Chapter 12 - The Video
The video appeared online before noon.
A gossip website posted it under the headline:
MORETTI BABY SCANDAL.
The footage showed me stumbling through the gala.
Disoriented.
Crying.
A shorter clip showed me shouting at a physician.
What it did not show was the drug in my bloodstream.
It did not show the procedure.
It did not show Luca calling for help.
Edited correctly, I looked unstable.
By evening television reporters surrounded the Moretti mansion.
Brittany appeared on one network.
She wore cream.
She cried beautifully.
“I’m worried about Emma.”
I stared at the screen.
“She has always struggled emotionally.”
“That liar.”
Sofia muted the television.
Brittany continued silently.
Captions ran beneath her.
FORMER FRIEND CLAIMS CONCERN FOR INFANT.
I wanted to throw something.
Luca entered.
“Don’t watch.”
“They’re calling me dangerous.”
“We’ll answer with evidence.”
“When?”
“When doing so does not expose Grace’s medical history.”
That stopped me.
Every attack could be answered.
But answering might publicly reveal how Grace had been conceived.
My daughter’s privacy mattered more than my reputation.
“They know that.”
“Yes.”
“Carlo knew I wouldn’t want the world knowing.”
“Yes.”
I sat.
“He’s using my love for her as leverage.”
Luca crouched in front of me.
“We will not let him define you.”
“We?”
His eyes held mine.
“We.”
For a moment, everything became quiet.
Then Rebecca Sloan, Luca’s attorney, entered.
She carried a court filing.
“Emergency hearing tomorrow morning.”
My stomach dropped.
“So fast?”
“Carlo has friends.”
Luca took the papers.
The petition sought temporary guardianship.
The petitioner was not Carlo.
It was Derek.
I stared.
“He said he wanted protection.”
Rebecca nodded.
“He filed this three hours after leaving here.”
Luca’s face became stone.
I should have been surprised.
I wasn’t.
“He betrayed us again.”
Luca said nothing.
But his security chief entered moments later.
“Mr. Moretti.”
“What?”
“We found Brittany.”
“Where?”
“At JFK.”
“Arrested?”
“No.”
The chief looked grim.
“She boarded a private aircraft.”
“Destination?”
“Sicily.”
Luca’s expression changed.
“What?”
“She’s going to Villa Moretti.”
Alessandra entered behind him.
“That house contains the original family charter.”
Everyone went silent.
Luca turned.
“If Carlo gets it…”
Alessandra finished.
“He can manufacture whatever history he needs.”
I looked at Grace asleep in my arms.
“When does the hearing start?”
“Nine tomorrow.”
“And the flight?”
Luca checked his watch.
“Brittany lands in seven hours.”
May you like
I stood.
“Then why are we still here?”
