved toward the closed door.
"And until we know, nobody takes Leah or the baby anywhere without Nora personally confirming it."
Leah looked at him.
"Why do you know my name?"
Luca said nothing.
"Why do you know Derek came back?"
Still nothing.
Leah's fear shifted into anger.
"You don't get to stand there acting like you're protecting me while hiding everything."
Luca accepted the accusation without flinching.
Then he reached inside his coat and removed a sealed envelope.
Leah recognized the handwriting on the front before he said a word.
Her late husband's handwriting.
Ethan Bennett had been dead for eleven months.
Her name was written across the envelope in his unmistakable slanted script.
Leah stopped breathing.
May you like
Luca held it out.
"Ethan told me to give you this only if Derek came after you and the baby."
