Chapter 30
“Elodie!” he calls from outside the bathroom.
I don’t want to open the door, but I’m not a child. I shouldn’t have run in the first place, but I panicked.
A baby? A pregnancy?
My God, I can’t bring a child into this crazy, unstable life of mine.
“Bella. . .”
I unlock the door, and the moment we’re face to face, he pulls me into his arms.
“I’m sorry,” he repeats.
“I’m not blaming you.”
“I’m the more experienced one between us. I should’ve remembered.”
“The responsibility was mine, too.”
“Then why did you run?”
“I was terrified. I still am.”
He kisses my hair. “I wasn’t joking. Whatever happens, I’ll be by your side.”
“I don’t want to think about it.”
“Why not?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Look at my life story! My parents supposedly married for love and yet. . .”
I don’t even finish before a wave of heat floods my face.
I push him away, mortified.
“My God, that’s not what I meant to say.”
“Say what?”
“About marriage. I put the cart before the horse.”
I step out of the bathroom, but he doesn’t seem inclined to drop the subject. “Hey. . .”
“Can we just not talk about this right now?”
“Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away.”
I already know him well enough to tell he’s annoyed.
“There’s no problem for now. I’d like to see a gynecologist, if we. . .uh. . .are going to keep being together.”
“Is there any doubt we are?”
“No one can predict the future.”
He studies me, suspicious. “Are you thinking of leaving?”
I could try to save my dignity with some snarky reply, but I won’t lie.
“No, but what happened today could happen again because the two of us. . .”
“Can’t keep our hands off each other?” His tone sounds lighter, and I step closer, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“Yes. Or at least I can speak for myself.”
He takes my chin, making me look at him. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but I want you to rest assured that I will never turn my back on a child.”
I nod, uncomfortable with this conversation.
After kissing my forehead, he says, “I came to get you for dinner, but also to tell you your documents are ready. You’ve got everything brand new. Birth certificate, Social Security, passport. . .”
My eyes fill with tears.
“Thank you, Gianni. It may be very little to most people, but to me it’s proof that I exist outside the community where I was raised.”
“I’ll never stop saying it, Elodie: nothing they did to you changes the fact that you’re free. You will always be free.”
Weeks later
“When do you think we can see each other?” Amber asks as soon as I answer the phone.
“I don’t know yet. I think it’s safer for us to stay apart. I’m thinking about leaving the country.”
I still haven’t told her I’m in Italy because my paranoia worries someone might be intercepting the call.
As much as this Beau has been good to my sister so far, I don’t trust him.
“What? Are you out of your mind? Leaving the country without me? With what passport?”
“If you can calm down, I’ll explain everything. Giancarlo thinks I need to stay away for a while. The men who took me are after me, Amber, not you. Under Mr. LeBlanc’s protection, they would never touch you. As for the passport, my boyfriend is a powerful man. He managed to get my documents.”
“With the fake last name?”
“No, with our real one.”
I feel sick having to hide my location from my sister, but I can’t risk it.
“You think I’m protected with Beau? Have you already forgotten that all this started because of him?” she counters. “They want something from him, and we have no idea what it is.”
“The men who grabbed me are afraid of Mr. LeBlanc. That I know for sure.”
“I don’t want to keep up this charade anymore, Elodie. I’m forming a bond with Beau, and even if I haven’t actually done anything to harm him, I still feel guilty.”
“Are you in love with him?”
“What? Of course not!”
I know she’s lying to herself. I know Amber too well. The guilt is the feeling that’s starting to grow between them.
“This has nothing to do with love, it’s about loyalty,” she goes on.
“I’m sorry I dragged you into this, Amber, and I feel bad that you have to deceive him.”
“Not as bad as I do. At least the man you’re with knows the truth.”
“He does. I told him everything. And there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Giancarlo is helping me dig deeper into our history, and he may have found something very important.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“Calm down. I’m not sure I should tell you yet because we aren’t sure.”
“How can you hide anything from me? We’ve always been each other’s rock!”
“I’m not trying to hurt you, Amber. I’m trying to spare you pain.”
“Then you should know you hurt me more by keeping secrets. I don’t have anyone else.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. You’re right. Do you remember how Mom told us I had a twin when I was born?”
Last week, Gianni brought up my twin brother again and decided to dig deep into that story.
I wasn’t expecting any results, so I was very surprised by what he found.
“I remember they. . .they. . .”
“Shhhh. . . It’s okay. Don’t cry. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you yet.”
“Why bring it up now?”
“My boyfriend thinks our brother might be alive.”
“What?”
“Yes, it looks like he’s alive. He didn’t change his first name, just like we didn’t. Apparently, his name is Amos, and he lives in Boston with his family now.”
“Oh my God! How is that possible? How did he survive?”
“Our mother gave him up for adoption to protect him. It was that or they would have. . .”
Killed him—that’s what I can’t say. If our mother hadn’t put him up for adoption, those monsters would have killed him.
“Can we try to speak to him?”
“Yes, but maybe we should feel him out first. We don’t even know if he turned out to be a good person, Amber.”
“You said he lives in Boston? I could try to watch them from a distance—him and his family, I mean. Beau is always there, and the next time we go, I could arrange a meeting.”
“All right, but be careful. I should be away at least two months. We can text, but it would be good to avoid phone calls. If in the meantime anything happens between you and Beau. . . If you two. . .”
“If we break up?”
“Right. If that happens, take the money we stashed, let me know, and go off the grid. I’ll find you. You know that if you need me, I’ll come back immediately, right?”
“How can you be sure this Giancarlo is a good person, Elodie? I mean, I know he helped you, but if he met you while you were kidnapped, that means he was somehow connected to those monsters.”
“He has no connection to the mobsters, Amber. It was pure fate that we crossed paths. You can’t judge me when you’re involved with someone like Beau LeBlanc.”
“It was unfair of you to say that. Besides, there’s no trust between me and Beau. You, on the other hand, seem to have dived headfirst into this relationship.”
“But is he being good to you?” I steer the focus back to her.
“He is, but I can’t stay here forever. Given the lifestyle he’s always led, whatever is happening between us is temporary. I have to be ready to leave at any moment.”
“Regardless of everything, it’ll always be the two of us, Amber.”
“All right,” she says before hanging up.