Chapter 9
Carlo was found two days later in Montreal.
He had cash.
Passports.
Two guards loyal to him.
And Milena’s diamond bracelet in his bag.
He was arrested at a private airfield before boarding a jet.
When Detective Harris called, I felt no triumph.
Only a heavy, cold relief.
Milena heard the news from my attorney.
She screamed for twenty minutes.
Not because Isabella was dead.
Not because Luke had suffered.
Because Carlo had left without her.
That told me what her love was worth.
Carlo refused to speak at first.
Then federal agents showed him Isabella’s farmhouse recordings.
He blamed Milena.
Milena blamed Carlo.
Both blamed my father.
Neither blamed themselves.
Luke moved through the estate like a ghost.
He ate only when Grace sat with him.
He slept with shoes beside the bed.
He flinched whenever a door closed.
I wanted to fix everything.
I could fix nothing quickly.
One night, I found him in the garage.
He was sitting near the door, backpack beside him.
“Leaving?” I asked.
He stiffened.
“Maybe.”
“Where would you go?”
He shrugged.
“Back.”
“To what?”
He stared at the floor.
“I don’t know. But here is too much.”
I sat several feet away.
Not blocking him.
Not touching him.
“Too much because of me?”
“Because everyone looks at me like I’m a bomb.”
I breathed out.
“They are afraid of what your existence exposes.”
He looked at me.
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
His face hardened.
I continued.
“But not of you. I am afraid of how much I failed before I knew your name.”
He looked down.
“My mom said you were kind.”
“I don’t know if I am.”
“She said you listened when people forgot she was in the room.”
That memory hit me hard.
Isabella at twenty-two, laughing in my father’s kitchen.
Me pretending not to watch her smile.
“I should have listened longer,” I said.
Luke wiped his face angrily.
“I hate you a little.”
“I know.”
“Do you hate me?”
The question stopped my heart.
“No.”
He whispered, “Milena said you would.”
“Milena lied.”
He hugged his backpack.
I stayed beside him until sunrise.
May you like
He did not leave.
That was the first gift he gave me.
