The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown
Dante
Valeria is pregnant.
I still can’t quite believe it. I think back to the boat engulfed in flames. The searches. The nights spent believing she was dead.
Then Bianca. Her lies. Everything she tried to steal from us.
And suddenly, one truth imposes itself.
She failed.
Despite everything they did. Despite the Seine. Despite the lies. Despite the two years we lost.
We’re still here.
Together.
And this time, it’s our future growing beneath Valeria’s heart. I’m going to become a father with the woman I love.
Henri and I had coordinated our arrival so we would enter the convention together. The journalists swarmed us immediately, firing questions about a possible partnership.
“No comment for now,” Henri said. “We’ll make our announcement tonight after our panel on the challenges and costs of pharmaceutical research.”
Without adding another word, we disappeared inside.
Like every year, we have our booth, mostly to stay visible to prescribers and pharmacists.
The real contracts are signed on golf courses or over outrageously expensive dinners.
We make a brief appearance. Today’s objective isn’t to sell.
It’s to be seen.
And to turn up the pressure.
A notification flashes across my phone.
ANDREA: Wald is here. He heard Henri’s answer. He’s nervous. Keep going.
I slide the phone back into my pocket without replying.
Beside me, Henri shakes hands with his usual detached ease. I do the same. No one would guess we’re laying a trap.
Our afternoon panel is packed—far more than expected.
Henri speaks first, calmly discussing research costs, time-to-market delays, and the risks investors assume.
Wald is there, sitting in the third row, perfectly still, his expression closed off.
Then Henri casually slips in that the Louvencourt Group is preparing to co-produce a treatment with Aurenza Biotech—a promising formula born from years of research.
Then he adds:
“I’ll now let Dante Ivanov explain the benefits of this medication.”
The room goes silent.
I step up to the microphone and greet the audience.
“This treatment is the dream of a brilliant and relentless scientist: Valeria Ivanov. She developed Auzene, and once again, we owe this breakthrough to her. What makes this drug unique? It promotes nerve repair, improves post-traumatic recovery, and stimulates neuronal regeneration. In short, it opens unprecedented possibilities for patients suffering from neurological or brain injuries.”
Even from here, I can feel Wald’s anger building as he realizes exactly what we’re talking about—and what we intend to do.
Questions explode across the room.
Henri answers with precision, never revealing too much.
Yes, production could begin quickly.
Yes, we are aiming for market release within eighteen months.
Possibly sooner, if everything aligns.
Wald has stopped taking notes altogether.
He’s staring at Henri.
Then at me.
That’s when he makes his mistake.
He stands.
“If I may,” he says with a smile I instantly hate. “I wouldn’t want anyone leaving this convention with the wrong impression. Ciphera will release a treatment with the same characteristics within six months. Our patent is currently awaiting validation.”
A murmur ripples through the room. Journalists begin scribbling furiously.
Six months.
I meet Henri’s gaze. Nothing in his expression gives anything away.
There it is.
Done.
To honor that public commitment, Wald will have to mobilize massive capital—and fast. Money he’ll need to move urgently.
And when dirty money moves quickly and in large amounts, it leaves traces.
Andrea and Inspector Sanders will handle the rest.
By the time I return to the manor, I’m exhausted.
The tension that’s been building for days is finally beginning to ease, leaving nothing behind but fatigue.
As often happens these days, I find Valeria asleep on the couch.
She opens her eyes the moment I sit beside her.
And that simple look hits me hard.
That absolute trust she has in me. The way she instantly relaxes as soon as I’m there, as if my mere presence is enough to make her lower her guard.
It moves me more deeply than I can explain.
I lean down and kiss her softly.
“You okay?”
“Yes,” she replies, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Who would’ve thought something so tiny could drain so much energy from me?”
A smile escapes me despite myself.
I bend down to kiss her stomach before stretching out half against her, my head resting just above her abdomen.
And for the first time in a long while, something inside me finally comes to rest.
I’m home.
We stay like that for long minutes without speaking, simply savoring the quiet warmth of the moment.
“I stopped by the caterer on the way back. Are you hungry?”
“What did you order?”
“Something light… paella.”
A spontaneous laugh escapes her.
And in that exact moment, I feel like the luckiest man in the world.